A football training session for a refugee girl in Berlin

As a result of war, economic hardship and persecution, over 45.2 million people are currently on the run worldwide. Many of these people are seeking protection in Germany, too, hoping for a better life here. Although Germany takes in the most refugees in Europe in absolute terms (Eurostat, 2013), these refugees often live for years in precarious circumstances, with fear of imminent deportation and without sufficient support for successful integration. This situation encourages the formation of parallel societies and ignores the many potentials that these people bring with them. Demographic change and the shortage of skilled workers have led to refugees also becoming the focus of targeted support in recent years (Studnitz, 2011), but far too slowly. Prejudice, fear of being overrun by foreigners and, above all, a lack of financial resources are just a few reasons why there are not yet sufficient programs for comprehensive and holistic support. The weakest group, children, suffers the most.
Of the more than 12,000 people currently living in Berlin with an insecure status (German Bundestag 2012), more than 1,000 refugees are distributed among the three hostels in Berlin-Reinickendorf alone. While Reinickendorf is considered to be more middle-class and well-off, the individual regions and planning areas of the district differ significantly. The district itself is in line with the Berlin average in terms of unemployment rate, social transfer payments and the proportion of the population with a migration background, the Auguste Viktoria-Allee district, in whose vicinity all three hostels were only opened in the last three years, is in a much weaker position. There are hardly any leisure activities in the immediate area and there is a particular lack of offers specifically for the group of girls who live in the refugee hostels with their parents. It is the young girls in particular who need intensive support, not least because it is often even more difficult for them to participate independently and autonomously in society.