Neukolln is the neighbourhood where Berlin's cultural diversity is given a new dimension. No less than 40% of the 300 000 Berliners living here are immigrants or born into immigrant families. The percentage could be even higher, and it is quite possible that the real situation goes beyond these official figures.
At Harzer Strasse 64-67, at bus stop 171 at the junction with Treptower Strasse, a newly renovated building hides the happy ending story of several hundred Romanian Roma. Most of them came here from the village of Fântânele, 35 kilometres from Bucharest, and managed to make a home for themselves in the German capital after receiving unexpected support from the investor who bought the buildings in which they lived.
Accommodation was obtained here by renting "mattress space" without papers when Aaachener Siedlungs und Wohnungsgesellschaft, a company owned by the Catholic Church and specialising in the construction of social housing, bought the 7,500-square-metre building and the conditions put the lives of the more than 800 tenants at risk. Cardboard or other makeshift structures replaced windows in many homes, children played in the rubbish and prospects were non-existent for those who had come here in search of a better life. The "migration of poverty", as the Western press called it, was perfectly reflected here.
A choice for the benefit of society
At first glance, the choice would have been simple for most real estate entrepreneurs. Most of those who lived there had no stable source of income or legal residency in Berlin, a total mismatch with plans to renovate and transform the building into a proper place. Courageously, Aaachener manager Benjamin Marx chose to experiment with the idea of not only trying to make a return on investment, but also to support a social cause: that of not having to evict those already living at 64-67 Harzer Strasse.
The challenges were manifold, and the first step was to communicate to the Roma his plans and desire to make them "good tenants" and help them integrate into the German system. They were offered the opportunity to learn German free of charge and to take qualification courses, assistance in resolving the legal situation of their stay and to benefit from the social welfare system, and arrangements were made for their children to be enrolled in school.
After initially viewing the whole scenario presented by the German side with scepticism, the Roma began to cooperate. The first jobs the tenants got were actually offered as part of the building renovation project, a win-win situation for both sides. A first common denominator had been found.
Among the most hardworking of immigrants
Except that not everything could be all milk and honey, so the renovated housing complex is no longer home to those who refused to abide by a minimum of rules necessary for the project to achieve its goals. There are 600 people left, of whom about 250 have even managed to find jobs in the meantime. The price paid for rent has remained below the Neukolln average, with the focus on the idea that the money can be paid month by month.
The buildings, whose transformation was completed in 2012, now look impeccable, and it is a pleasure to walk through the alleys around them, coloured by the giggles of the little ones. The whole project can already be considered a success, both in terms of economic and social viability, but the results are likely to be even more rewarding in the long term. Roma children have managed to align themselves with the rigours of the German education system, and their integration can be achieved smoothly in a context where the focus and discourse against immigrants has recently turned to those of Muslim origin. "They are doing better and better at school and some are showing a lot of ambition," says Ana-Maria Munteanu, a psychologist by profession, one of the people who has been instrumental in the changes on Harzer Strasse. Some of the young people living here have a good chance of becoming students at German universities in the next few years.
The stumbling block to Roma integration in Romania
When you ask Ana-Maria Munteanu about the reasons that have brought so many Roma from the country to Berlin, discrimination is the first thing that comes up. When the word is considered more broadly, discrimination can be identified as indirectly the biggest problem in the way of their integration programmes in society. In this sense, the model used by Benjamin Marx and his team can provide useful coordinates for the Romanian authorities in their efforts to include the Roma community, a process which in our country is slow to yield results.