My time as a MIMY Peer Researcher was a very valuable one.
I worked in a small team at my university where my opinion was always seen as important and helpful. This made me feel responsible for the process.
As Peer Researchers we were always involved and were enabled to take on tasks independently. Whether it was creating interview guidelines or concepts for future procedures - the activities were varied and so was my experience as a member of the research team. This has helped me to remain open-minded and curious about people that have moved to Germany from other countries, which has strengthened who I am.
In my interviews with refugees, I have heard both unbelievable stories and those of sad fate. Participants had a lot to share about their flight, worries and longings. Nevertheless, they often thanked me at the end that someone had listened to them! This helped me to realise all the more how important this work is, and the need to look at life from their perspective if we want to support with integration.
As a Peer Researcher, I could make this connection, because I am in roughly the same phase of life as the young people. And what I learnt is that integration is super difficult...
All the better that someone is working to find out what could help. I am happy to be part of the project and to be valued as a peer.
This blog post is the result of peer research process at HAWK, in Holzminden, Germany. Young Peer Researchers were recruited from within the Social Work student cohort of the University. The peer research role was inclusive of young people with migration backgrounds in their family history.