Rep. Kaptur Welcomes German Leaders to Toledo
Visit highlights N. Ohio energy leadership, job training, Germany’s refugee crisis
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-9) officially welcomed three Members of the German Bundestag, Germany’s Parliament, as well as a member of the EU Commission and others to Toledo this week. The delegation was in Toledo at Kaptur’s invitation to learn about new energy technologies being used or planned for various sites in the city including a new solar array and new water filter technology at the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium.
The delegation included: Jens Zimmerman, Member of German Parliament, Lars Klingbeil, Member of German Parliament, Thomas Hitschler, Member of German Parliament, Eike Klapper, European Commission, Martin Knoell, University of Darmstadt, Michael Meier, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Sebastian Ehreiser, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and Alexander Kallweit, Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
“I am pleased to welcome these distinguished members of Germany’s Bundestag to Northern Ohio and my own hometown of Toledo,” said Rep. Kaptur. “Their visit highlights our region’s leadership in the advancement and application of new energy technologies. This kind of project is vital to Germany, which is overly dependent today on imported energy from Russia and other nations that may not share her values or commitment to the principles of freedom. Germany, in turn, has much that we can learn from, as they have made pioneering investments in job creation and strengthening the German workforce, particularly in the energy sector. This visit is also fitting as Toledo’s German-American community is one of our region’s largest heritage groups with historic ties to the German homeland.”
The group visited the aquarium at the Toledo Zoo in the morning, then gathered for a roundtable discussion titled “Coastal Ohio’s New Energy Dymanic” with local leaders and experts. They also toured the First Solar manufacturing facility in Perrysburg and the Hensville project and neighboring Warehouse District in downtown Toledo in the afternoon. Kaptur arranged for the group to meet with local organizations with firsthand knowledge of the refugee crisis impacting Germany. Syrian and Lebanese Christians and Muslims have a deeply respected heritage in Northern Ohio, having first settled here in the late 1800s.
“For more than a century, Toledo has been home to a warm, industrious Syrian community whose deep roots have long nourished this city,” added Kaptur. “Today, millions of native Syrians are fleeing for their lives, with hundreds of thousands having found refuge in Germany. This flood of refugees is first and foremost a humanitarian crisis. Yet Persian Gulf nations of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates have done little to shelter even a few of those fleeing with their families. The United States must be a global leader on this issue and offer stronger support to both our European allies and the millions of refugees feeling for safety and security.”
The parliamentarians met with Corine Dehabey, a Syrian refugee resettlement expert with US Together, a refugee resettlement agency and subcontractor of Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), which is contracted by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
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