Although newcomers have regularly been among us for years, citizens, politicians and policymakers often have little idea of the personal backgrounds of these people. This causes not only loneliness, misunderstanding and antagonism. A consequence is also that integration is unnecessarily hampered and that policies aimed at this are less effective than they could be. To gain more insight into backgrounds, we conducted a large number of in-depth interviews with newcomers. This is done in the context of our project in Teltow-Fläming in Brandenburg in which we investigate the living situation of more than a thousand refugees and try to improve this situation with all stakeholders involved. We asked many questions: why did the people come, what was their life like before, what expectations did they have, what do they want to achieve in Germany, what are their experiences so far, what problems do they face, what solutions do they see for this? The names of those involved have been changed, as well as some place names. The interviews have been conducted in German, English, Farsi, Arabic and French and are published with the consent of those involved. In November 2023 Hans Blokland published Migrationspolitik auf der Flucht (Migration Policy on the Run) at Transcript Publishers in Bielefeld. In this book the interviews are analyzed, qualitative data are presented, and policy recommendations are formulated. Information about the book in English, as well as the Foreword, Introduction and Epilog you can find here.
It has been three years since we interviewed Yaqout, who moved from Syria to Hungary and eventually to Germany (see the previous interview). He encountered various difficulties regarding occupation, housing, and health. How is he...
Three years ago, we started to interview refugees coming to Germany. We asked them about their life in their homeland, the reasons they left, how they came to Germany, their life in Germany so far...
Since 2022 we have been publishing interviews with refugees on our website. We wanted to get to know and make available for the wider public their stories: where do the people come from, why did...
I am from Algeria and 32 years old. I belong to the Berbers, who live not only in Algeria but also in Tunisia and Morocco, mostly in the coastal region. We have our own cultural...
I come from Raqqa in Syria and I am now 30 years old. When I came to Germany back in 2015, I was 21 years old. Before that, I was living in Turkey for one...
Since 2022, Social Science Works has published a large number of interviews with refugees in Germany. There were several motives for conducting these interviews. By learning more about the newcomers’ backgrounds, we hoped to help...
My name is Saleh, and I am from Syria. I have been in Berlin for two years now and am currently learning the German language. I need to pass the B2 language level to find...
My name is Ahmad and I’m 31 years old, from Damascus, Syria. After leaving Syria, I was in Malaysia, then Singapore, then in 2020 I went to Paris. After that, I was in Amsterdam for...
I was born in a family with seven children, three girls and four boys. One of my sisters is now dead. She was killed by her husband. Both of my parents are still alive. I...
I am 21 years old, married and I have one child. She was born in Turkey one year ago. My parents are originally from Afghanistan, but I was born in Iran and lived there all...
My name is Ahmed, I am originally from Afghanistan and currently, I am living in the city of Potsdam. I was working as a lecturer at Balkh University. I have completed my education in India...
I am Richard and I was born on February 3, 1995, in Agomé Tomékbé. I am an only child. My mother passed away on August 3, 2021. My father still lives in Agomé Tomékbé. My...
