Direct Talk

At first glance,
these are simply stylish bags.

But can you guess
what they're actually made from?

In fact, the material used in their production
comes from life vests

worn by refugees from places like Syria
as they crossed the sea into Europe.

What's more, the refugees themselves
are involved in their manufacture.

When we first started to
look at life vests and think,

"What could we do with them?"

we realized that we could use the textile

to create new products out of it.

So we thought on creating
a production environment

where newcomers would work together
with locals, making products together.

Starting with the
life vest upcycling project,

we spoke with Thami Schweichler,

who's working to create
a brighter future for refugees.

Hope in a Life Vest

Amsterdam, capital city of the Netherlands,

Amsterdam, Netherlands

It's the location of Makers Unite,

the company making
the upcycled life vest products.

Makers Unite

Thami Schweichler is its co-founder.

His connection with life vests
dates back seven years.

In 2015 large numbers of refugees
from countries like Syria and Afghanistan

came by boat to the islands of Greece.

It was dubbed the European refugee crisis.

Many lost their lives during the voyage,

and the number of refugees
continues to grow to this day.

And on the beaches, many discarded life vests
once worn by such refugees were left behind.

I first came across a life vest

through a voluntary program
that was doing in Amsterdam,

got a contact through a Greek NGO
that was willing to

search for a solution
for the life vests that were sitting

on the shores of the Greek islands.

And I was working with the

NGO that sent us the life vests.

My first reaction to life vests was...

relates to what we were seeing
on the newspapers in Europe at that time.

It was 2015,

more or less, and every newspaper
was using a life vest

to portray the humanitarian crisis
of refugees from Syria.

When I first realized that
life vests were actually a symbol of hope,

it was because we were talking and discussing
with newcomers with a refugee background,

to discuss and learn about
what is their perspective

of the life vests and
what do they mean for them.

And at that point
we understood that, for newcomers,

a life vest is actually

an item they're carrying on the crossing
from Turkey towards Greece.

But from the moment
they take this life vest out,

their perspective is that
there's a new life to begin.

They no longer have to go back to

a country of war, or a country of
unfortunate circumstances,

but they can restart their life again.

Therefore, the life vest, for them,
is a symbol of hope

that would guide them
from one life to a new life.

Life vests as a symbol of hope,
a new life for refugees.

To spread this message,

Schweichler and others created
the "Re-Vest Life" campaign in 2016.

Wearing ribbons made from life vests,

they called for social change,
equality and coexistence for refugees.

There were many stories
about the difficult circumstances that

newcomers have to go through
in order to cross

the sea towards Europe.

But we deliberately chose
not to go and deep dive,

deep dive into those stories because,

from our perspective, or from my perspective,
there was very little that I can do

about the vest and about the tragedy
that happened up to the point in their lives.

So we chose from the very moment to
take a look, a perspective into the future,

to things that we can do together.

So understanding and recognizing

that the challenges that
newcomers have gone through

are challenges that
unfortunately we cannot change.

You and me, unfortunately,
have very little that we can do

against this big happenings in the world.

But we can do together

things for your next steps.

So we can think together on what is about
your future and the positivity of it.

So we explicitly focus at Makers Unite,
to focus on the positive side of the story

because this is something that
we can do together - focus on the future.

When it comes to working with refugees,
he's also particular about terminology.

That is, instead of "refugee,"
he uses the word, "newcomer."

We wanted to create a position of equality

between us as locals
and refugees, or newcomers.

And we questioned them,
"OK, how would you like to be addressed?"

Because newspapers say "refugees,"
but "refugees"

are not representative of who you are.

You are a photographer, an architect,
a lawyer, a doctor, a father, a son,

and there are many qualities on the person.

But "refugee" is not really a quality.
"Refugee" is a political status.

If you're asking for refuge,
you are on a temporary status,

looking for safety.

It doesn't designate a person.

So we learn at the time in this collective
that the most respectful way

to talk to newcomers while using this term -
which means I'm just new here,

I have just arrived.

And also it's an invitation for
a connection, invitation for a meeting.

So since then, we always use the term
"newcomers" instead of "refugees."

In conjunction with the campaign,

Schweichler founded a company employing
these newcomers to produce fashion items.

Initially, they made products like
computer bags with the upcycled life vests.

Later, they also began producing apparel.

This T-shirt was created in collaboration
with local designers and newcomers.

To clearly convey this to consumers,
the story is written on the tag.

We have several different examples of people

that were connected to different
opportunities in the creative sector.

One example that we have is, for instance,

Yazan, who is a ceramist and actually

studied fine arts in Syria

and with him, we've created
a collection of ceramic soap holders.

So every product that we make has a story.

And we work together with newcomers,

and they're producing these products

and they have a lot of stories
of their own to share.

And we believe
their stories are very inspiring.

And it's necessary that the stories
that we're sharing get to be known

because in this way

we help the people and population that
don't have access to the commerce to learn

about where do they come from,
who they are, and what is their talent -

together with financial opportunities.

So we first start by making products
out of the life vests

and transforming them into new items.

And now what we do is that
we work for big companies

or corporates or fashion brands,

and we design products together with them,

and we always try to
bring a message together in these products

to tell that they're made by talented
newcomers that deserve a new beginning,

in a twist of positivity,

because we really believe that
these products are a window of connection

that creates more understanding between
the local populations and new comers.

And then we make the person
receiving this clothing

realize that there's someone behind
the sewing machine with a lot of talent

and realize the perspective
of newcomers in our society.

So it's more about creating awareness
of the value of newcomers in our society.

Schweichler is what's known
as a "social entrepreneur."

And he says that his own upbringing is linked
to his decision to pursue this path.

I was born in Sao Paulo in Brazil,

a son of a Dutch mother
and a Brazilian father,

and I grew up in this country

where poverty and wealth
are very far from each other

and have a big contrast in society.

And somehow I was exposed
to this with a critical eye,

and I always wanted to do something

that would help to bridge the gap
between the poor and the rich,

between fair and unfair,

and help to make society
a little bit more equal.

So I was inspired by

the... we call the resilience of Brazilian people,

to look at the problems
of everyday life with a positive eye

and have the hope that
there can be a better day to come.

And I think this resilience is
something that is really innate in me

to look into a problem
and see an opportunity there

and look into what the newspaper
were projecting as a tragedy of newcomers.

I saw there the opportunity
of all these talents

that could come and create jobs
and create new opportunities in Europe.

Schweichler's company also has
a refugee assistance program.

They offer a six-week workshop for newcomers
seeking employment in creative fields.

Students learn design in general,
as well as how to create a portfolio.

Of the nearly 300 participants to date,

60% have been able to find employment
at the companies of their choosing.

They don't simply hire newcomers as staff,

they help them to achieve
the futures they dream of.

This approach was inspired by
a chance meeting with a certain individual.

So the reason we started Makers Unite
as a social enterprise,

to create social-inclusion programs to help
newcomers to get into the creative sector,

is truly inspired on the story of Hasan.

I have met Hasan
during the production of these ribbons

that we had during the Re-Vest Life campaign,

and he was one of the tailors
helping us in this process.

And he was a very talented young man

who was looking for a new start
in the Netherlands,

and he shared with me after working together

that he would love to work with
computer and computer science.

So I wanted to understand
why he wanted to do this

and then discovered he was borrowing
a computer from a friend in a refugee camp

to try to learn Python computer language,

and I realized that
he had a lot of potential for this.

So I made a phone call to a friend who was
starting a computer school to teach coding,

and we made a connection
so Hasan could start learning coding.

And since on, his life changes completely
because he followed his career

and he's now a computer engineer.

And that insight for me was something that

made me realize that
I could use this making process

to create connections
that will lead newcomers to understand

what will be possible to be done
in this new country of arrival.

I believe that talent is
something innate to every person,

and I believe that everybody has a talent.

And most important, that this talent
can find an opportunity to shine.

And I believe that everybody has this talent

and everybody should deserve
an opportunity for the talent to shine.

I believe once newcomers
arrive in their land of refuge,

that there are no
good circumstances for anyone to

make use of their talents.

I really believe that it's really necessary
that the land, the countries of receival

to provide a warm reception for refugees -

human and warm reception
where newcomers can restart their lives

and show their talents and their capacity,
their dreams, their skills.

Because only this way
you can find a connection

in the local society
for these talents to thrive.

"Change is a phone call away."

I really believe that,
in order for us to make a difference,

we have to dare to take the first step

and make the phone call,
share your idea,

tell about how you want to make a difference,

and believe that that
phone call will lead you to the next step

that will help you to make change
in the world of today.

Yeah, my motto is really inspired
on the story of Hasan.

Because of Hasan, I made that phone call
that helping to start and find a new career

and that inspired me to create an organization
that has helped almost 300 newcomers so far.

And

every time I have a new idea and
I believe that I could make a difference,

I pick up the phone and make a phone call

that could make a difference and help me

to go for the next step
and there to make change.