Interviews with Refugees

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.

Revisited: Yaqout, Syria

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...

Ali Ghaznawi: revisited

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...

No one has ever asked us

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...

Idir: Algeria

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...

Saeed: Syria

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...

Indifference to refugees in Germany: observations and explanations

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...

Saleh, Syria

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...

Ahmad: Syria

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...

Nduka, Biafra

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...

Hamdiya, Afghanistan and Iran

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...

Ahmed, Afghanistan

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...

Richard, Togo

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...

Viyan: Kurdistan

In Germany at the age of 18, most young adults worry about their next steps in what they are going to study, their new workplace, maybe a gap year or dealing with a heartbreak. For...

Yao, Togo

I was born in Kpalimé. I have six siblings and my father has three wives. My father passed away in 2016. I did my first level certificate (BEPC), and I studied industrial mechanics for cars...

Fofo, Togo

So far, we have interviewed people from all over the world who have come to Germany. One of the questions we always ask is what ideas they had about life in Europe or Germany. We...

Adeel, Iraq

I am 30 years old. But I look much younger. Many people think that I am 22 or 23 years old. In Iraq I was a teacher of geography. I taught for children between 12...

Almar: Afghanistan

This interview was conducted (in English) and edited by Hans Blokland and Isabel Romijnders. I lived a good life with my family in Afghanistan. I studied Information Technology at the university and my wife Literature...

Ali Ghaznawi, Afghanistan

When we (Isabel Romijnders and Hans Blokland) interviewed Ali, we immediately noticed that he was very interested to share his story. So, after more than one hour talking with him and his roommate, we invited...

Zahra and Farida, Syria

This interview was conducted with two women who are related by marriage, the first with a young woman and the second with her mother-in-law. Zahra I was born in Saudi Arabia, but my family moved...

Meryem, Ayaz, and their daughter Esila: Turkey

Five years ago, everything was normal. My mother was a history teacher and my father a chemistry teacher. We lived in Ankara. They passed an exam and then they could work for the state (Ministry...