Refugee Integration in Berlin--Lessons for the U.S.

• Author: Martinez, Liliana
• Position: Essay

This article summarizes a longer academic paper by three graduate students from the George Washington University on Germany's experiences in refugee integration. In this version for American Diplomacy, the authors focus on policy recommendations for the United States.

Of the many millions of individuals that have been forced from their homes from war, natural disaster, and civil unrest, Syrian refugees represent one of the largest single groups of displaced people in the world, with at least 5 million fleeing Syria since the start of its civil war in 2011. While many sought refuge in neighbouring Arab states, as of December 2017, at least one million Syrians had applied for asylum status in the European Union.

In 2015 and 2016, Germany processed almost eighty percent of all the asylum applications filed by Syrians in Europe. Berlin in particular experienced an unexpected and overwhelming influx of refugees in mid-2015, forcing the city to innovate its methods of integrating refugees in the country.

In March 2017, our group of three graduate student researchers from the George Washington University, specializing in conflict resolution, Middle East studies, journalism, and law, traveled to Berlin for two weeks in order to analyze refugee integration. The goal was to identify lessons learned and best practices for refugee integration in the German context, particularly within an urban setting. With this study, we hoped to provide policy recommendations for stakeholders in Germany and the United States on how to effectively integrate Syrian refugees.

As conditions in Syria continue to worsen and contribute to the global refugee crisis, countries like the U.S. and Germany face changing political climates that have affected refugee policies. Ostensibly motivated by national security concerns, the current administration in the U.S. recently reduced the U.S.'s formal refugee resettlement program from 110,000 refugees to 45,000 refugees for fiscal year 2017. ([1]) However, as of June 2018, only around 15,000 refugees had actually been resettled in the U.S. ([2]) Given this policy context, studies on how to humanely resettle refugees in a cost-effective and expeditious way are critical. By identifying tangible ways for stakeholders in host countries to effectively integrate refugees, this study attempts to dispel myths about refugee integration and empower policymakers to support better refugee programs.

Informed by our study in Berlin, we identified the following five key policy recommendations to better equip stakeholders in the United States to support the integration of refugees in urban areas and dispel myths about refugee assistance: (1) strengthen civil society through government funding and public engagement; (2) establish a common framework for providing English language services to refugees; (3) fund or establish strategic partnerships with alternative education programs for refugees; (4) create and support entrepreneurship programs for newly arrived refugees; and (5) encourage collaboration between the government and private sector to invest in alternative forms of refugee housing.

The policy recommendations were informed by data and information collected through forty-four quantitative data surveys with thirty-nine Syrians, four Iraqis and one Afghani. In addition, the researchers conducted eight qualitative long-form, open-ended interviews with refugees, stakeholders, non-governmental organization (NGO) workers and government employees. Initially, the study focused on Syrian refugees between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four; however, it adapted as a result of experience in the field and widened to all refugees above eighteen living in Berlin from populations who were accessible for the study.

The study included thirty-six men and eight women. Recognizing the importance of including women's...