The Urban Refugee in Marzahn-Hellersdorf: Best Practices for Refugee Integration in Challenging Environments MA Thesis in European Studies Graduate School for Humanities Universiteit van Amsterdam Akudo McGee 11757507 Main supervisor: Dr. Luiza Bialasiewicz Second supervisor: Dr. Christian Noack June 2018 0 Abstract Assembled amongst the backdrop of one of the largest forced migration events in recorded history, this thesis employs a multidisciplinary approach to understand contemporary refugee integration. Rather than simply reengaging with scholarly discourse, this thesis seeks to move beyond theoretical ideas of refugee integration in the most hospitable environments and identify best practices for environments that are challenging for refugee integration. In order to do so, the Marzahn-Hellersdorf district of Berlin, Germany was used as a case study and the integrative initiatives operating in the area were assessed according to the longstanding integration theories of Doug Saunders, Hartmut Esser and Rainer Bauböck. A contemporary understanding of how these theories on integration may be concretely implemented required the use of action plans developed by the Berlin government, integration goals set by the German government and engagement with initiative leaders in the target district. To investigate these matters, this thesis makes use of ethnographic research, interviews, fieldwork, historical research and urban studies. The aptitude of urban environments, specifically to facilitate intercultural exchange was the partial focus of this thesis as well, since the manipulation of these exchanges is one of many ways to encourage integration. The conclusions for this research are practical and include the improvement of district-specific services in Marzahn-Hellersdorf, additional psychological support for refugees, neighborhood-wide initiatives that address the needs of residents in tandem with those of refugees and overall ideological changes to the perceptions of the individual actors involved in the integration process. 1 Table of Contents ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. CHAPTER 1: RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND METHODS ................................................................ 6 1.1. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................. 8 1.2. HISTORICAL RELEVANCE OF RESEARCH ................................................................................. 11 CHAPTER 2: GERMANY AS AN EINWANDERUNGSLAND ........................................................... 13 2.1. GERMAN IMMIGRATION HISTORY ............................................................................................. 14 2.2. HISTORY OF GERMAN IMMIGRATION LAW ............................................................................. 17 2.3. WILLKOMMEN IN DEUTSCHLAND: THE HISTORY OF WILLKOMMENSKULTUR .................. 20 2.3. THE REFUGEE “CRISIS” .................................................................................................................. 23 2.5. BERLIN AS AN ARRIVAL CITY ..................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 3: THEORIES AND IMPLEMENTATION OF INTEGRATION .................................. 27 3.1. INTEGRATION ACCORDING TO THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT ........................................... 27 3.2. INTEGRATION IN BERLIN .............................................................................................................. 28 3.3. SCHOLARLY APPROACHES TO INTEGRATION ........................................................................ 31 CHAPTER 4: FIELD OF ENCOUNTERS ............................................................................................ 39 4.1. THE CITY AS A FIELD OF ENCOUNTERS .................................................................................... 40 4.2. WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH MAHE? ................................................................................................ 44 CHAPTER 5: RESEARCH FINDINGS ................................................................................................. 51 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 67 6.1. SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................... 68 6.2. MOVING FORWARD ........................................................................................................................ 71 6.3. PARTING WORDS ............................................................................................................................. 75 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 77 2 Table of Figures FIGURE 1. DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FOR MARZAHN-HELLERSDORF ................................................. 45 FIGURE 2. REFUGEE ACCOMMODATIONS IN MARZAHN-HELLERSDORF .................................................... 50 FIGURE 3. THE ENTRANCE TO THE CHILDREN’S PARK SECTION OF GÄRTEN DER WELT ............................ 54 FIGURE 4. “THE BOOTED CAT” SEEN IN THE CHILDREN’S GARDEN .......................................................... 54 FIGURE 5. THE VIEW FROM A SUMMERHOUSE GARDEN IN MAHLSDORF .................................................... 56 FIGURE 6. ORGANIZATIONS OPERATING IN MARZAHN-HELLERSDORF FOR REFUGEES ............................. 57 FIGURE 7. ORGANIZATIONS FOCUSED ON REFUGEE INTEGRATION IN MARZAHN-HELLERSDORF ............. 60 FIGURE 8. A POSTER FOR THE ZUCKERFEST ................................................................................................ 61 FIGURE 9. "RUSH OF THE POOR" COVER FROM 1991 .................................................................................. 65 FIGURE 10. "IF HE WERE DEPORTED...SHE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE.” COVER FROM 2018 .......................... 65 FIGURE 11. "WE HELP REFUGEES IN NEED" ................................................................................................. 67 FIGURE 12. SEARCH RESULTS FOR "REFUGEE INTEGRATION" OVER TIME ................................................. 68 FIGURE 13. MURAL ON A REMNANT OF THE BERLIN WALL ....................................................................... 76 3 Introduction Contemporary migration research explores the potential of cities to provide unparalleled pathways to inclusive refugee integration.1 This nascent focus on cities and urban refugees largely coincides with organizations like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) refocusing their initiatives and research on refugees in environments situated outside of state-sanctioned spaces like camps and processing centers.2 This shift, which occurred in 2009, exposes the fact that the urban refugee experience is understudied and thus remains obtuse. Unlike state sanctioned spaces for refugee reception, urban areas, often cities, function as part of a complex political constellation where the needs of refugees and residents must be arbitrated continuously.3 The adequate functioning of integration at the city level requires seamless communication between cities and state and national governments that coordinate the assignment of refugees and obligate cities to handle their education, integration and protection.4 State and national governments acting without an understanding of and fluid communication with cities risks burdening cities with onerous demands and little support for their unique social and economic circumstances.5 In fact, the experimental history of urban resettlement in Europe has often left refugees in communities ill equipped to accommodate them socially and economically.6 Along with placing emphasis on coordination between cities and other levels of governance, the importance of the urban attributes of cities themselves has recently come into focus. Urban theorists and other researchers recognize urban spaces as exceptional hubs for integration and cross-cultural exchanges.7 These theories are based on the assumption that the 1 Jonathan Darling, “Forced migration and the city: Irregularity, informality, and the politics of presence,” Progress in Human Geography (2016): 1-21, doi:10.1177/030913251662900. 2 Ibid. 3 Jonathan Stevenson, “The urban refugee crisis,” Strategic Comments 23, no. 2 (2017): v-vii, DOI: 10.1080/13567888.2017.1311077. 4 Barbara Oomen, “Beyond the Nation State? Glocal Citizenship and its Consequences for Integration,” in The Integration of Migrants and Refugees: An EUI Forun on Migration, Citizenship and Demography, ed. Rainer Bauböck and Milena Tripkovic (European University Institute, 2017), 58. 5 Stevenson, “The urban refugee crisis.” 6 Jonathan Darling, “Cities of sanctuary,” Open Democracy, 13 August 2015, opendemocracy.net/can- europe-make-it/jonathan-darling/cities-of-sanctuary. 7 Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, (New York: Vintage Books, 1961), 53. 4 dense population arrangements of urban areas facilitate the inescapable interaction of diverse individuals who are then forced to confront and conform to the presence of each other.8 The optimistic and celebratory tone of these