70 refugees come to Berlin every day, around 2,100 per month. There have been numbers like this for many weeks, and Sascha Langenbach routinely lists them, he knows them all too well. So there must be a special reason why the spokesman for the State Office for Refugee Affairs (LAF) announces with a mixture of groans and combativeness: “One must not lose one’s nerves now.” The reason is: tourism season.
From April onwards, thousands of visitors to Berlin flock to the capital, booking hundreds of rooms in hostels. Some come, others have to go: refugees accommodated there by the LAF. A lot of them have to move out now. The only problem is, and that’s why Langenbach groans: In most cases, there are no adequate alternatives.
Many Ukrainians have to move to Tegel
Consequence: Very many refugees from the Ukraine have to move to the lightweight halls in the arrival center in Tegel. From their point of view, this is of course a considerable step backwards. The living conditions there are, of course, worse than in the homely atmosphere of a hostel. Tegel offers space for around 4800 people.
Refugees who still have to go through the asylum application process move to shared accommodation, for example on the grounds of Tempelhof Airport. “We won’t be able to open more permanent facilities until the end of May or the beginning of June, which will then be a significant relief,” says Langenbach. “Until then: hold on.”
Contracts with six hostels expired at the end of March
At the end of March, the LAF’s contracts with six hostels expired, and 650 refugees had to move out. Some left their previous accommodation on their own, and the LAF does not know where they went. Some could be housed in the respective districts, but 480 had to be quartered in Tegel.
650
Refugees had to move out of hostels at the end of March.
There are currently 962 refugees, including 722 Ukrainians, in six hostels or hotels. “There are different options here for extending the existing contract terms,” says the LAF. In some cases, accommodation in the room contingents there is possible until the end of the year.
The forced move for wheelchair users poses a particular problem. Because some come to accommodation, for example on Columbiadamm, that is not handicapped accessible. “They now live in containers that do not have barrier-free access,” says Langenbach. “They don’t have a bathroom that is suitable for the disabled, and there is often not enough space to push the wheelchairs into the accommodation. This means that the wheelchairs are outside, and people have to use crutches when in doubt, if that is possible.”
There is a lack of free places in the modular accommodations
Not all hostel spaces were optimally set up for wheelchair users, but the conditions were definitely better than in shared accommodation.
Of course, the LAF has other pitches that are handicapped accessible. In the modular accommodation for refugees, the so-called MUFs, “there are barrier-free entrances on the ground floor,” says Langenbach. “But these places are almost all occupied. Occasionally, if we are lucky, there is still a place available.”
According to Langenbach, the hotels also name other cases of hardship that now need special care. Pregnancy, cancer, people on dialysis, trauma.
From January to mid-March, 30 wheelchair users were registered in Tegel
The wheelchair users who have to move to Tegel have it better. The conditions there are reasonable. Between January 1st and mid-March, 30 refugees who are dependent on a wheelchair have already been housed there. In the whole of 2022 there were 192 people, including 76 between October and December alone. This is reported by Regina Kneiding, the spokeswoman for the German Red Cross (DRK), which is responsible for medical care in Tegel.
Between January 1 and mid-March 2023, a total of 24 people in need of care from Ukraine reported. Last year there were 151 people in need of care.
People, says Regina Kneiding, complained about seasonal respiratory diseases, chronic diseases (such as diabetes and high blood pressure), post-traumatic stress disorders, tumor diseases, and dialysis patients.
There are three well-equipped medical practices in Tegel
In Terminal C, acute care is provided by doctors and paramedics from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., and by paramedics at night. There are a total of three well-equipped medical practices, one of which is specially designed for paediatrics. The nursing service works around the clock, with two employees each on early and late shifts, and one nurse is present on night shifts.
The wheelchair users are accommodated in the barrier-free Terminal C, here there are barrier-free toilets and showers. Some people are also in care beds.
One problem, says Regina Kneiding, “is that people who have special care needs have fled within their families and don’t want to separate. Here it is very difficult to accommodate the whole family in one barrier-free accommodation.”
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