The refugee crisis in Europe has brought out some of the worst dehumanising rhetoric in recent memory, but it has also led to projects that encourage sharing of space, resources and information. The most recent of these to surface is a digital map, created by a group of Berlin refugees, which aims to chart useful locations across Berlin for newcomers to the city.
The map, which is available in English, Farsi and Arabic, shows over 250 different services, including experts in residence and asylum law, German language classes, public libraries and doctors who speak Arabic or Farsi.
The project, called “Arriving in Berlin”, was researched and developed by Hamidullah Ehrari, Mohammad Yari, Farhad Ramazanali, Alhadi Aldebs, residents of Haus Leo (a home for refugees), in cooperation with Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of World Cultures).
“The biggest problem for newcomers and refugees in Berlin is to find a place to stay. They can go to shelters or hostels […] But it is not easy, because they have to travel around the whole city to find one,” says Hamidullah Ehrari on the project’s website. “If a refugee is unlucky, he or she even has to stay outside for one night.”
The creators of the project are inviting others to participate, and to share information that can be included in the map. Details can be found on the project’s contact form.
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