Miralem
Miralem is 55 years old, was born in central Bosnia, and has been living in Würzburg for many years. His childhood was shaped by a strong sense of community, where doors were always open and meals were shared. He still carries with him the image of his grandparents by the river that flows through his homeland. His name also has meaning for him: Miralem, an Oriental combination of “the knowledgeable one” and “the leader.” “I try to live up to my name,” he says. Learning, reading, commitment – these things have accompanied him throughout his life.
His path to Würzburg was long and intertwined. As a teenager, he spent his summers with his father in the city, later moving there permanently, with interruptions – and he has been back here since 2017. For him, it's clear: “I made the right choice.” Würzburg, with the Main River, reminds him of his homeland and is also a place where he sees history, diversity, and cultural vitality.
Miralem has been committed to integration for decades. Back in the 1990s, he helped refugees from the former Yugoslavia to settle in, providing translation services and assistance with legal issues. Today, he is deputy chairman of the Integration Advisory Board. He calls it his “heartfelt concern” that immigrants in Würzburg have more say, visibility, and political participation. Too often, he says, people forget that integration is not a sure-fire success—it requires work, encounters, and mutual listening.
At the same time, Miralem takes a critical view of social developments. He is concerned about increasing polarization, right-wing extremism, homophobia, and Islamophobia. But he also sees progress: easier naturalization, better legal conditions, a younger generation that lives more openly and diversely. He often measures his hope against his eleven-year-old daughter and her environment—there he senses where society can develop.
Privately, Miralem wants one thing above all else: health. For the future of his family, for himself. He finds strength in God, in nature, in his many hobbies – and in people who are good for him. Food plays a special role: Bosnian stew, cevapcici, stuffed cabbage rolls, stuffed peppers. Each dish brings back memories of family celebrations, neighbors, community. “We are very sociable,” he says – and continues to live this openness today in Würzburg.
For the city, he wishes for more intercultural exchange, more recognition, more courage to truly embrace social diversity. For Germany, he wishes for more tolerance, cohesion, and a future that is ecologically and socially sustainable. And for himself? “Contentment, acceptance, peace. Peace here too – in our society.”
You can find more stories like Miralem's at endlichankommen.info.
Das Projekt
in aller Kürze
Jeder Mensch - egal wie alt, egal woher - will irgendwann endlich ankommen. Wir zeigen 1.000 Menschen aus Würzburg, jeden mit seiner eigenen Geschichte.
Über diese Geschichten, Kunst, Diskussionen und kreative Formate laden wir alle ein, miteinander ins Gespräch zu kommen, gemeinsame Werte zu entdecken und sie im besten Fall gemeinschaftlich umzusetzen.
Dass Diversität im eigenen Umfeld als Chance begriffen werden kann, will das Projekt ebenso erfahrbar machen, wie das Glücksgefühl, das sich einstellt, wenn man selbst etwas verändert.
