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Improving health care for refugees

Partnership project between Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in Berlin and Kadıköy in Istanbul

The Berlin district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and the Istanbul district of Kadıköy are working together to improve the lives of Syrian refugees. The start-up project provided medical and psychosocial support for people living in precarious circumstances. The project was funded through the Middle East Quick-Starter Package I.

Group photo of the delegation members at an outdoor location with trees in the background
The first meeting of the delegations from Germany and Turkey in May 2018. Photo: Bezirksamt Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

The Berlin district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and the Istanbul district of Kadıköy launched their municipal partnership in 1996. In 2019, the municipalities engaged in in-depth discussions on the social and health situation of refugees and inhabitants in the urban district and developed approaches for improving the lives of the population.

Kadıköy is one of 39 districts in Istanbul. It is located in the Asian part of the city, on the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. In recent years, many refugees who fled the civil war in Syria settled in the derelict buildings of the Fikirtepe district in downtown Kadıköy. The majority are women and children. The conditions are dangerous and precarious, as most of the houses were previously uninhabited and due for demolition.

Identifying transferable service provision concepts

A group of eight persons in a room; some of the women are talking to each other.
A delegation from the public health office visited Kadıköy in 2018. Photo: Bezirksamt Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

There are also many refugees living in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. To strengthen social cohesion and the provision of vital public services in their municipalities, the project partners worked together to identify opportunities for reciprocal learning and transferable service provision concepts for the refugees.

In their discussions, experts from the public health and social services offices, social workers, doctors and staff at NGOs familiarised themselves with the different local service-provision structures, explored approaches to training staff in the provision of medical and psychosocial support, and looked at ways of expanding voluntary work structures.

“It was extremely useful that the municipal offices were able to share information on this level,” commented Knut Mildner-Spindler, Deputy District Mayor. “At national level, German-Turkish relations are currently strained. But meetings and exchanges at municipal level are possible, even in difficult times. It is clear that we have the same problems and themes.”

Outlook: Keeping things in sight

In a large room, about 20 people can be seen holding a discussion.
The delegations from the municipalities at the concluding event in 2019. Photo: Bezirksamt Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

An online mayoral exchange on municipal issues in June 2021 showed once again that meetings are still possible – even during the COVID-19 pandemic. The exchange was organised by the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Mitte districts in Berlin together with the Istanbul districts of Kadıköy and Beyoğlu (which is in partnership with Berlin Mitte). The four inner-city districts discussed the theme “Using public spaces in large cities: challenges and strategies”.

Knut Mildner-Spindler, Deputy District Mayor of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Şerdil Dara Odabaşi, Mayor of Istanbul-Kadıköy, Stephan von Dassel, District Mayor of Berlin Mitte, and Haydar Ali Yıldız, Mayor of Istanbul-Beyoğlu, addressed various topics, for example how to shape the future of their districts and what they can learn from the experience of their opposite numbers and then make use of in their own districts.

All four partner districts agreed on the common challenges: environmental protection and infrastructure development as a result of the limited space available. They also discussed a few innovative projects that are already tackling this problem. The purpose of the online pilot project was therefore to press ahead with new themes, concepts and ideas beyond the existing partnership activities in order to further consolidate and intensify the long-standing relationships.