6:40am Tuesday 17th November 2009
By Mike Didymus
Croydon College student Shamul Gohel may not remember the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, but the date will always be etched on his mind thanks to a special trip to Brussels last week.
The 20-year-old, who was born in the same month as the wall fell, was one of 89 youths from across the continent invited to celebrate the beginning of a new Europe following the reunification of Germany two decades ago.
All of the students took part in a debate on what Europe meant to them ahead of a formal democratic session at the European Parliament on November 8.
Mr Gohel said the trip had helped him realise the importance of mixing with fellow Europeans in an effort to better understand one another.
He said: "You can learn so many things about how they were brought up when the Berlin Wall fell down, how we were brought up and the cultural differences.”
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