It is the first weekend after the start of the Russian invasion – and by Sunday evening around 300 war refugees from Ukraine had been registered by the State Office for Refugee Affairs (LAF) in Berlin. According to the LAF, most of them are people who cannot travel back after visiting relatives or friends in Berlin. Only a few have so far sought the way directly from the war zones to Germany, to Berlin. But that could change soon.
The first port of call for Ukrainian refugees in Berlin – whether they fled immediately or were stranded after visiting relatives – is the LAF arrival center on Oranienburger Strasse in Reinickendorf. The Senate still recommends accommodation privately, if possible, with relatives or friends. But anyone fleeing to Berlin before the war can first report to the arrival center. There, on the extensive grounds of the former Karl Bonhoeffer Psychiatric Clinic, located in a park, people are registered and can stay overnight if necessary – 350 places are currently available, and even more could be activated at short notice. They are also given initial contact with counseling and care.
Many Ukrainians were surprised by the war in Germany
And to Berliners who want to help. Several people spontaneously come to Reinickendorf this Sunday with bags in hand. Children’s toys, clothes, things like that. “And some nerve food,” says a woman, pointing to her bag of sweets and laughing.
It’s an attitude reminiscent of the great wave of refugees in 2015 and 2016. But this time things are different. “People are obviously in shock. There is a deep-seated bewilderment about the war in their homeland,” says LAF spokesman Sascha Langenbach. Nevertheless, the situation is very different from that of the people from Syria or other war-torn countries who arrived in Berlin six or seven years ago. “The Syrians often had been in refugee camps for several years. They were sick, emaciated, apathetic, hopeless,” he says. The people from Ukraine, on the other hand, are “clearly not sick. They say: We want to register and then we want to work,” he reports. “There’s no comparison at all.”
During the course of Sunday, Uwe Brockhausen, district mayor of Reinickendorf, also stopped by spontaneously. He wants to get an idea of the situation, says the SPD politician. After a short walk he is satisfied with the conditions. However, he also knows that this is just the beginning. “We can’t estimate how many people come with what needs,” he says. There is still no great pressure, but it must be clarified quickly whether Berlin can provide more accommodation capacity beyond the 2,500 other places announced, according to the local politician. After all, according to Brockhausen, nobody wants to get into a situation like 2015/16: “We definitely don’t want to put people in gyms.”
Reinickendorf’s mayor definitely wants to swear off the accommodation in gyms
At the moment the views from Berlin are once again going east and west at the same time. Developments in Ukraine are being followed closely. On Sunday morning, the message was also read here that Deutsche Bahn (DB) was now letting people from the Ukraine use their long-distance trains from Poland to Germany free of charge. “This is intended to make it easier for refugees to continue their journey from the border,” says a DB press release. What could that mean? Are there many more coming in a short time? Will you be able to accommodate them all?
The next look goes to Belgium. The European Council, the body of the heads of state and government of the European Union, wants to discuss the status of the arrivals in the coming days. Should they apply for asylum – which is their right – or should they be included in a “special contingent of Ukrainian refugees”? Asylum seekers are assigned to federal states and are subject to restrictions on taking up work. Separate rules could be made for a refugee contingent. Once the European Council has decided, the Federal Ministry of the Interior should implement them. Until then, it’s time to “keep your feet still”, as a woman from the “Schöneberg Helps” association says.
War refugees or asylum seekers? Berlin’s Senator for Social Affairs, Kipping, quickly calls for clarity about the status from the federal government
“The federal government must clarify the legal basis on which these people are admitted here,” said Senator for Social Affairs Katja Kipping (left) on Saturday. On Sunday, her spokesman Stefan Strauss specified when asked by the Berliner Zeitung: “It is our goal that people receive the status of war refugees.” As soon as this is possible, the Senate wants to set up its own arrival center for the Ukrainians and then also organize its own accommodation . That should also be the topic of the next Senate meeting on Tuesday, it is said.