I’m curious about the relationship between Ukrainian refugees and Afghan refugees. I’ve seen news reports that Afghans have been forced out of government-provided housing in Germany to make room for Ukrainian refugees, and while there have been Afghans quoted in the media as being (understandably) frustrated by the German government’s prioritization of Ukrainian refugees, I wonder if Afghan and Ukrainian refugees have actually had direct contact with each other. That is, do the two groups encounter each other in Berlin at all? Are they able to communicate with each other, and if so, do tensions arise?
This is an especially relevant topic now that winter is approaching and refugees will need to be housed; I know Berlin has also been experiencing a housing crisis, meaning that housing is in short demand in general, especially for refugees.
A good starting point for this might be Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport, where both Ukrainian and Afghan refugees are housed together — I could wander around and interview refugees staying in the container homes there. I’d also be curious to learn about the German government’s thinking on Ukrainian vs Afghan refugees — I wonder if I could get a source from BAMF, the Federal office overseeing migrants and refugees. (I already have leads from Deb for two people who have an understanding of the situation on the ground, which should give me somewhere to start on this idea once I’m in Berlin.)
Another good place to go might be Tegel Airport, which still seems to be the site of Ukrainian refugee processing. (Interestingly enough, at Tegel, Ukrainian refugees are sent to different federal states, but trans refugees are specifically kept in Berlin — I’m curious about why.) I also wonder if any Afghan refugees are still trickling into Berlin — I sort of doubt it, but I think I could ask around about that, too.
Finally, if there are community centers for Afghan people, I think it would be worthwhile to make a visit and see if I could just do interviews with anybody there.
As for Princeton people to talk to, I have contact with Ambassador Raz (the former Afghan ambassador to the U.S., who’s now at the Afghan Policy Lab housed in the University) and Wolfgang Danspeckgruber, the founding director of the Liechtenstein Institute of Self-Determination — he’s worked extensively on Afghanistan issues and he’s been great to talk to. There’s also Wahid Wafa, of course. Since I haven’t written about Ukrainian refugees yet, I’m less sure of who to speak to for that topic, so I’d appreciate any help on that front.
If my idea about the relationship between Ukrainian and Afghan refugees doesn’t work out, I could also consider going to Hamburg (also known as little Kabul) to try and report on that community. I’m less eager to take that on, though, because that would involve six hours of travel in a single day. I’d also have to set up everything beforehand (to avoid wasting my time), and I’m not sure if I have a clear enough angle about Hamburg to justify the trip there.
