Fewer refugees coming to Lower Saxony
According to Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens, the recent difficult situation regarding the accommodation of refugees could soon ease. "The number of refugees currently arriving in Lower Saxony has decreased in recent weeks. At the same time, we are making good progress in building up emergency capacities for initial reception," said the SPD politician on Friday. "Against this background, I am cautiously optimistic that the situation in the regular locations of the state reception authority, which still have to operate in emergency occupancy mode, will slowly ease."
On Friday, Behrens visited emergency accommodation for up to 1000 refugees in Hildesheim. The ministry described the accommodation as a tent city, which should be ready for occupancy on Monday and can be used until the end of February. The tents are equipped with beds and bed linen, beer tent sets and washing machines. There will also be containers for the sanitary facilities, among other things.
According to the ministry, the state reception authority currently has around 11,000 places for refugees, of which around 8,000 are occupied. These include places in emergency accommodation and in four youth hostels. The state plans to significantly expand the regular locations for initial reception. "However, we are still dependent on greater support from the local authorities and are not yet making enough progress," Behrens appealed to the towns and municipalities.
The decrease in refugee arrivals in Lower Saxony, as mentioned by Interior Minister Behrens, could potentially alleviate the strain on emergency accommodation facilities. Nevertheless, with only 8,000 out of 11,000 available places occupied, there's a pressing need for more support from local authorities to expand regular locations for refugee reception.
Source: www.dpa.com
