Authors: Marios Miaris and Ramadan Alkhalaf
In June 2023, we discovered a picture from 1986 from Dortmund in the exhibition about Germany as a country of immigration "Who we are" at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn, which we visited as part of our project seminar. The picture shows a scene from a neighborhood festival on the Heroldwiese, the former location of our faculty.
We were very pleased that a picture from the Faculty of Social Pedagogy made it into this large, renowned exhibition. After all, it shows that our faculty was already right in the middle of the colorful life in the densely populated Nordstadt. Local residents were able to participate in the activities of the Faculty of Social Pedagogy, here as part of an annual district festival, which is also represented on the roll-up with another photo and was taken by the dean at the time, Karl Markus Kreis. In the interview, Lilli Neumann told us how much the small barrack-like buildings were filled with life back then and how some artistic activities brought residents and students together. "The students were more political back then than they are today," said Lilli Neumann and Silvia Denner.
Some retired professors, such as Tahereh Agha and Baldur Schruba, provided us with theses that they once supervised, including on the topic of migration. We were particularly moved by the narrative interview with Mrs. K., born in 1950, who was brought from a village in eastern Anatolia in 1969 by her husband, who was working as a so-called guest worker in the mining industry in Dortmund. The summary of the interview is taken as an example from the thesis "Migration and health. The development of migration and its effects on health using the example of Turkish migrants" by Günay Ari and Mikayil Nayir, which was written in 2004 at the Department of Social Work. The topic of migration has always been highly weighted in our studies: of 2,594 Bachelor's theses written at our Faculty of Applied Social Studies in the years 2010-2022 (the record does not go back any further), almost ¼ are on migration and, from 2015, increasingly on flight (we would like to thank Andreas Salewski from IT for providing the Excel spreadsheet with the titles of the theses; fellow students Felix Frenz and Jan-Christoph Waibel for the evaluation). Last but not least, migration experiences of us students and alumni (Helin Düsünmez, for example, conducted an interview with a former student with a Turkish migration background who studied during her 'diploma times', described the leap into the academic world and began to deal with women's rights during her studies).
Due to the high proportion of immigrants in the Ruhr area, the predecessor institutions of the Faculty of Applied Social Studies at Fachhochschule Dortmund were already dedicated to this topic. The mixed social structure in the Ruhr area was already a reason for the initiator and first director of the youth welfare school for men, Friedrich Siegmund-Schultze, to implement his project in the then workers' and industrial city of Dortmund (Siegmund-Schultze 1958: 2) and a reason for us to take a closer look at the topic.
Reasons for migration
The main motives for migration are the search for work, the improvement of life prospects and protection from persecution. Added to this is the pursuit of a better life and a promising future. Millions of people have been forced to emigrate in the past and continue to do so today. A direct threat from armed violence or natural disasters are the most serious reasons to emigrate; in addition, there are political or state repressions as well as Business Studies that leave those affected with little chance of a satisfactory life (see Treibel 2015, p. 24).
Contrary to popular belief, the Federal Republic of Germany has been a country of immigration from the very beginning. After the Second World War, millions of refugees and displaced persons arrived - most of them from the former East Prussia. Although they were formally German citizens, their integration was difficult both logistically and socio-politically due to a lack of jobs and housing. By the mid-1950s, the economic situation had changed considerably: the rapid economic growth, the 'economic miracle', had led to a labor shortage within a few years. As a result, the recruitment of foreign workers, euphemistically known as 'guest workers', began.
Recruitment agreements and migration-related social work
The beginning of migration-related social work in Germany can be traced back to the recruitment of so-called 'guest workers'. The first recruitment agreement was concluded with Italy in 1955. Further agreements followed in 1960/1961 with countries such as Spain, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Greece, Portugal and Morocco. Originally, it was not intended that these workers would stay permanently, but that they would return to their countries of origin after a limited period and be replaced by new workers. This so-called "rotation model" meant that companies had to continuously train new workers. Due to pressure from employers, the maximum duration of stay was extended in 1971 (see Polat 2017, p. 20). Between 1959 and 1968, the number of foreign workers employed in Germany increased from 166,000 to around one million (cf. Herbert 2003, p. 207). During the economic crisis in 1973, the recruitment of skilled workers was halted and those who were already living in Germany had to choose whether they wanted to stay in the country permanently or return to their home country. Many of them opted for permanent residence in Germany and brought their families to join them (cf. Polat 2017, p.20). This development makes it clear that migration was no longer a temporary phenomenon.
In the 1980s, the number of asylum applications rose again, with many refugees coming from Sri Lanka (Tamils) and from Turkey, Iran and Iraq (Kurds). Due to the high number of asylum applications, there was a debate in the 1980s about the "abuse of asylum by economic migrants", which occasionally led to xenophobic attacks. As a result, the range of tasks of social workers was expanded, for example by providing extracurricular support for the children of guest workers (help with homework, language support). The aim of these measures was to improve equal opportunities for foreign children in the German education system (see Gögercin 2018, p. 33f). In the past, the topic of integration was rarely present in political debates. The focus was often on aspects such as right of residence, entitlement to state aid and the linguistic integration of children (cf. Polat 2017, p.20).
The focus of social work was now on facilitating the integration of foreign workers and their families in the areas of housing, the labor market and education.
Racist attacks
By the end of the 1980s, around 1.5 million Aussiedler had immigrated to the Federal Republic. In addition, around 150,000 Germans from Eastern Europe moved to the GDR by 1989, although they did not receive any special status there. In the years between 1988 and 1998, a further 2.5 million people arrived, and migration peaked in 1992 with around 440,000 asylum applications. At this time, almost 75% of asylum seekers came from Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, including mainly civil war refugees from Yugoslavia as well as people from Romania and Bulgaria (see Gögercin 2018, p.35). Against the backdrop of economic problems and high unemployment rates as a result of reunification, the large number of asylum seekers led to a tense situation. The development reached its sad climax with racist attacks such as the arson attacks in Rostock-Lichtenhagen (1992), Mölln (1992) and Solingen (1993) on the homes of asylum seekers and asylum shelters. In 1993, parliament therefore passed the so-called 'asylum compromise', which severely restricted the basic right to asylum and the possibility of entering Germany as a refugee by means of the third country regulation. In addition, social benefits for asylum seekers were reduced. As a result, the number of asylum seekers fell sharply (ibid.).
From foreigners to people with a migration background
In recent decades, Germany has seen a high number of immigrants, many of whom have acquired German citizenship. As a result, the term "migrant background" was introduced in 2005, as the previous distinction between Germans and foreigners was no longer sufficient. The group of people with a migration background includes all those who have immigrated to today's Germany since 1949, all foreigners born in Germany and all people born in Germany with German citizenship who have at least one parent who immigrated or were born as foreigners in Germany (see Federal Statistical Office 2015).
"Refugee crisis" from 2015
The basic right to asylum was established in Germany with the adoption of the Basic Law in 1949 (Art. 16a para. 1 GG). The Geneva Convention on Refugees defines recognized refugees as persons who are persecuted on account of their political opinion, religion, nationality, race or membership of a particular social group. However, general emergency situations such as famine or environmental disasters are not recognized as grounds for asylum or flight.
In 2015, the topic of migration was in the focus of the news, as a large number of people sought refuge from war, persecution and hardship in Germany and some other EU countries. In 2014, around 202,000 asylum applications were submitted in Germany. According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), a total of around 965,000 people were registered as asylum seekers in Germany by the end of November 2015 (see Federal Agency for Civic Education). In recent years, the largest group of asylum seekers have come from Syria due to the civil war there. In the summer of 2015, the international community refused to provide the necessary funding that the UNHCR needed to care for the refugees. This had a devastating impact on the conditions in refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, as a result of which large groups of refugees set off. Other countries of origin include Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and some African countries such as Somalia, Nigeria, Eritrea and Ghana. On September 14, 2015, Chancellor Merkel and Austrian Chancellor Faymann decided to open the border (see Tiedemann 2019, p.14). As a result, the number of refugees and asylum seekers peaked at around one million at the end of 2015, leading to the so-called "refugee crisis". This situation brought with it particular challenges for social policy and social work. Programs were developed with the aim of supporting migrants in establishing a new life (cf. Gögercin 2018, p.37).
The role of social work
Social workers support recognized refugees in various areas. This includes help with moving into their own apartment, orientation in their new living environment and support with applying for housing facilities. They also provide information about club structures such as sports clubs, opportunities to practice religion and offer counseling on financial and social security (e.g. help with applications under the AsylbLG, SGB II, etc., appeals to benefit providers, initial advice on debts and referral to debt counseling centers and lawyers). Furthermore, social workers provide information on issues relating to family, kindergarten and school, provide information on the German school system and opportunities for subsequent training. They explain the German education system and inform parents about different options. They also ensure that children and young people are able to attend school and kindergarten. Social workers also deal with job opportunities for adults and are in contact with the job center. They are also the point of contact for companies regarding the training of refugees and provide support with application procedures. Social workers are also responsible for looking after particularly vulnerable refugees, such as minors, people with disabilities, older people or those with serious physical illnesses. They arrange contacts with specialist services such as medical specialists, psychotherapists, self-help groups or youth welfare offices and act as a point of contact in both directions. They also offer support with issues such as pregnancy advice, marriage and divorce. Help after xenophobic attacks, for example by assisting with the filing of reports or working with the anti-discrimination office, as well as coordinating and supporting volunteers, are also part of the tasks of social work for migrants in general and refugees in particular (see Wartenpfuhl 2019, p. 64 ff.).
My studies at the Faculty of Applied Social Studies - a personal insight
I, Ramadan Alkhalaf, experienced the refugee crisis in the summer of 2015 myself and would like to tell my story here in this article for the 75th anniversary of the faculty at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts to inspire students. In 2019, I took part in the NRWege programme for the integration of refugees and the internationalization of universities in NRW as part of the DAAD to share my personal experiences at Fachhochschule Dortmund. In 2019, I attended and successfully completed a German course for refugees at Fachhochschule Dortmund. I always wanted to study social work in my home country of Syria. I came to Fachhochschule Dortmund with the aim of improving my language skills. I received a lot of help at Fachhochschule Dortmund, was able to meet new people and improve my language. Although I was 27 years old at the time, the German course motivated me to continue. I have been studying social work at Fachhochschule Dortmund since the summer semester of 2020. After my studies, I want to support young refugees so that they have better access to education (see German Academic Exchange Service 2022).