Fu Berlin against refugee accommodation: dispute over university property

Von NAG Redaktion

The wasteful property on Thielallee 63 in Berlin-Dahlem, according to the Senate plans, will soon be used as a container village for 260 refugees. However, this encounters resistance, especially at the Free University of Berlin, since it actually wants to build a building for teaching and research there. The President of the FU, Günter Ziegler, stated that he had learned from the Senate plans from the newspaper and emphasized that the university management had not approved this measure. The university feels over, although it emphasizes that they are ready to support refugees according to their possibilities.

The FU had previously provided temporary support in accommodation of refugees, but pointed out that the property in question is urgently needed for its own construction measures after 2023. The university proposes to use other vacant buildings nearby as accommodations, while the university area is reserved for planned construction projects. There are currently no alternative areas on the university site.

The special representative for refugee questions at the Senate, Broemme, emphasizes that as long as the property remains unused, refugees could be accommodated there. At the end of March, 16 additional container villages were decided, but it turns out that further locations are necessary. The planned locations mainly focus on the eastern part of Berlin, which leads to an tightening of the imbalance in the distribution of refugees. Despite the need for further accommodation options, there are resistance to the construction of container villages in some districts, including Reinickendorf and Steglitz-Zehlendorf.

The discussions and protests around the planned refugee accommodation trigger mockery and anger, especially on social media. Criticism is practiced in the FU, the university, which is understood as the other cosmopolitan, has spoken out against the temporary accommodation of refugees on the university. Critics accuse the FU to lose their progressive facade when it comes to concrete measures to support refugees.