As of: February 2, 2024, 6:00 a.m
By: Sebastian Tauchnitz
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The refugees who currently live in the Weilheim-Schongau district come from a total of 40 different countries of origin.
© Graphics: PMS/Lara Mayrginther
There are currently 1,707 asylum seekers living in the Weilheim-Schongau district.
If you look at the statistics where most of them originally come from, you might be surprised.
District
- Even if fewer refugees are currently coming to the district than last summer and autumn, even if numerous thermal halls are going into operation: As of today, the accommodation options for refugees will last until May, if no further construction takes place.
There are currently 1,707 asylum seekers living in the Weilheim-Schongau district, as the district office reported in response to a request from the local newspaper.
There are also 793 war refugees from Ukraine who live in collective accommodation and 722 who are still privately accommodated - so a total of 1,515 Ukrainians currently live in the district.
The distinction between asylum seekers and Ukrainians is important because the latter are not subject to the asylum law but are entitled to the benefits of the job center.
237 refugees come from Turkey
Turks make up the largest group of asylum seekers.
The statistics show 237.
But why does Turkey, as a supposedly safe country of origin and candidate for EU membership, lead these statistics?
At first no one could really answer this question.
Jochen Lobah brings light into the darkness.
The full-time integration pilot at the Asylum and Migration Department at the Caritas Center Garmisch-Partenkirchen names various reasons for the increase in Turkish refugees.
“These include geological factors such as the severe earthquake in February 2023, which left more than two million homeless and around three million internally displaced.”
Why do Americans appear in the statistics?
The people who live in the Weilheim-Schongau district and have applied for asylum come from 40 different countries.
As the graphic above shows, the countries of origin are spread across the entire planet.
However, exact figures as to how many refugees come from which country of origin are only available to a limited extent for data protection reasons.
This is not a problem in Turkey with 237 asylum seekers.
However, if only one refugee comes from a country of origin, data protection applies.
Therefore, a complete list cannot be published.
What is striking about the list, however, is that there is apparently at least one asylum seeker from the USA who is currently living in the district.
The local newspaper asked what grounds US citizens might have for asylum.
Here too, the district office refused to provide a precise statement with reference to data protection.
In fact, it sometimes happens in Germany that US citizens are granted asylum.
As a rule, these are children who were born during their parents' stay in the USA and thus received citizenship there through birth.
If the parents, who come from another country, then apply for asylum in Germany, an American appears in the statistics.
In addition, there are “economic causes such as the high inflation rate of around 60 percent and the persistent lack of prospects for young, educated people,” says the expert.
Political reasons include President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's persistently autocratic leadership style and - as a result - a lack of trust in the judiciary and politics, which has led to a sharp decline in investment.
After Turkey, most refugees in the Weilheim-Schongau district come from Yemen (80), Syria (37), Tanzania (21) and the Congo (20).
In total, asylum seekers from 40 different countries currently live in the district.
Thermal hall in Wessobrunn should be used until the end of June
In order to accommodate all the people who have been regularly assigned to the district in recent months, numerous new accommodations have been built - especially thermal halls.
However, their period of use is limited.
According to the district office, the thermal hall in Wessobrunn will only be used until the end of June, and the one in Schwabsoien will only be used until the end of August.
For the other thermal halls, the period of use depends on the availability of suitable living space or space in the communities, it goes on to say.
Preparations for payment card not yet completed
The existing accommodation options should be sufficient until May 2024 if no more are added.
But that is not the case.
“Due to the thermal halls, we currently have a surplus contingent of 423 accommodation places, are in the process of further rentals and are planning to build mobile modular buildings - including in Hohenpeißenberg, Burggen and Böbing, to name just a few,” said the district office.
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A lot is set to change for refugees this year.
So far, most of them have received money to support themselves.
According to the district office, the only exceptions are people who are subject to eligibility restrictions.
In the future, however, asylum seekers will be provided with payment cards that only allow them to make purchases in certain stores (we reported).
Preparations for this are still ongoing at federal and state levels, and the legislative process has not yet been completed.
Until all of this is clarified, the changeover is not an issue for the district office, as no “preparatory work” is possible until it is clear what the legal regulations are.