260 euros per day is spent on the maintenance of one refugee in the premises of the former Tegel Airport in Berlin. At the same time, 12-14 people live in a small room and eat mostly dry food. In total, about 5,000 migrants live in the former airport. Most of them (over 3,000 people) are refugees from Ukraine.
It was assumed that Tegel would become a registration point – that is, people would live here for 72 hours and then be distributed among refugee shelters or receive social housing. However, some migrants have been living here for several years.
After publicity and complaints from public organizations, the municipality of Berlin promised to improve the conditions in the shelter. However, the local authorities decided to expand the number of beds to 7,000 and extend the operation of the refugee center in Tegel for another year.
Ukrainian refugees complain that there are no proper conditions for children – for example, for them to be able to learn lessons in appropriate conditions. In order to eat hot food, some migrants cook on a campfire. In the shelter, they receive dry food and in Tegel there is no place to cook anything.
In total, 35 million euros per month is spent on the maintenance of the asylum. The local authorities refuse to fully disclose the estimate. Representatives of public organizations and the opposition in the Berlin Land Parliament believe that these funds can be used effectively. Representatives of the municipality note that the rent and payment of utility services for the maintenance of Tegel is expensive. In addition, it is necessary to pay the salaries of hundreds of shelter workers who work in three shifts.
The German capital is overpopulated and now there is nowhere to settle migrants, the local authorities emphasize.
“It must be recognized that Tegel is currently not the registration center it was in the beginning, but a place where people live for months. At least minimum conditions should be created there,” says Bettina Jarasch, head of the Greens faction in Berlin’s state parliament. .
In May, representatives of the “Greens” party and the Left Party in the parliament of the German capital initiated discussion regarding the improvement of accommodation conditions for Ukrainian refugees.
Ms. Jarash called for opening the shelter’s doors to various public initiatives that would help the local authorities to improve conditions.
