Refugees in Abens “simply delivered”: the group of helpers and the district office explain themselves

Created: 05/11/2022, 08:00 p.m

By: Andrea Beschorner

Since Tuesday there have been ride-along benches in Au and Abens so that the refugees can go shopping.

Zeyniddin and his daughter Mariam (8) didn't have to wait long in Abens on Wednesday before they were taken to Au.

© Hellerbrand

The group of helpers for refugees does exemplary work in the market town of Au.

But the BI Au would like better communication with the district office.

Au/Hallertau

– Last Tuesday, 39 people from the Ukraine, including 14 children, arrived in Abens, a small district in the municipality of Au.

Neither the municipality nor BI Au, which has around 15 members and volunteers to look after refugees, knew the exact date.

"That took us completely by surprise, we didn't know anything." That's how the mayor of the market town of Au, Hans Sailer, put it on Tuesday at the municipal council meeting.

The district office, on the other hand, asserts: "Both the 1st mayor and the circle of helpers in Au were informed in writing in advance."

What went wrong here?

The 3rd mayor of Au, Beatrix Sebald, who is also actively involved in the BI Au, does not want to pass the buck to anyone.

The fact is, however, that communication with the authorities often fails.

"We know what they do there, but in return we would like us volunteers to be taken seriously and our work appreciated," says Sebald.

Because: "It only works together."

The helpfulness of the people and the gratitude of the refugees are overwhelming

When asked by FT, Franz Asbeck, municipal councilor in Au and also an active BI employee, added: “It would be nice if those responsible recognized that we relieve them of a lot of work and don't do any additional work.

We relieve the district office.” The group of helpers in Au has four Ukraine interpreters at the start, who make working together a lot easier.

There is a BI WhatsApp group through which everything that people lack in everyday objects is organized via the "short official channel".

"People's willingness to help is overwhelming," emphasizes Asbeck, as is the gratitude of the people who arrive here.

At the market town council meeting, Beatrix Sebald reported on that Tuesday of last week when the refugees in Abens "were simply delivered": Citizens from Abens reported that refugees had been brought.

Together with Franz Asbeck, she immediately set off: "The people had neither food nor drink and hadn't eaten anything since breakfast," reports Sebald.

The BI representatives quickly bought two cars full of groceries to provide everyone with the essentials.

(By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)

The FT also asked the district office about this.

"The move from the gym in Moosburg to Abens was completed at 11 a.m., so that all residents had enough time to find out more about the place," explains district office spokeswoman Eva Zimmerhof.

And: One of the residents drives a large car and immediately offered to go shopping for the first day.

Neither Asbeck nor Sebald can confirm that: "None of the refugees definitely has a car."

Mitfahrbankerl: So that people come to shop

In the meantime, BI has gotten creative: since Tuesday there have been so-called ride-along benches in Abens and on Pfaffenhofener Straße in Au, which the building yard set up so that people can come to Au to shop.

Sebald's appeal to all citizens: "If you drive past there and see someone at the bench, please stop and take them to Au or back to Abens."

Sebald was particularly impressed by an encounter with a young woman: “She told me that she had only cried for the last four weeks.

Now that she's in the accommodation in Abens, she can finally smile again."

You can find more current news from the district of Freising at Merkur.de/Freising.