April 22, 2022
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German authorities are displacing existing refugees to make way for those coming from Ukraine, as several Afghan nationals have revealed.
Miriam Arween, a social activist from Afghanistan, says she was having breakfast with her family when a social worker knocked on her door and said they had to clear out the place for arriving refugees from Ukraine without questions of negotiations and within the next 24 hours, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“The evictions purposefully weren’t publicised. Some people had lived in their homes for years and were ripped out of their social structures, including children who were moved to locations far from their respective schools,” Tareq Alaows, a board member of the Berlin Refugee Council – a collaboration of different organisations that aim to improve refugees living conditions.
On the other hand, as Alaows points out, the government justified the actions by saying the time had come anyway for Afghan refugees to leave as “arrival centres” were meant for short-term stays. But there were families living in such centres for years now, while other families evicted were living in other accommodation spots rather than arrival centres.
“Few people’s living conditions improved, but most were afraid to speak up, afraid it could impact their immigration status,” Alaows said, pointing out that around ten residences had been emptied in Berlin for the arriving refugees.
In addition, he points out that this situation doesn’t have to do with Ukrainians but rather with Germany’s solidarity if it is only targeting certain people, also saying that recent months demonstrated that refugees could be treated differently, implying the EU and Germany were particularly friendly to refugees from Ukraine.
On the other end, the decision made by Berlin’s Senate Department for Integration, Labor, and Social Services showed that the measure was “based on operationally necessary and difficult considerations,” and there were no other options.
“We regret that this caused additional hardships to the Afghan families [and that] the affected people had to move out of their familiar surroundings and now possibly have to keep up with their social connections with great difficulty,” the department’s press secretary, Stefan Strauss, said
He also noted there were 83 accommodation spots for refugees in Berlin – which accommodated 22,000 people, but those had to be cleared out as more Ukrainian refugees were arriving. In addition, the department’s secretary said that instead, evicted Afghans were granted other “permanent” accommodation with similar living conditions.
However, Foreign Policy points out that although Arween and her family had been moved to a slightly better apartment, there are other issues to be tackled. For example, the new place is believed to be an accommodating spot for homeless people, and some residents even have criminal backgrounds, which leaves the mother of a five-year-old and an infant of eight months concerned about their safety.
German authorities are displacing existing refugees to make way for those coming from Ukraine, as several Afghan nationals have revealed.
Miriam Arween, a social activist from Afghanistan, says she was having breakfast with her family when a social worker knocked on her door and said they had to clear out the place for arriving refugees from Ukraine without questions of negotiations and within the next 24 hours, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“The evictions purposefully weren’t publicised. Some people had lived in their homes for years and were ripped out of their social structures, including children who were moved to locations far from their respective schools,” Tareq Alaows, a board member of the Berlin Refugee Council – a collaboration of different organisations that aim to improve refugees living conditions.
On the other hand, as Alaows points out, the government justified the actions by saying the time had come anyway for Afghan refugees to leave as “arrival centres” were meant for short-term stays. But there were families living in such centres for years now, while other families evicted were living in other accommodation spots rather than arrival centres.
“Few people’s living conditions improved, but most were afraid to speak up, afraid it could impact their immigration status,” Alaows said, pointing out that around ten residences had been emptied in Berlin for the arriving refugees.
In addition, he points out that this situation doesn’t have to do with Ukrainians but rather with Germany’s solidarity if it is only targeting certain people, also saying that recent months demonstrated that refugees could be treated differently, implying the EU and Germany were particularly friendly to refugees from Ukraine.
On the other end, the decision made by Berlin’s Senate Department for Integration, Labor, and Social Services showed that the measure was “based on operationally necessary and difficult considerations,” and there were no other options.
“We regret that this caused additional hardships to the Afghan families [and that] the affected people had to move out of their familiar surroundings and now possibly have to keep up with their social connections with great difficulty,” the department’s press secretary, Stefan Strauss, said
He also noted there were 83 accommodation spots for refugees in Berlin – which accommodated 22,000 people, but those had to be cleared out as more Ukrainian refugees were arriving. In addition, the department’s secretary said that instead, evicted Afghans were granted other “permanent” accommodation with similar living conditions.
However, Foreign Policy points out that although Arween and her family had been moved to a slightly better apartment, there are other issues to be tackled. For example, the new place is believed to be an accommodating spot for homeless people, and some residents even have criminal backgrounds, which leaves the mother of a five-year-old and an infant of eight months concerned about their safety.
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