Tent camps in Tegel and Tempelhof – Senate capitulates to the onslaught of asylum seekers

By Gunnar Schupelius

Berlin is overcrowded, but the SPD is against border controls and deportations and the CDU is watching. No one understands that anymore, says Gunnar Schupelius.

Berlin’s former airports are turning into tent cities that continue to grow every day. Asylum seekers who are immigrating in ever larger numbers are accommodated here.

Soon more than 7,000 (!) people will be living in temporary accommodation at Tegel airfield. Even the containers are now in short supply, and more and more tents are being set up and equipped with double bunk beds.

The tents and containers were actually supposed to be dismantled in winter, but no one talks about that anymore. There is general helplessness and slight panic arises. Social Senator Kiziltepe (SPD) points to the districts that should accept asylum seekers, but they wave them away.

Governing Mayor Wegner (CDU) says unequivocally: “We no longer have any reception capacity, there are no more places available.” On RTL television he even warned of a “tipping point” that we have now reached. It is now “about democracy” and people expect “that we will solve the problem”.

True, but the Senate itself is not helping to solve the problem. On the contrary: the CDU and SPD are increasing it. In their coalition agreement of April 26, they decided to forego deportations “from October to April” “if weather conditions make this humanitarian.” This means that migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected and who have to leave the country block the accommodation for asylum seekers.

The SPD is causing additional problems: On September 5th, the state executive committee under Franziska Giffey and Raed Saleh decided in principle to forego deportations. In a resolution entitled “No Fortress Europe”, the Social Democrats oppose return agreements with the migrants’ countries of origin and controls at the German borders.

The CDU goes along with all of this. Wegner prefers to point to the federal government, which must ensure that illegal migration is curbed. But even if she wanted to, how could she do it when the Berlin SPD works against it and the CDU lets her have her way.

This is no longer an asylum policy, this is pure capitulation: Wegner says: “We take responsibility.” But he is letting the tent cities grow, that is irresponsible. Senator Kiziltepe says: “Large accommodation poses the risk of conflicts arising.” But she is watching exactly how these conflicts arise.

Together they don’t dare to call the child by its name, namely the open borders.

As long as they remain open, the smugglers will decide who comes into the country and not our government, which should actually decide. As long as the tent cities continue to grow, two airports won’t be enough.

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