Since the start of the war in Ukraine, tens of thousands of Ukrainians have found refuge in Germany. If these arrivals are reminiscent of those of the Syrian refugees of 2015, they do not take place entirely under the same conditions.
“Welcome”, can we read in Ukrainian above several stands installed in the central station of Berlin. Further on, on the windows of buses parked in front of the building, the same inscription, accompanied by the words “exceptional trip”. These placards, explains the Berlin newspaper, are part of a reception system for refugees from Ukraine. But for the most seasoned volunteers, they recall, in many ways, the welcome signs in Arabic hung by humanitarian associations in 2015, at the time of the last massive migration crisis in Europe.
“For many Germans, the situation echoes the summer of 2015, when many Syrians fled the war in Syria,” see the chain ZDF. At the time, conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel took the decision, against the advice of her European neighbors, to open the borders to refugees from Syria. More than 1 million people had then found refuge in Germany in just a few months, confronting the country with an ambitious integration challenge.
Today, more than 10,000 Ukrainians on average – mostly women and children – arrive in the German capital daily. So much so that“in Hamburg we are starting to run out of accommodation places and there is a lack of food in Berlin stations”. The ZDF specifies that approximately 175,000 Ukrainian refugees were registered in the country as of Wednesday 16 March, but that registration is still not automatic. “Their numbers are therefore likely to be higher.” And it should continue to climb as the conflict drags on.
“Inverted mirror of 2015”
However, the current situation is not entirely comparable to that of seven years ago. “This time, Europe wanted to do things right”, comment T-Online. Ukrainians who have fled their country benefit from an exceptional measure initiated by the European Union, for the first time in its history.
“While Syrians have had to wait months for asylum and work permits, things are moving much faster for Ukrainians,” ensures the Editorial network Germany. They also have access to European social and health systems.
We help them find accommodation, their children have access to crèches or school in their host country.”
In Germany, civil society is also very much
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Marie Daoudal