At first sight comparing crows to refugees might seem a little awkward. But both can feel unwanted without a roof over their head. ‘We close our chimneys, much like we close Europe’s borders,’ Felix Mollinga writes. He entered ‘A warm welcome’ for the Refugee Challenge, a birdhouse that serves as a public declaration of helping the unwanted.
‘We have warmth to share, there are places for them to stay, but we turn our backs to the problem in the hope it goes away,’ says Mollinga, a student at Design Academy Eindhoven. The birdhouse he designed is a sign of the willingness to share warmth, and to boost and engage in public debate. To create openness, and take away fear. Together with the video, it acts as a catalyst for discussion, creating a platform for debate within neighborhoods or cities, and in the best case scenario will offer refugees opportunities for couch surfing.