"We know how to deal with it": Asylum helper groups feel better positioned than in 2015

Created: 11/30/2022, 06:30

By: Patrick Staar, Jannis Gogolin

Setting up shelters in gyms involves a lot of logistical work.

© Archive photo: Pröhl

Surprisingly for many, in addition to the Ukraine war and the energy crisis, another topic has appeared on the political stage: More and more refugees are coming to Germany.

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen – The government's reception camps are full, allocations to the districts have started again.

"The situation is worse than in 2015," District Administrator Josef Niedermaier said recently.

The groups of helpers in the towns and communities therefore expect that the need for voluntary support will also increase.

Ines Lobenstein, who heads the Wolfratshausen asylum helpers' group, has already noticed an increase in people fleeing and seeking help.

But she sees it calmly.

“The support group is stable.

We know how to deal with it.” For this reason, from Lobenstein's point of view, the situation cannot be compared with the refugee crisis of 2015.

"We are in a completely different position now." Around 100 volunteers are already involved in Wolfratshausen.

The association supports an estimated 300 people mainly from Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

25 volunteers in Benediktbeuern and Bichl

Around 25 active helpers are available in Benediktbeuern and Bichl.

There have been many contacts since 2015, and the structures are very good, says manager Marlies Jall.

At the moment not a single asylum seeker is housed in either community.

The families from Eritrea, who came to the communities during the major refugee crisis in 2015, have long been employed, have a driver's license and speak German.

According to Jall, the children are the “greatest success story”, they all go to school.

It's now about permanent recognition.

However, this fails because the families in Eritrea would have to organize passports.

Jall: "We are therefore jumping squarely, the bureaucracy is falling on our feet." This question is not primarily about compassion and empathy, but also about self-interest: "If they don't get a residence permit, people end up in basic security .

And then the taxpayer has to pay for them.”

High bureaucracy for refugees from Ukraine

The group of helpers is more concerned with the Ukrainians than with the former asylum seekers - at the top there were around 40. Working with them is "completely different," says the director.

Above all, the group of people is very volatile, which makes it “very difficult” for the German bureaucracy.

Some Ukrainians would quickly return to their homeland, others would move to another place in Germany.

Jall herself has a Ukrainian woman in her house who first stayed with her father in Freiburg before moving to Benediktbeuern: “She wanted to take out health insurance.

Then we noticed that she had already got caught up in the bureaucratic cycle in Freiburg and hadn't deregistered.” Things like that would cause problems.

Other writing is a challenge

Communication with Ukrainians is just as difficult, since most of them do not speak English and write in Cyrillic.

Conversations are therefore usually carried out via an app.

According to Jall's observation, government employees are often overwhelmed with all these challenges.

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Taking care of all this is a "full-time job" for her, says the 74-year-old.

"But you can't close your eyes where you live." But this is not just generosity.

"A lot comes back, that's very meaningful."

“The willingness to help among the population is enormous”

Similar to Jall, Rita Knollmann from the Tölzer Helferkreis describes the situation in the city: "At the moment, the number of asylum seekers has not increased massively - but I don't know if that will remain the case." The situation is "completely different" than in 2015 for many reasons In the course of the refugee crisis at the time, groups of helpers were formed, which revived within a few days when the war in Ukraine began: "The willingness to help among the population is enormous," says Knollmann.

"It went from 0 to 100. For the volunteers, it was a matter of course that they would take part again - really great."

The Ukrainians would live “relatively self-sufficient”.

At the moment, the primary concern for the group of helpers is to set up meeting places for Ukrainians where they can make contact with compatriots.

In addition, a play group for Ukrainian children was set up in the multi-generation house: “Seven children are there every day,” says Knollmann.

Helpers exchange ideas

Another important task of the helper group is to help with administrative procedures.

For example, the Ukrainians would need a so-called "fictional certificate" as long as the authorities had not yet decided on their residence permit: "The authorities can no longer keep up with issuing them," says Knollmann.

“But everything depends on these certificates.” She recently took part in a helper meeting in Munich: “The situation is obviously much, much wilder there.

When you hear that, it puts the situation here into perspective.”

Hannah Schreyer, who is responsible for the "Integration aktiv" coordination office in the youth and social work association in Geretsried, has been receiving increasing requests for voluntary support these days.

The need is great among the former Afghan local workers who live in Geretsried.

"It's about helping to fill out documents or registrations or being there when something arises for the first time, such as sick leave in the daycare center."

Information lectures are important

According to Schreyer, there are currently 150 women and men on the distribution list for the Geretsrieder circle of helpers.

Around 30 are active, others help with events.

A stable network has formed for the people from Ukraine.

It is particularly helpful that there are some in the group who speak Russian.

They regularly organize information lectures, for example about visiting a doctor in Germany or broadcasting fees.

You can find more current news from the region around Bad Tölz at Merkur.de/Bad Tölz.