It’s a situation that overwhelms us all. Around ten thousand people from Ukraine arrive in Berlin every day, and nobody knows how long this will be the case. In the first few days after the outbreak of war and the start of the flight movement, things were sometimes chaotic in many places. But not too chaotic either.
Despite all the criticism of real or supposedly bad organization, it remains to be seen that the Senate and the many aid organizations have learned from the wave of refugees in 2015 and are working professionally. Many “veterans” are there as volunteers – whether from the Malteser, the DRK, the Johanniter, the Berlin City Mission, from clubs and citizens’ initiatives.
In the meantime, various deficiencies that were initially complained about have been remedied. About the fact that there were no doctors on site. The situation at the main train station is now being “equalized” and the helpers have gotten a certain routine. Even the new arrival tent there, which some initially thought was too small, seems big enough and everyone here knows what to do. The willingness to help is also impressive on day 15 after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Still, oppressive feelings remain. There are the pale and tired children in the main train station and at the central bus station. The helpers notice that the circumstances are a burden for them when the children complain of stomachaches, don’t keep food down, that they are introverted and sometimes tremble. There are mothers who have lost all their strength and you wonder how they got through it all. The anxious question is where all this will lead. And finally, the uncertainty of how long the warmth of the people who take refugees into their homes and make the apartments and hotel rooms available rent-free will last.