Past and Present Fears Among Hazara Refugees in Germany

How have migrants experienced this crossing of borders and the subsequent arrival in new places? German sociologist Heinrich Popitz has argued that fear, like hope, is not a natural or automatic reaction to events but rather a malleable emotion always shaped by power relations. He speaks of the “social plasticity” of our fears and hopes. We can be taught to fear by institutions or people who increase their power by threatening us with pain and humiliation. And we can unlearn to be fearful. With this insight in mind, we asked how refugees were emotionally responding to their new situation after arrival in Germany. Were they able to rebalance what Popitz called their “budgets of fear and hope”? Or were old fears simply replaced by new ones, leaving little room for hope?