Integration in Malstatt: Opportunities and challenges for migrants

Integration in Malstatt: Opportunities and challenges for migrants

In Saarland there is intensive discussion about the integration of refugees, especially in the context of current migration issues. Anas Alakkad, a former Syrian medical student and current managing director of the award-winning learning platform “Pontem Pro”, has turned his need into a solution for many. His company offers refugees and migrants valuable preparatory courses for training in emergency services. “We are solving two problems: unemployment among people with a migrant background and a shortage of skilled workers,” says Alakkad. However, the situation for migrants has worsened, as he emphasized in Saartalk, a discussion group organized by Saarländischer Rundfunk and the Saarbrücker Zeitung, where the challenges of dealing with migration were discussed Saarbrücken newspaper reported.

Accompanied by experts such as Monika Zöllner from the Saarland Ministry of the Interior and Tobias Schunk from the Refugee Council, the topic was examined from different perspectives. Zöllner emphasized that the integration of new migrants is often made more difficult by challenges such as long processing times in asylum procedures - an experience that many of those present also had. Waiting times have increased from a few months initially to one to two years, which slows down integration considerably. This thwarts the hope that work can be a key to integration, because as long as residence status remains uncertain, integration remains problematic.

Cultural diversity and inclusion

The discussion also touched on socio-economic segregation in places like Malstatt, where migration and poverty meet. Hana Jelassi, neighborhood manager in Malstatt, emphasized the need for positive role models and the importance of a functioning network to promote change. “There is a very good network in Malstatt,” she reported, even if the challenges are diverse. Dima Alrefai, artist and art educator, added that art can help overcome language barriers and strengthen social bonds. According to the discussion participants, support offers such as language courses and integration-promoting measures are crucial for the success of the integration of refugees, so that the demands placed on the political measures must be reviewed again and again Springer mentioned.