Refugee from Ukraine fights back tears at "hard but fair" - journalist reprimands the traffic light: everything "chilled"?
Created: 03/29/2022, 11:22 am
The guests at "Hart aber fair" on March 29th, 2022 © © Screenshot: ARD / Hart aber fair
Millions of people - mostly women, children, elderly people - are fleeing from Ukraine and also from Russia.
How is the gigantic task to be mastered?
Berlin - "Chilled" is what WDR journalist Isabel Schayani calls the state of mind of the federal government in the "Hard but fair" talk on the first channel in view of the steadily growing stream of people who are currently fleeing Ukraine.
"Measured by how big the problems are that people have when they arrive here," explains Schayani, the federal government and the conference of interior ministers reacted with "relaxation".
A "turning point" that the events in Ukraine would inevitably bring with it had not yet arrived in the "public service".
At the moment it is not the federal government that is setting the pace, but private initiatives.
It is estimated that four million people have already left Ukraine, most of them hoping to return home soon and are holding out in neighboring Eastern European countries.
However, many travel further, more than 270,000 Ukrainians currently have to be cared for in Germany.
In his talk, Frank Plasberg looks at the effects of the Ukraine war in Germany and wants to know: "Fleeing from Russia's bombs: how well can Germany help?"
"Hard but fair" - these guests discussed with:
Luise Amtsberg
(Greens) - Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid
Joachim Herrmann
(CSU) - Bavarian State Minister of the Interior, for Sport and Integration
Isabel Schayani -
ARD presenter "Weltspiegel"
Heike Jüngling -
Head of Social Affairs in the city of Königswinter in North Rhine-Westphalia
In a one-to-one discussion on the subject of Ukraine:
Oksana Ilchenko -
teacher of German, fled Kiev with her daughter and mother
Julia Kross -
management consultant, took in Ukrainian refugees at home with her husband
The Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, Luise Amtsberg, also conveys the impression that those responsible are in fact in no particular hurry.
Instead of proposing concrete solutions, it states that it is "not possible" to "establish this structure in three weeks" and uses the phrase "the national effort".
The Bavarian interior minister and head of the interior ministers' conference, Joachim Herrmann, also has little to offer in concrete terms, but praises the "incredible commitment of the employees" in the municipalities, the federal states and the federal government.
"The same people who had to deal with the corona pandemic in the last two years."
Heike Jüngling, head of the social affairs department in Königswinter, describes how improvised the main supply work, which is currently being carried out by municipalities, private individuals and volunteers.
Over a hundred people from Ukraine were accommodated in the small town.
Jüngling reports that it is currently considering "apartments earmarked for demolition" and "vacant hotels" for further accommodation.
The municipality criticizes the lack of a uniform registration system
Jüngling adds that it is also about "social benefits" for which uniform registration and the necessary provision of federal funds are required.
A per capita flat rate of 50 euros is currently being paid out even without registration, says Jüngling, "if the need is there, then we'll pay out without it".
In addition, however, the accommodation, medical care, distribution at schools and daycare centers are still unclear.
From 2015, one could only take over the building permit for the conversion of gymnasiums into refugee camps.
Schayani also describes what is currently missing: a uniform registration and a schedule.
The journalist has researched nationwide: "People don't get a work permit, people don't get a proper residence permit" - without this, you can neither open a bank account nor legally find a job.
There is agreement in the program on the demand for a nationwide uniform regulation*.
“I think we need this to be managed centrally,” muses Amtsberg.
"We have to register everyone," Herrmann demands.
Plasberg puts the brakes on Green politicians on the subject of "permanent integration process".
When Amtsberg demands an "extension of the integration fee" and calls for a discussion about further possibilities for a "permanent integration process", Plasberg stops them.
When the moderator makes it clear that this is the task of a "federal-state working group", the Green politician reacts snippy: "You are the boss of the show!" Plasberg laughs graciously and counters: In truth, these are the viewers.
The floor was then given to the refugee German teacher Oksana Ilchenko and the German management consultant Julia Kross, who and her husband took in five refugees in their house in Hamburg-Rahlstedt.
Ilchenko fled Kyiv with her mother and daughter, separated from her husband, a Ukrainian wartime officer.
Ilchenko is visibly traumatized, she keeps fighting back tears.
While Germany was spectating the moving events, for them "the war was palpably there," later commented Schayani, who Ilchenko had met on the Polish border.
Ilchenko stood next to her during a live broadcast to report on the events in Ukraine.
Important for the admission of refugees: "No expectations", advises the hostess
The teacher explains that her eleven-year-old daughter was the motivation for her escape.
She spared her the "horror of war" and wanted to "enable a childhood".
At her first refugee station in Poland, she had to share a room with seven other refugees.
Now she lives with a family in Hanover who have their own children and pets and who offer them their own room with Internet access - from there she is already offering online courses for Ukrainians again as a German teacher.
Ilchenko says heartbreakingly: "I hope every day that I can go home again the next day, but the events in Ukraine are getting worse every day." One consolation for her is that it is her daughter, who initially cried every day , go better every day.
The positive and hands-on nature of hostess Julia Kross is praised as “inspiring” on social networks.
She and her husband took in five people, including a child, in their home.
The decision to do so was made on the first day of the war because it was "bad" for her to "sit on the warm sofa and do nothing" "when such catastrophes happen," explains Kross, explaining her motivation.
The focus at the moment is on creating a clear structure, on having retreats for herself and her husband.
The many people in the house also bring restrictions that also affect the professional lives of the two - albeit with a lot of understanding from customers and bosses.
There is still no way of predicting when your guests will move out again.
She received “no answer” from the city.
When taking in refugees, Kross advises that it is important to have “no expectations” and to bring “laugh and heart” along with “flexibility and inventiveness”.
Conclusion of the "hard but fair" talk
"Necessity is the mother of invention", says a German proverb that the federal government is obviously currently building on when it comes to the refugee issue.
The response to the announcement of the program on the "Hart aber fair" Twitter channel and the flood of comments - from all directions - makes it clear that the topic touches many people.
Plasberg manages to set an important impulse with his talk, but no concrete plans or solutions are provided.
(Verena Schulemann)