"How long is this going to go on?": Permanent disaster response - THW leader raises the alarm
Created: 03/15/2022, 19:00
By: Manuel Eser
"Each screw can be turned until it breaks off," writes THW director Michael Wüst about the overload of his workers, who are on permanent disaster deployment, as here during the construction of a temporary bridge in the Ahr Valley in 2021.
© THW Freising
For years, the Freising Technical Relief Agency has been on permanent disaster relief missions.
Now the THW director is sounding the alarm.
The response is enormous.
Freising
– Refugee crisis, natural disasters, Corona and now the war in Ukraine: THW Freising has been on permanent disaster relief missions for seven years.
The head of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief has now published an impassioned fire letter on Facebook – with immense reactions.
"How long is it supposed to go on like this?" With these words, Wüst's written SOS begins and lists what his emergency services have managed for seven years: 2015/16 the refugee crisis, 2019 the snow disaster in the Bavarian Oberland, 2020/21 the Corona Crisis, 2021 the storm disaster in the Ahr Valley, 2022 now the Ukraine refugee crisis.
"In each of these crises, the state would have been completely barren without the massive deployment of volunteer civil protection and disaster control personnel," Wüst clarifies.
“Every time we put everything back to help people in need.
We have delivered again and again and are doing so at the moment.”
THW boss Michael Wüst: "I never thought that it would pick up speed." © THW Freising
The THW is always ready to help worldwide - goal-oriented, dutiful, responsible and proud.
"Besides, we always drop everything to help in 'normal' emergencies," reports Wüst.
Now, however, more and more emergency services would find themselves above the maximum load limit.
"I no longer want to talk about what you can actually expect from volunteers."
His words hit a nerve
The central question that the THW boss puts to politics: "Wouldn't it be high time that the state, instead of just constantly demanding and saying thank you in warm words, to the active civil defense and disaster control regardless of whether their cars are blue, red, white or bright purple, gives tangible recognition?”
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(By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)
Wüst therefore proposes that emergency services in the blue light profession should be rewarded with additional pension points.
“This would compensate somewhat for the loss that we all accept as a result of our voluntary work in the emergency organizations.
It would be a tangible thank you and, above all, tangible motivation!”
Enormous feedback surprises THW leaders
With these words, Wüst obviously hit a nerve.
As of Tuesday afternoon, his post had been shared over 900 times and commented on 82 times – almost all positive.
Tenor: "To the point!!!" "You can't write it better." "Totally agree."
Wüst is surprised by the enormous feedback.
"I never thought it would pick up speed like this," he reveals in an interview with the FT.
"I just sat at home and, considering the situation in Ukraine, where nobody knows how long this will go on, I thought: How are we going to do it?
How long will this be good?
And then I just gave my thoughts free space.” The reaction shows him that he is obviously not alone with his subjective perception.
It's not about money, it's about appreciation
It is important for the THW boss to emphasize two things to the FT.
First: “It's not that we don't want to help anymore.
Of course we want to help.” And secondly: “It's not about the money for me.
I don't want to work for so many euros an hour, because then it's no longer volunteer work.” Hence his suggestion with the pension points.
"That would also be an attraction that we could add to gain new strength." Because that is also a problem for the THW: "In view of the demographic change, the pool from which we can draw is getting smaller and smaller."
