I have a few ideas that I’d like to pursue in Berlin. One topic I’m drawn to is LGBTQ Afghan refugees. There is a Berlin-based organization called Rainbow Afghanistan that was founded by exiled Afghan LGBTQ activists, and I plan to reach out to ask whether any members will talk with me. This seems like a complex story – fleeing to Berlin may offer LGBTQ Afghans freedoms and opportunities that were not available in Afghanistan, but this would also alienate them from their own diaspora. Especially with changing German government policies towards Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, I’m curious whether they feel they can stay and how they interact with both the Afghan diaspora and the local German LGBTQ community. This may be challenging to pursue, as I imagine that many sources may be unwilling to speak on the record, and I’m not sure how much of a language barrier there will be.

I’m also interested in Syrian refugees, who have been under increasing pressure to leave Germany since Assad’s fall. Syrians who travel back to their home country can lose their German protected status, and I’m curious how this is affecting Syrians who have been building lives in Berlin for years. The LGBTQ refugee angle could also be interesting in the Syrian refugee population. I couldn’t locate a Syrian equivalent to Rainbow Afghanistan, but I did find Mahmoud Hassino, a journalist and activist who founded Mawaleh, Syria’s first LGBT magazine, before he was forced to leave the country. He now works in Berlin on projects supporting LGBT refugees, including Berlin’s first major refugee center exclusively for LGBT people. This could potentially be a way in for a story about LGBTQ refugees in Berlin across both the Afghan and Syrian communities.

My third idea is continuing reporting on Ukrainians, since my first news piece focused on Anastasiia, a Ukrainian refugee weighing whether to stay in Germany after the far right’s recent election wins. Berlin is home to the Unity Hub, which provides services to Ukrainian refugees in Germany but also seems partly meant to encourage Ukrainians to return home. Anastasiia described Germany as working “in both directions,” helping Ukrainians settle while also actively preparing for their return, and this would be an interesting tension to explore.

Once we’re in Berlin, I expect that the conversations I have (or don’t have) will narrow down my topics and point me towards a sharper story. Until then, I’ll keep doing background research and reach out to potential contacts.