Maria
Maria has been living in Kreuzberg between Kottbusser Tor and Gorlitzer Park for over 12 years now. While she does volunteer work and lives in this area, her main job is in Mitte, but this does not bother her as Berlin and Kruezberg especially are very bike friendly areas and she feels safe riding her bike between home and work every day (this is one of her favorite things about the neighborhood— its many bicyclists). As someone who enjoys sewing, Maria also appreciates how artistically inclined this area. She feels that it is also a very diverse area which is quite welcoming to refugees (Regenbogenfabrik, a hostel which for a long period housed refugees is one of the primary institutions of the neighborhood), though she notes that it could always be improved. She believes that the community is very supportive of education and that it doesn’t seem to privilege ethnic Germans over other students. This being said, she says that there are many areas in Germany where this is not the case. Maria hopes that her work with refugees in and around the community is beneficial not only for the refugees, but for the community itself which she believes is richened by the presence of refugees. Hassan Hassan has lived in Berlin for three years, and currently lives with several other refugees in an apartment in Kotti. He works with Muanana Refugee Sewing Project which is partially stationed in the area of Kreuzberg between Kottbusser Tor and Gorlitzer Park and spends much of his free time in this area. Hassan notes that all of the people he encounters in this neighborhood are very nice and supportive of his status as a refugee. Additionally he appreciates the art all over the walls and the festive atmosphere of the neighborhood, noting that there was a music festival at Regenbogenfabrik last week. Hassan knows very little about how children in this community are educated, but explains that he wishes there were better educational facilities for adults such as himself. It is a long way from here to his German classes and he finds very little support in said classes which makes it difficult for him to integrate into the community. Hassan hopes to someday be a productive member of his community, though he notes that this is quite difficult considering that he, as an individual holding Italian (not German) refugee status, cannot find any jobs beyond Muanana. Cultural Assets: Turkish Market On Maybackufer Street, every Tuesday and Friday, there is a colorful and festive “Turkish Market.” Musicians perform live on the shore of the river (with a fully functioning sound system) as customers peruse stands lining the street. Fresh fruits and vegetables, pastries, jewelry, clothing, and many other goods are sold at the market. There are sections of the market entirely dedicated to selling fabric. This market began and remains an area dedicated to selling Turkish goods (catering to the large Turkish community in the neighborhood), but has expanded in the past few years to include more organic vegetable stalls, food stalls selling African, European, and Asian food alongside Turkish meals, and live music. Most individuals attending the market are young middle class whites, middle-aged working-class Turkish-German women, and street people who appear to be all ages and races. Source: http://www.stilinberlin.de/2012/07/food-in-berlin-turkish-market-at.html Transportation: U1 and Bike Lanes While most of Berlin’s U-Bahn lines run below ground, the U1 runs on a raised platform and spans the neighborhood, traveling along Skalitzer Strasse from Schlesisches Tor to Kottbusser Tor with Oranienstrasse in between. This section of the U1 rail is currently under repair and has been replaced by a bus which comes every three or so minutes to transport the vast number of individuals reliant on this route. The busses are very full during rush hour and are not near as fast as the rail would be on account of the heavy car traffic. This area also has heavy bicycle traffic. While it seems chaotic and dangerous to the visiting pedestrian, individuals claim that bicycling in this area is actually quite safe on account of the many bike lanes. Physical and Land Assets: Parks and Rivers The land making up much of Berlin is rather flat and the terrain of this particular part of Kreuzberg is no different. Landwehr Canal makes up one of the neighborhood borders and is crisscrossed by bridges, both for cars and foot. Each side of the canal is tree lined and features a walking path. One of the main features of this neighborhood is Gorlitzer Park. The park was constructed in the 1990s on railway sidings. The vast plot of green landscape features fountains, trees, abandoned concrete buildings now covered in graffiti and street art, and basketball courts. The park also features a semi-underground stream and petting zoo. While filled with families and children, this park is also known as “Germany’s biggest drug-dealing center.” At all hours of the day, young men— almost exclusively African— line the paths quietly offering cheap drugs to passersby. According to an article, most of these men selling drugs are refugees who are not allowed to work in Germany. Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/kreuzberg-berlin-s-hip-district-becomes-a-battleground-between-dealers-and-gentrification-9909118.html
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AuthorStudent at the University of Washington, Sophie Aanerud, will be studying abroad in Berlin, Germany. Here are some of her thoughts . . . Archives
August 2017
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