By Gunnar Schupelius
All accommodations are fully booked, no land in sight. The Senate cannot cope with the new wave of refugees. But the problem is home-made, says Gunnar Schupelius.
Berlin is in the middle of a new refugee crisis. Thousands of asylum seekers stream across the green border into Germany every day. Especially many of them come to the capital. But here the accommodations are occupied.
The social administration indicated on Tuesday the number of the last available places in community accommodation as 327, which will be fully booked in a few days.
“The situation is extremely tense,” said the spokesman for the Senator for Social Affairs on request. “We no longer have any reserves for accommodating the refugees, especially not when several people, such as a family, have to stay together.”
In an emergency, even the container village at the former Tempelhof Airport was put back into operation. This provisional has long since been overcrowded.
In the social senate, the “Task Force Acquisition” is looking for other “suitable usable properties”, for example “hostels and former hotels” that are to be rented. The spokesman expressly did not deny the question of whether gymnasiums would be confiscated again, as in 2015 and 2016.
This also seems to be necessary again if the influx continues and everything points to that. Migrants from Syria, Africa and Afghanistan are smuggled through south-eastern Europe via the so-called Balkan route, and a particularly large number are currently entering via the Czech Republic.
Berlin is heavily burdened for two reasons.
► First of all, this year (until September 11) 80,346 refugees from Ukraine were accommodated here. You do not have to apply for asylum and receive basic security (Hartz IV) immediately.
► Second, many migrants, especially from Syria, remain in the capital, who should actually be distributed to other federal states after their arrival. This system no longer works because 12 of the 16 federal states strictly refuse to accept further asylum seekers. According to the Social Senate, this is “a real problem” for Berlin. Since the beginning of the year (until the end of August), 7,208 asylum seekers have been quartered here.
However, the real problem that the social administration is talking about and that the city is now struggling with is homemade. The Berlin Senate rejects the deportation of rejected asylum seekers and advocates the admission of further migrants from the Mediterranean region.
This message was well received on social media: Whoever comes to Berlin can stay, and whoever stays gets the best social benefits that are available in Europe or even worldwide. From January 1, 2023, asylum seekers will even be entitled to citizen benefits.
The government has created incentives for illegal entry and is now sounding the alarm because it cannot accommodate the migrants. That doesn’t add up.
And anyway, no one is talking about the costs anymore, which are skyrocketing and have to be covered with taxes and new debts.
Is Gunnar Schupelius right? Call: 030/2591 73153, or email: [email protected]