Status: 08/22/2021 4:53 p.m.
Thousands of people have demonstrated in several cities to accept refugees from Afghanistan. The German Association of Cities requires the federal and state governments to quickly provide reliable information on the number of people to be expected.
Thousands of people demonstrated in Germany for the acceptance of refugees from Afghanistan. There were protest actions in Berlin, Hamburg, Kiel, Siegen and Trier, as the organization Seebrücke announced.
Hundreds of demonstrators came in front of the Federal Chancellery in Berlin in the pouring rain. Speakers demanded, among other things, that local forces of the Bundeswehr, human rights activists, women’s rights activists, scientists and sportspeople be swiftly evacuated. The Berlin police spoke of around 1700 participants.
“They are slaughtered”
“Germany overslept its human rights obligations,” it said. “In the last few days, all of the German federal states have agreed to accept people from Afghanistan,” said Maura Magni from the pier. “So much more could arrive here. We are calling on the federal government to significantly accelerate the evacuations.”
An Afghan speaker said he went on a hunger strike five days ago in front of the Foreign Office. It said that his brother worked for the German armed forces in Afghanistan for nine years. Germany has left its brother and his wife and children in the lurch. “They are slaughtered.”
The protests in Berlin’s government district also said that federal and state admission programs would have to be set up for Afghans from neighboring states to the crisis country. All people in Afghanistan who have been campaigning for a peaceful and democratic country for years are in acute danger of their lives. Germany has the responsibility to ensure the protection of these people and their relatives.
“We want to help, that is our obligation”
The German Association of Cities called on the federal and state governments to provide them with concrete and reliable information about the number of expected refugees from Afghanistan very quickly. “We want to help, that is our obligation,” said City Council President Burkhard Jung of the “Rheinische Post”. To do this, however, you need specific information.
The cities needed information both on the number of people who are now coming over the airlift, as well as the future admission of more people in need, said the SPD politician. “We should prepare ourselves so that there could be many”. To do this, the federal states would have to reactivate sufficient reserve capacities in their initial reception facilities or create new ones.
In the end, it was the cities that provided quarters, organized language and integration courses and supported the people. All of this would then have to be financed mainly by the federal and state governments, even over the long haul. The willingness to help on site is great, explained Jung. The cities are ready to “take in the refugees from Afghanistan and enable them to arrive safely,” he said.
Many cities are already holding or preparing free capacities. The local alliances are also active and offer support for integration.