4.5. Reasons for protracted stay at the GU

Awoman respondent from Zimbabwe talked about how she was denied asylum once and has filed an appeal with the help of a lawyer. Now she is waiting for the result but the point is that there are lawyers who are accessible to asylum seekers and refugees.Apart from these formal institutions that they can rely on, asylum seekers also rely on informal resources. For example, the interviewee from Pakistan proves this when he said;

“I take help from the officials but not that often. My friends help me out. I look at how they fill forms, we compare our forms. It is convenient to get help from the community. ”

Moreover, two respondents said they avail help from the social workers frequently. The single man, who was an asylum seeker fromAfghanistan said,

“Often, I try to use google translate and read the letters (from officials). But the social workers always help me out. ”

Another refugee fromAfghanistan said something very similar;

“They (the social worker and volunteers) help out with the papers. There is an official at the GU but also my family now has two contacts outside. We ask them for help with all the paperwork. ”

Although the asylum seekers and refugees face difficulties in interacting with the governmental structures because of the language barrier and inability to navigate the new system, the volunteers and other social connections prove to be highly resourceful in these circumstances. Apart from this, there is also the state-provided assistance, as there is a social worker employed at every GU.

Some residents have been living in the GU for several years, even after their legal obligation to live there expired. One interviewee’s family had lived there for eight years and another one’s for more than five years. Several others had been living there for around three or four years. This is primarily because the residents are not able to find other houses to rent in the urban areas. There is an existing housing shortage in Germany, which adds to the severity of the problem.

TheAfghan refugee with a family of three said;