Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Refugee Council: Only basic infrastructure is not enough

In view of the renewed increase in the number of refugees, some municipalities believe that they have reached their breaking point.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Refugee Council: Only basic infrastructure is not enough

In view of the renewed increase in the number of refugees, some municipalities believe that they have reached their breaking point. Ways to accommodate them are being sought. The refugee council in the northeast makes demands on the local infrastructure.

Schwerin (dpa/mv) - In the opinion of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomeranian Refugee Council, more than basic infrastructure must be available on site in order to accommodate refugees in accordance with their needs. In addition to a local transport connection and shopping facilities, a daycare center, school and a general practitioner would also be needed, said managing director Ulrike Seemann-Katz. In accommodations with fewer residents, she emphasized that social care is more important than security.

In the ongoing discussion about the refugee accommodation in Upahl, a town in Mecklenburg with a population of 500, where 400 people are to live, Seemann-Katz had called for an appropriate ratio between capacity and the number of inhabitants. In smaller towns, she advocated accommodating people in apartments.

From the point of view of the refugee council, cities offer a suitable infrastructure, but are not always better for the integration of refugees. There are more ways to dock, but a city is also more anonymous. This could also have a negative impact on contact with German society.

According to Seemann-Katz, after work, clubs are the best place to integrate people. She appealed to approach people: "Associations that open up voluntarily and go to the accommodations and inform themselves have fewer worries about young people."

Overall, the Refugee Council sees a tendency in politics to badmouth society's willingness to accept refugees. "Society itself is much more receptive than the administrations," says Seemann-Katz.