Todosch and Federica
Todosch is a sculptor and Federica is an architect. They are
both working with refugees at the garden on a 7 month program that teaches them
German and basic carpentry and building skills. Todosch is also a resident of
the neighborhood (he lives in a house right behind the garden). Todosch has
lived in the neighborhood for about 10 years, and Federica moved to Germany
four years ago. They have been teaching in skill building programs like the one
they are currently doing for a few years, but they have only been doing this
specific program at the garden for the past year. Before that, they worked with
Schlesische 27 at another sight doing similar projects. Todosch said last year
he also did work at an elementary school in the community with a diverse
population, including migrants, relating to theater and art projects. Both
Todosch and Federica agree that their favorite things about the community are 1)
the welcoming atmosphere at Die Gärtnerei, 2) Templehof Airfield (which is very
near to the Coop Campus), and 3) the diversity and relaxed vibe of the
community at large. Todosch, from his experience working in schools, thinks the
community does support the idea of education for all, but may struggle to
implement it. Todosch and Federica think they are doing good things here in the
community. Based on the happiness and pride in the eyes of the folks they were
working with to complete the Archive, a carpentry project in the garden, it
seems to me that they are doing good. But, as many people have said, they wish
more could be done in spite of the roadblocks to gaining German citizenship.
Todosch told me a story of a person he knew who came to Germany as a refugee,
learned to speak German fluently after 2 years, became a skilled mechanic and
jack-of-all-trades, and tried in vain to get a decent job for three more years
after officially achieving fluency. After a total of five years in Germany,
this man’s legal status had not changed, and he decided to go back to his home
country and try to use his new skills to get a job there. So, Todosch says, the
programs he participated in and all the hard work he did weren’t all for
nothing, but it’s realistically very difficult to help every person who comes
to Germany as a refugee find a happy ending.
Fetewei
Fetewei has lived in Neukölln since 2014, and he works at schools
with young children and helps do building work at the garden; currently, he is
one of the people leading the building of the new greenhouse. Fetewei loves the
neighborhood, but is noticing the gentrification happening over the years he
has been here, in the rising rents and the decreasing diversity of the
neighborhood. His three favorite places are the kitchen at the Coop Campus,
Tempelhof Airfield, and any of the great bars along Hermannstraβe
where he can relax and have a cold drink with his friends. Fetewei thinks the
local schools are doing a lot of great things to support the community at large
despite gentrification, and he thinks what he does working with schools and
helping out at the garden also positively impacts the community, but he
believes that the real problem is more systemic. We chatted with Fetewei for a
long time about how the dominant neoliberal thoughts in policy overall, but
specifically in education, housing, and immigration policy are negatively
impacting the community and the world at large.
Nina
Nina is a university student from Germany studying social
work. She is interning at the garden as part of her final studies at her
university regarding social work with refugee communities. She has been working
with the coop campus since March, and moved into the neighborhood a few months
before that (she also lives just behind the garden). In Nina’s opinion, the
three best assets of the community are 1) the community garden and park, 2) the
mix of people in the area (not just Germans), 3) the Korean restaurant down the
street. From what she knows, Nina thinks that the schools in the area do
support everyone, and this is especially evident by the fact that school is
completely free for everyone, no matter their legal status. In addition,
schools are doing their best to accommodate for the drastic language barriers
presented by students entering schools knowing various different languages,
including Turkish, Arabic, Italian and Persian. Nina really likes her
internship so far because she does feel like she is making a positive impact
here at the coop campus, and she helps connect refugees to potential
opportunities in the community.
Falafel Shop owner
and customer
We stopped to try to chat with the owner of the falafel shop
that is right outside of the garden gates. He said his shop has been here for
five years, since before the coop campus was on the cemetery grounds. He said
he really likes the community, and often spends time at the coop campus. We
struggled to get past the language barrier, but happened to strike up a
conversation with one of the customers in front of the stand. The customer said
she has lived in Neukölln for sixteen years, and she has seen the neighborhood
change a lot. We chatted a bit about the schools in the area, and she said she
sees a big diversity in the schoolchildren walking around, but doesn’t know a
ton about the actual programs going on. The customer works out of the
neighborhood, but she thinks her participation in supporting small businesses
like the falafel cart we were at is how she positively impacts the community.
We chatted a bit about the gentrification occurring in the neighborhood, and
how that is changing the night life scene from relaxing bars to high-energy
clubs, which this resident does not really like. She said lots of college
students are moving in, and that is changing the atmosphere around Neukölln a
lot, but overall she still likes the neighborhood.
Research Inquiry:
Housing in Neukölln
As of 2015, 328,062 people live in the borough of Neukölln.
Regarding demographics, the population is composed of (in descending order of
percentages) Germans, Arabs, Turks, Kurds, Russians, Africans and Poles. According
to the district office of Neukölln, 164,823 people are female and 141,406 are “foreigners”.
(Einwohnerregisterstatistik) As for
housing, based on my own personal observations, all of the housing in Neukolln are
apartment buildings or apartments located above businesses. After walking around for several hours, I
did not notice any new development of residential buildings. Most apartment
buildings appear to be at least 20 years old, but some could be a century old.
(This is because much of Berlin, including Neukölln, was spared from
destruction during WWII, so many old pieces of architecture still exist in
Neukölln, including churches and cemeteries.)
In the northern areas of Neukölln, housing appears to be
nicer, with manicured greenery and fresh paint, and I see more people who are
in their 20’s and 30’s walking around the streets. This area seems to be more
gentrified. In the south, closer to the coop campus, housing is a bit more run
down externally, but walking past windows there are the sounds of lively homes,
and there are lots of children. This appears to be the more diverse part of the
neighborhood, with a historically more Turkish community.
During my research, I discovered there has been a surge in
student housing popping up in Neukölln, because of the affordability of the
neighborhood, easy access to other areas of the city, and growing night life.
One housing sight called “Easy Living Berlin”, which caters towards buyers looking
for single-person apartments (i.e. students and young people) called Neukölln “a
cultural melting pot” and “the most exciting part of Berlin” because “the vibe
is intercultural and cheerful”.("Temporary Accommodations...") Gentrification is definitely occurring and the
community is aware of it: as far back at 2011, residents put up posters blaming
“students, artists and travelers” for the rising rents in the neighborhood, and
calling for people to “be creative and active against gentrification”. (Mendoza)
Despite awareness and activism in the community, and newcomers to the community
being aware of the gentrification occurring, it has continued to happen since
2011 and residents are still struggling to pay their rents.
Bibliography
Bibliography
"Einwohnerregisterstatistik." Berlin.de. N.p., 15 July 2016. Web. 03
July 2017.
Mendoza, Moises. "Neukölln Nasties: Foreigners
Feel Accused in Berlin Gentrification Row - SPIEGEL ONLINE -
International." SPIEGEL ONLINE.
SPIEGEL ONLINE, 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 03 July 2017.
"Temporary Accommodations for Students,
Berlin-Neukölln." Easy Living.
Berlinovo Apartment GmbH, 2017. Web. 04 July 2017.
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