Germany Struggles to Accommodate Over 1 Million Refugees and Migrants
According to local media reports, the majority of refugees and migrants mainly came from Ukraine, however citizens of Syria and Afghanistan, also accounted for a large number of arrivals, AtoZSerwisPlus.de reports.
“While the government already allocated federal real estate for tens of thousands of refugees earlier this year, it would immediately provide additional property for about 4,000 refugees to ease the current housing crisis,” Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser pointed out in this regard.
Recently, many German cities have started setting up tents and turned congress centers into temporary shelters as the regular migrant centers are full.
“I don’t want to downplay this, we have a tense situation. That’s why we discussed today how to best coordinate our assistance to refugees … also in view of the winter months that lie ahead,” Minister Faeser also noted.
Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, more than one million Ukrainian refugees have entered Germany. Of these, about a third are children and adolescents, and more than 70 per cent of adults are women.
Although Germany is expressing its willingness to welcome more Ukrainians despite the difficult housing situation, Minister Faeser had a different judgment regarding asylum seekers from other countries, especially those trying to reach Germany via the so-called Balkan migration route.
According to her, during the last months, the number of requests for asylum has increased, as well as the number of unauthorized entries. As she explains, this pressure has also increased along the external borders of the European Union.
At the end of last month, about 134,908 people had applied for asylum in Germany.
Data from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees show that this figure is about a third more compared to the same period last year.
However, this number is still far from the figures of 2015-16, when more than one million immigrants from countries such as Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan applied for asylum in Germany.
During this year, the figures for asylum applications are much lower than the total number of refugees, as Ukrainians can enter Germany without a visa and do not need to apply for asylum.
Recently, in the data published by the statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat, they have revealed that Poland and Germany provided the largest number of temporary protections for Ukrainian refugees.
According to Eurostat, 67,280 people received temporary protection in Poland in August, while another 62,140 received temporary protection in Germany.
