A new dataset is now available in the Qualiservice catalogue at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.976952 .

Twenty transcripts of biographical narrative interviews with refugees are available now for scientific secondary use. The transcripts were created as part of the BMFSFJ-funded study ‘Return aspirations and the life course of refugees in Germany’, which Lukas M. Fuchs and Samuel Z. Hagos from the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM) conducted in Berlin from June 2023 to April 2024.

The focus of the study is on the personal migration experience of the interviewed refugees from Afghanistan and Eritrea. Central aspects include the initial conditions and life in the countries of origin, the flight as well as arrival and the course of life in Germany. The hitherto little-researched return wishes of refugees are examined against the backdrop of significant demographic events such as starting a family, employment and household structure, and the influence of the earlier migration process and its complexity on return aspirations are analysed. All interviewees were of legal age at the time of the interview.

In addition to six individual interviews with four refugees from Afghanistan and two refugees from Eritrea, seven interview pairs were also available. The four Afghan and two Eritrean interview pairs consist of two members of the same household, which reveals family dynamics in relation to migration decisions, couple life and household management. All interviews took place between 2023 and 2024 in Berlin and were conducted in Farsi, Dari, Tigrinya or German and then professionally translated into English where necessary.

The anonymised transcripts of the biographical narrative interviews are now available for secondary scientific use in research and academic teaching. The data set offers potential for subsequent use, particularly for life course research, for example in analysing biographical trajectories and decision-making processes. The role and impact of socio-political decisions and options for family reunification as well as family constellations and intra-family negotiation processes can also be researched by including several family members.