Refugees in Berlin: “Capacities are almost exhausted”

Status: 23.10.2022 08:50 a.m

Berlin will soon no longer have enough accommodation and money to care for refugees, says Mayor Giffey. 100,000 Ukrainians alone now live in the capital.

Berlin’s Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey sees the capital on the edge of its possibilities when it comes to taking in refugees. “We city-states in particular, and especially Berlin as the main attraction, have almost exhausted our capacities (…) by now,” she told the “Bild am Sonntag”.

“Measures instead of decisions”

Giffey urged “further federal real estate to accommodate people well, financial support for the immense costs and fair distribution throughout the federal territory”. The managing director of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, Gerd Landsberg, also told the newspaper that not only resolutions were needed, but concrete measures.

The accommodation options are limited. “Hotel rooms are already being rented and collective accommodation, for example in gyms, is being prepared.”

Schmyhal warns of migration tsunami

According to Giffey, 340,000 people from Ukraine have already received first aid in Berlin. 100,000 would now have their residence there. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal has warned of a “migration tsunami” if Russian troops continue to deliberately destroy Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.

“They want a new refugee crisis in the EU. Because if there is no electricity, heating or water in Ukraine, it could trigger a new migration tsunami,” Schmyhal told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”.

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