Broemme: Gymnasiums are out of the question
Berlin's new coordinator for refugee affairs has admitted to facing considerable challenges. These include finding replacements for the 3,000 or so places in hostels and hotels where the Senate is currently accommodating refugees. According to the contracts concluded for this purpose, this is only possible until next spring. Broemme (70), who had his first day in his new job on Tuesday, must therefore look for alternatives. "It won't be easy to find good solutions," he said on Tuesday on the RBB program "Abendschau". "I just want to make one thing clear: gyms are out of the question." This also applies to sports grounds.
Regarding the large accommodation facility for refugees in Tegel, he said that it was originally intended as a hub. "For refugees staying for a few days. And nothing else." Broemme's tasks therefore now include the search for so-called decentralized solutions throughout Berlin. "I'm talking to the council of district mayors first. Of course, we can only do this together," he said. "If the right people talk to each other, we can also find solutions in Berlin."
Broemme announced that he would not accept excuses: "If a district tells me that a school is to be built there, then I will ask when the development is to be expected," said the former Berlin fire chief and former president of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief. "If it says that residential buildings are to be built there, I will ask: don't we want to build refugee houses that can then also be used as residential buildings? That's how you have to approach it."
Broemme is an experienced crisis manager. Most recently, he coordinated the accommodation of Ukrainian war refugees in Berlin. During the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, he managed the construction of the coronavirus emergency hospital on the exhibition grounds and then the construction of the capital's vaccination centers.
In conversation with district mayors, Broemme is seeking decentralized solutions for accommodating refugees beyond next spring, as hostel and hotel replacements are limited by contract. Despite these challenges, he firmly rejects using gymnasiums or sports grounds as refugee accommodations.
Source: www.dpa.com
