GERMANY. Berlin. 5 December 2022. Neukölln neighbourhood, an area where the majority of the Arab community has been located in recent years.
According to UNHCR, more than 4 Million refugees have left Syria since the beginning of the civil war in20111. In August, Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel stated that Germany is prepared to take morethan 800.000 refugees in 2015. Today, the number is expected to increase to one Million refugees untilthe end of 2015.From January to August 2015, Germany processed 152.777 asylum applications, out of which 59.195ended with a positive decision. Compared to the year 2014, this represents an increase of 94.2 percentin terms of the total number of asylum applications. More than 250.000 asylum procedures are stillopen. Most refugees arriving in Germany come from Syria, followed by asylum seekers from Albania,Kosovo, Serbia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. When it comes to the success rates of asylum applications, thereare significant differences depending on the country. Whereas 89% of asylum application of people fromIraq and 88.5% of applications from refugees of Syrian origin are accepted.Neukölln in Berlin hosts more than 20% of reported persons living in Berlin from Arabcountries and is therefore a major attraction for newcomers.