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.

Yasmina: Lebanon

I was born in a refugee camp in Lebanon and moved to a city called Sidon when I was ten years old. I grew up there and attended school up until the 8th grade. My...

Mama Stacy, Stacy and Tom: Cameroon

We conducted this interview with a family, but separated their stories to show their different perspectives on their life in Germany so far. Mama Stacy We arrived in Germany from Cameroon in 2018, but I...

Alieh, Afghanistan

As much as we believe in the importance of stories from the newcomers to be shared and heard, we also acknowledge how difficult it can be to relive the traumas and hardships of one’s past...

Fidvi, Pakistan

Eight years I have been in Germany, and three years in the accommodation here. Before that I was first in Eisenhüttenstadt and then for many years in another town in Teltow-Fläming. I was born in...

Islam, Dagestan

I come from Russia, from Dagestan. I come from a big family; I had 8 older siblings, so I was the ninth child and my parents were already 40 and 56 when I was born...

Ab, Gambia

I was 17 years old when I left the Gambia. I traveled alone, leaving behind my sisters and the rest of my family. I didn’t leave to escape a war or anything like that, but...

Emad, Afghanistan

I am twenty-five years old, from Afghanistan. I come from the Herat province, but not Herat itself. We lived in a village 70 kilometres away from Herat. I moved to Iran in 2019, and from...

Akilah, Palestine.

I am 33 years old and have been living in Germany for more than 6 years now. I live with my husband, my 6-year-old daughter, and my 10-year-old son in a transitional refugee camp in...

Yaqout, Syria

I was born in Homs, Syria to a small family—it was only me and my two sisters. I completed all of my schooling there and I graduated from high school. At this point, the war...