As of: January 25, 2024, 2:23 p.m
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View of a four-bed room in an accommodation facility for asylum seekers in a former hotel.
© Bernd Thissen/dpa
Berlin wants to accommodate fewer refugees in large emergency shelters.
Smaller units are in demand.
The State Office for Refugee Affairs is not expecting any relief.
Berlin - Accommodating refugees in Berlin remains a major challenge, according to the State Office for Refugee Affairs (LAF).
A trend reversal away from large accommodation like in Tegel and Tempelhof and towards smaller units is planned for 2024, as the new LAF President Mark Seibert explained on Thursday.
To this end, five so-called modular accommodations for refugees made of prefabricated concrete modules (MUF) are to be put into operation, as well as new apartments for refugees with a total of 2,300 places.
“That sounds like a small number, but in reality it is a sensation,” said the LAF boss.
Seibert, who has only been in office for around two weeks, invited people to present the data at such a MUF on Quedlinburger Strasse in Charlottenburg.
The apartments there are scheduled to be available from April.
With 570 places, it is the largest MUF project to be launched this year.
Another one with 566 places will be available in Spandau from July, and another with 320 will also be available in Pankow from July.
“Our goal is to get on the path to getting out of emergency accommodation over the course of the year,” said Seibert.
“That means reducing the occupancy in the emergency shelters in Tegel and Tempelhof and also in the hotels.
It will be a marathon.” The whole city will need perseverance.
“There won't be a point at the end of the year, on December 15th or something like that, when we can say: We've done it.
Tegel is empty, Tempelhof is empty.” That won’t work.
“But we will achieve a significant improvement in the situation for people.”
The LAF is focusing on new buildings, but also wants to take a close look at existing buildings and, for example, repurpose office buildings.
Seibert announced that he would focus in particular on container buildings in order to soon offer better accommodation options.
The plan is to build around 20 residential container complexes this year.
“It remains to be seen whether they will all be finished,” says Seibert.
“But that is the ambitious goal we have.” The expected size varies between 100 and 400 places.
The expected period of use is five to ten years.
According to Seibert's assessment, the situation when it comes to accommodating refugees is by no means relaxed.
“The numbers we are dealing with here are very, very high.” At times in midsummer, more than 1,000 asylum seekers came to Berlin per week.
Overall, the number of asylum seekers rose again last year to 16,762 compared to the previous year.
In 2022 there were 14,704. The five most common countries of origin were Turkey, Syria, Afghanistan, Moldova and Georgia.
According to the information, the number of refugees from Ukraine who were recorded and given initial care in Berlin was 15,144, significantly lower than the 2022 figures of 68,194. In addition, 846 refugees came to Berlin via so-called special reception programs.
You do not have to apply for asylum and will also be accommodated by the LAF.
This number has fallen by a good third compared to the previous year (2022: 1,308).
This means that 32,752 refugees (asylum, Ukraine and reception programs) were admitted to Berlin last year.
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2023 was once again an extraordinarily challenging year for the LAF, said Seibert.
“And it won’t change,” was his prediction.
He has no reason at all to believe that the world situation will improve in the short term in view of war and the worsening of the climate crisis.
“No, we will continue to deal with this challenge and have to provide for the people who come here.” dpa