Refugee accommodation - Refugee coordinator optimistic in search for space
Berlin's Coordinator for Refugee Affairs, Albrecht Broemme, sees potential for building accommodations for refugees in the city. "We certainly have luxury problems in Berlin," Broemme told the "Tagesspiegel." So there are indeed resources in Berlin that are not being used for various reasons.
"We cannot trample on nature protection"
Broemme gave the example of vacant office buildings, such as those in Marienfelde (Tempelhof-Schöneberg) or the former Lungenklinik Heckeshorn in the district of Steglitz-Zehlendorf. Currently, there are accommodations for 230 people there, but the Senate wants to expand the capacities. However, there are concerns, among other things, from nature protection groups.
"We cannot trample on nature protection just because refugees are to be accommodated there," Broemme said. However, the former chief of the Berlin Fire Department has little understanding for why state-owned properties like the clinic or the former International Congress Center (ICC) in Charlottenburg are not used for accommodating asylum seekers.
Broemme: The search for land is laborious
On the terrain of Halensee Güterbahnhof, Broemme believes that something could be done soon. On the open space there, the construction of containers for refugees is being tested. The materials needed for the construction of the shelter could be transported practically by rail.
The search for land or existing buildings for new accommodations is laborious, Broemme said. "Every option that even remotely comes into question is examined," he said. "Sometimes ideas emerge in the Senate or from the Berlin Real Estate Management that later turn out to be duds and are therefore abandoned," so the Coordinator for Refugee Affairs. At some places, there is not enough communication between each other. "When it is said that preservation of monuments prevents this and that, then one must talk to the preservation of monuments."
- Albrecht Broemme, Berlin's Coordinator for Refugee Affairs, suggested that underutilized resources in the city, such as vacant office buildings in areas like Marienfelde (Tempelhof-Schöneberg) and the former Lungenklinik Heckeshorn in Steglitz-Zehlendorf, could be transformed into refugee accommodation to alleviate the current capacity constraints.
- Broemme acknowledged the concerns raised by nature protection groups over potential harm to the environment but emphasized that tramping on nature protection for refugee accommodations is not an acceptable solution.
- Despite the challenges in finding suitable land or existing buildings for new accommodations, Broemme expressed his belief in the possibility of utilizing the Halensee Güterbahnhof for constructing container shelters for refugees, as the materials required for construction could be transported effectively by rail.
- The process of finding land or existing buildings for new refugee accommodations is laborious, as every potential option is thoroughly examined, and sometimes, seemingly promising ideas fail to materialize, leaving Berlin's Coordinator for Refugee Affairs frustrated.
- Engaging in a constructive dialogue with various authorities, such as those responsible for preserving monuments, is vital for addressing potential obstacles and identifying usable spaces for refugee accommodations, thereby advancing social affairs and migration policies in Berlin.
