Schwerin/Upahl (dpa/mv) - The integration officer of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Jana Michael, has called the accommodation and care of several hundred refugees in Upahl (Northwest Mecklenburg) a "big challenge". Before a citizens' meeting this Friday in Grevesmühlen, Michael called for constructive dialogue. "It is important to provide the residents and businesses in Upahl with comprehensive information and to address local concerns," explained Michael on Thursday. You will attend the meeting.
The decision by the district council of Northwest Mecklenburg to build container accommodation for 400 refugees in Upahl caused resentment on site. A demonstration against the plans on the sidelines of the district council meeting on Thursday last week had degenerated into riots, and according to the police, representatives of the right-wing political spectrum were also on site. The village of Upahl has around 500 inhabitants, the municipality to which Upahl and other villages belong has around 1600 inhabitants.
The integration officer called for practicable solutions to be sought. "This includes fixed contacts and clear answers to the many questions people in Upahl have. But there must also be help, integration and leisure activities for the refugees who come to Northwest Mecklenburg." In addition to state actors, associations, initiatives and volunteers are also in demand.
The Greens member of parliament Anne Shepley criticized that the citizens' dialogue came too late. It is absolutely disrespectful towards the people in Upahl not to initiate citizen dialogues until the district has already created facts. It is not surprising that people then lose more and more trust in the decision-makers.
The state chairman of the AfD, Leif-Erik Holm, called for illegal migration to Germany to be restricted. "Doctoring the symptoms and passing them on to the municipalities does not solve a single problem, but is increasingly overtaxing our country," he explained. The federal and state governments would have to take countermeasures.
