The city seems to be increasingly getting the refugee situation of people from Ukraine under control. Although there is a lack of staff in all the departments, emergencies like those in the first few weeks after the outbreak of the war against Ukraine are currently rather unlikely. “We hope that we don’t have to resort to gyms again” to offer refugees makeshift sleeping places, said social officer Dorothee Schiwy (SPD) on Tuesday in a joint preliminary discussion of the city council meeting with other speakers and Mayor Verena Dietl (SPD). A total of 16,351 people have fled to Munich and registered here since February, when Russia started the war against Ukraine.
In the meantime, four lightweight halls have been put into operation, 3000 beds are available. Apparently, several accommodations for Ukraine refugees can soon be occupied. Until then, people will be distributed to hotels and guesthouses, and there are still many Munich residents who take in refugees from Ukraine privately. According to Schiwy, around 160 employees in the social department alone deal exclusively with the problems of the people from Ukraine, plus almost 60 other employees from other areas within the department. It is “a heavy workload” for her people, says Schiwy. She is therefore hoping for a commitment for further positions in the general assembly of the city council this Wednesday.
Other departments are also relying on more staff, even if the situation is currently easing somewhat. For example, about 2,000 people who had fled the Ukraine had recently signed off again, “the number of unreported cases is likely to be much higher,” says Franziska Döbrich from the district administration department (KVR). However, many stayed in Bavaria and only went to other cities or communities, according to Döbrich. Since the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has largely withdrawn after a readjustment of responsibilities in the care of refugees from Ukraine, there is still more work to be done in the KVR. In Munich, for example, 15,000 residence permits have been issued, although the procedure has been very complicated up to now. Invitations would usually be sent via email, but there are exceptions. Vulnerable people, i.e. frail or ill people, could now simply get their residence permit online without having to go to the KVR on Ruppertstrasse.
According to the city, the vaccination offer is relatively poorly accepted
The health department has also found that there is a lack of staff to be able to provide the services. After all, more than 5,000 people from Ukraine could be vaccinated in the Bayern barracks, there are now other vaccinations there as well. But according to health officer Beatrix Zurek (SPD), the offer is relatively “poorly accepted”. There are now vaccination offers that are easy to reach for pregnant women and vulnerable people. City school board member Florian Kraus reports that 4,633 underage children and young people are currently attending city day-care centers and schools. In addition, there were 1,648 young adults from the Ukraine. In the elementary schools, all children who have fled from the Ukraine should be able to attend regular schools by September at the latest, when the new school year begins.
Mayor Dietl apparently feels so reassured by the reports from the speakers that she asked the group whether it should be continued in September at all. In any case, it should, because Russia’s war against Ukraine continues with undiminished severity.