syrian refugees in german
55574931
Syrian refugees in german cities resettlement dynamics and its impact on the urban structures across the city
This is the seventh article in our series on refugees. This article deals with the accommodation of Syrian refugees living in Germany. Based on my personal experience living in a refugee camp ,Heim" in the city of Cologne (Koln) and based on relevant literature, the article will, firstly, address the different types of temporary residences for refugees in Germany, and, secondly, the process through which refugees pass while looking for a permanent accommodation. Thirdly, and most importantly, the article discusses the ongoing shift within Koln's urban and social structure in the light of the emerging resettlement of refugees. Although the urban structure of Koln, like many other German cities, has a certain level of urban segregation manifested in the settlement of immigrant communities (Friedrichs 1998, p.1) I argue that, on the contrary, the resettlement of Syrian refugees shows coherence and dispersion. The article is accompanied by a mapping survey that investigates on the spatial aspect of the accommodation distribution.
Ghiath Al Jebawi
218603551
Factors that impact the sociocultural adjustment and well being of Syrian refugees in Stuttgart Germany
ABSTRACT This study investigated the impact of age, gender, language and acculturation choice on the sociocultural adjustment and well being of Syrian refugees in Stuttgart, Germany. A total of 214 Syrian refugees participated in this study by filling a demographics questionnaire, the Acculturation Attitudes Scale (AAS 16) the Revised Sociocultural Adjustment Scale (R SCAS) and the Mental Health Inventory (MHI 18) The results showed that the level of German language acquisition significantly correlated with sociocultural adjustment. No significant correlation was found between age and depression level and no significant difference in depression scores were found as a function of gender. Integration significantly correlated with sociocultural adjustment and mental health. Assimilation correlated significantly with sociocultural adjustment, and separation correlated negatively with mental health.
S El Khoury
55373354
The impact of Syrian refugees on German Labour Market
Syrian Civil War forced 5.9 million people to flee the country, while 13.2 million are in need in Syria. In Europe, more than half a million have applied for asylum in Germany, becoming the largest refugee host country in European Union. This paper uses data from European Union Labor Force Survey (EU LFS) for the period between 2011 and 2016 to investigate the impact of Syrian refugees in German labour market. The estimations are based on Ordinary Least Squares, as well as on a novel Instrumental Variable of changes in the population of refugee source countries in Germany over time. The results show that Syrian refugee inflows have a positive and significant result on German employment rates, while there is a negative coefficient with the unemployment and retirement rates. The national wages also have a positive increase, with only exception females of ages 15 to 24.
M Chatzichristou
214751668
Pre migration socioeconomic status and post migration health satisfaction among Syrian refugees in Germany: A cross sectional analysis
Background The large increase in numbers of refugees and asylum seekers in Germany and most of Europe has put the issue of migration itself, the integration of migrants, and also their health at the top of the political agenda. However, the dynamics of refugee health are not yet well understood. From a life course perspective, migration experience is associated with various risks and changes, which might differ depending on the socioeconomic status (SES) of refugees in their home country. The aim of this paper was to analyze the relationship between pre migration SES and self reported health indicators after migration among Syrian refugees. Specifically, we wanted to find out how their SES affects the change in health satisfaction from pre to post migration. Methods and findings We used data from the 2016 refugee survey, which was part of the German Socio Economic Panel (GSOEP) Although cross sectional by design, this survey collected information referring to the current situation as a refugee in Germany as well as to their situation before migration. Using a sample of 2,209 adult Syrian refugees who had entered Germany between 2013 and 2016, we conducted a cross sectional and a quasi longitudinal (retrospective) analysis. The mean SD age was 35 11 years, with 64% of the participants being male. Our results showed a positive association between pre migration self reported SES and several subjective health indicators (e.g. health satisfaction, self reported health, mental health) in the cross sectional analysis. However, the quasi longitudinal analysis revealed that the socioeconomic gradient in health satisfaction before migration was strongly attenuated after migration (SES by time interaction: 0.48, 95% CI 0.61 to 0.35, p 0.001; unstandardized regression coefficients, 5 point SES scale and 11 point health outcome scale) Similar results were produced after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, experiences during the migration passage, and the current situation in Germany. A sex stratified analysis showed that while there was some improvement in health satisfaction among men from the lowest SES over time, no improvement was found among women. A limitation of this study is that it considers only the first months or years after migration. Thus, we cannot preclude that the socioeconomic gradient regains importance in the longer run. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the pre migration socioeconomic gradient in health satisfaction is strongly attenuated in the first years after migration among Syrian refugees. Hence, a high SES before crisis and migration provides limited protection against the adverse health effects of migration passage.
PLoS medicine
Jan Michael Bauer Tilman Brand Hajo Zeeb
150640875
Prospects of Return: The Case of Syrian Refugees in Germany
Abstract This study examines the factors that influence refugees' decision to return to their country of origin. The research employs exploratory factor analysis and linear regression to investigate the individual level factors that influence these decisions. Data for the analyses come from a structured survey on 889 Syrian refugees in five different German cities in late 2015. Findings indicate that refugees with higher levels of education are more likely to consider return, given that their country of origin adopts democracy. The decisions of those who experience direct threats to their safety, however, are influenced primarily by the restoration of stability.
Journal of Immigrant Refugee Studies
Serdar Kaya Philip C Orchard
197810868
Representation and Global Power in a Multicultural Germany: A Discourse Analysis of the German Response(s) to the Presence of Syrian Refugees
Kyle William Zarif
203476712
Language Learning Tool for Refugees: Identifying the Language Learning Needs of Syrian Refugees Through Participatory Design
A large number of refugees need to learn a new language in order to transition to, or settle in, a new country. Most refugees have access to smartphones with which they can access mobile language learning tools. However, refugees in different stages of their journeys have different language learning needs. Identifying the unique needs of refugees is essential to design language learning tools that support their language learning activities. Through a two part participatory design study, we identify and compare the tacit and latent language learning needs of two different groups of Syrian refugees: a group in transition in Lebanon, and a group settling in Germany. The Syrian refugees we worked with in Lebanon are studying English to transition to another country with better living conditions. On the other hand, the Syrian refugees we worked with in Germany are trying to learn German to better integrate into German society. Our results show overlapping needs and specific needs for the two groups of refugees. We present our findings and discuss the opportunities and challenges for designing language learning tools to support the language learning activities of refugees.
Languages
Victoria Abou-Khalil Samar El Helou Brendan Flanagan Niels Pinkwart Hiroaki Ogata
213213590
The Role of Trauma on Integration: The Case of Syrian Refugees
<b>English Abstract:/b> This paper examines the role of trauma in the short term integration of Syrian refugees in Germany. Drawing from the literature, and using dose response and stress process theory, we presume that there is a negative effect of experiencing traumatic events, pre and during migration, on integration. We concentrate our analysis on a sub population of asylum seekers and refugees from Syria that have arrived in the last refugee wave in 2014/2015, who have a high incidence level of severely traumatizing events. We use the Qualifications, Potentials and Life Courses of Syrian Refugees (QPLC) survey, which has a module on pre and during migration stressors and measures structural integration as well as German language acquisition. In contrast to the a priori assumptions in the literature, we find that there is actually a positive effect of potentially traumatizing experiences on cognitive cultural integration, i.e. language acquisition, and close to zero effect on structural integration, i.e. employment and education enrolment. We posit that due to possible higher motivation to remain in the new country, in the short run, Syrian refugees and asylum seekers seem to be integrating despite the added burdens of having experienced traumatic events.<br><br><b>German Abstract:/b> Der Beitrag beschaftigt sich mit der Relevanz von potentiell traumatisierenden Erlebnissen fur die Integration von Syrischen Fluchtlingen in Bayern. Ausgehend von der weitverbreiteten Annahme und in Einklang mit dem Dosis Wirkungs Prinzip und der Stressprozess Theorie, gehen wir von einem negativen Effekt traumatischer Erlebnisse vor und wahrend der Flucht auf die folgenden Integrationsprozesse aus. In den Analysen untersuchen wir Asylsuchende und anerkannte Fluchtlinge aus Syrien, die hauptsachlich 2014 und 2015 nach Deutschland kamen und extrem haufig potentiell sehr traumatisierende Ereignisse erlebt haben. Verwendet werden die Daten der 'Qualifications, Potentials and Life Courses of Syrian Refugees' (QPLC) Umfrage, die ein Modul zu solchen Stressfaktoren vor und wahrend der Migration enthalt sowie Messungen zu struktureller Integration und Spracherwerb. In Kontrast zu der weitverbreiteten Annahme negativer Effekte, zeigen sich in den Analysen positive Effekte des Erlebens (potentiell sehr) traumatischer Erlebnisse fur kognitiv kulturelle Integration (Spracherwerb) und nahezu keine Effekte fur strukturelle Integration (Erwerbstatigkeit und Bildungsbeteiligung) Wir folgern daraus, dass das hohe Ausmass an (potentiell sehr) traumatischen Erlebnissen keinen negativen Einfluss auf die Integration von Asylsuchenden und anerkannten Fluchtlingen aus Syrien hat, zumindest nicht in dem beobachteten fruhen Stadium des Aufenthalts in Deutschland. Die Befunde deuten darauf hin, dass mehr potentiell traumatisierende Erlebnisse die Motivation im Zielland zu bleiben verstarken.
Christian Hunkler May Khourshed
149771896
Access and Aspirations: Syrian Refugees' Experiences of Entering Higher Education in Germany
Despite high educational aspirations amongst asylum seekers and refugees (ASRs) scholarship on international student migration and mobility commonly lacks insight deriving from forced migration research. Drawing on qualitative research concerned with Syrian ASRs' educational aspirations and lived experiences regarding higher education access in Germany, this article speaks to the intersection of refugee and education politics. German Higher Education Institutions commonly subsume ASRs under the more general admission classification of "international students" While an intentional blindness of the background of non European Union students in the admission procedure is justified on the grounds of equal treatment, findings indicate that ASRs experience the disregard for their distinct struggles as particularly stifling and disillusioning. At the same time, an analysis of the symbolic significance young ASRs attribute to the student status suggests that educational aspirations are shaped by the prospect to "raise" one's migration status and identity to that of international students.
Lynn Schneider
158462382
Promoting the Cultural Rights of Refugees in the Context of the Syrian Crisis: The Case of the Ideas Box
This article is framed by the legal concept of 'protracted refugee situation' (PRS) and the strategic means by which Cultural Rights has been interjected as a factor in refugee support. With particular reference to the project Ideas Box, developed by the German Goethe Institut (initiated by Libraries Without Borders (LWB) in 2014) the article attempts to define how the project flags up the centrality of information, education and social interaction with effective strategies for providing a humane and productive refugee support. Access to information and education plays a crucial role in providing a basis for the exercise of Cultural Rights, and where Rights become a precondition for developing strategic long term planning and responding to the fundamental needs of subjects like refugees in PRS situations.
Deniz Gursoy