Up to 6,000 refugees will come this year (nd-aktuell.de)

At Subotica in Serbia, a busy motorway, especially during the holidays, crosses the border into Hungary. Here, clearance can take hours. Turks living in Germany use this route to visit relatives in their old homeland. Gas station attendants automatically greet drivers with German license plates with “Merhaba”, the Turkish word for “Hello”. Up to 1,500 refugees from Syria and Afghanistan are said to be stranded in Subotica. Refugees walking on train tracks can be seen in television images, which are hardly noticed because of the war in Ukraine. However, these recordings are from the archive. They were made in 2015.

A few kilometers to the west, the small border crossing at Bajmok is ideal for bypassing the traffic jam at Subotica. The notorious fence with which Hungary isolates itself from refugees can also be seen there. However, there is no trace of these. A rusted freight train rumbles past. Nobody walks on the rails. The fear mongering about the alleged next big “wave of refugees” on this route seems completely exaggerated, but not completely far-fetched.

Because the central initial reception center for refugees in the state of Brandenburg has also been registering increasing numbers of arrivals since July, with Afghans, Syrians and Iraqis making up a large proportion. That could become a problem. Because the recording capacities in the districts are almost exhausted, as can be heard from various sides. The rural districts and urban districts have “recorded a higher occupancy of their facilities due to the increased access, especially in the first half of the year,” explains Dominik Lenz, deputy spokesman for the Ministry of Social Affairs. “The municipalities are therefore trying hard to create new accommodation options.” Emergency accommodation, as in 2015 and 2016, when people had to sleep in specially cleared gymnasiums, “should always remain the last option”.

The fact that this has not been necessary so far is because around 80 percent of Ukrainian refugees have found private accommodation. A total of almost 26,800 Ukrainians had arrived in Brandenburg by the end of June. According to Mayor André Stahl (left), 500 to 700 have settled in Bernau alone. A number of them live in apartments near the Michels clinics and have found work there. Only comparatively few Ukrainian war refugees went through the central initial reception of the federal state and meanwhile almost none arrive there anymore. After Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24, the first reception in March recorded 5,639 Ukrainians among the total of 6,518 arrivals. In April 1881 Ukrainians joined, in June only 105, in July 184 and in August 288.

However, according to the Ministry of the Interior, the number of all new arrivals in initial reception has skyrocketed from 201 in June to 767 in August. “It is currently assumed that by the end of the year there will be 1,500 to 2,000 additions per month,” replies deputy spokeswoman Josefin Roggenbuck to “nd” requests. As early as September, 1,900 to 2,000 newcomers are expected by the end of the month.

Accordingly, by the end of the year, 4,500 to 6,000 people are expected to be admitted for the first time, concludes Andrea Johlige (left), member of the state parliament. “The initial reception doesn’t get her,” she says. In August 2112 of the 3912 places were occupied. So there were only 1800 left and it is difficult to create space on a large scale by handing over refugees to the municipalities when they no longer have the capacity themselves. “I believe that we have a difficult situation, that the existing capacities in the initial reception are not sufficient,” says Johlige. “In order to compensate for possible bottlenecks in accommodation in the municipalities, a buffer is needed in the initial reception,” thinks the MP. »The currently available capacities are not sufficient for this.«

The Ministry of the Interior does not dare to forecast how many refugees could arrive in the next year or the year after. After all, that depends heavily on the global war situation. Nevertheless, the branch of the initial reception in Doberlug-Kirchhain is to be given up in mid-2023 and the accommodation places there are to be gradually reduced for organizational reasons, which can only mean that the places currently still available in Doberlug-Kirchhain will no longer be occupied before the final end. The Ministry of the Interior assures that this will be compensated for by increasing capacities at all other locations. It is optimistic: “From the current perspective, it is assumed that the existing capacities are sufficient. Should further requirements become necessary, a short-term, needs-based expansion is possible.«

This Wednesday, the interior committee of the state parliament will deal with the topic. Deputy Johlige put it on the agenda. She wants more information about the utilization of the initial reception.