Conflict about container village in Berlin-Dahlem: Uni vs. Senate
Conflict about container village in Berlin-Dahlem: Uni vs. Senate
The wastewap on Thielallee 63 in Berlin-Dahlem, which the Senate provides for the construction of a container village for 260 refugees, encounters resistance in the neighborhood, especially at the Free University. At this point, the university actually intends to build a building for teaching and research, and the refugee accommodation would block this project. The university management felt ignored when it learned from the Senate plans, and emphasized that the area was urgently needed for its own construction work from 2023.
Free University of Berlin had already provided emergency accommodations in an unbureaucratic manner in the past. Although the university is fundamentally willing to support refugee people, it indicates that the property in question from 2023 is required for its own construction projects. The university proposed to use empty buildings of the Federal Real Estate Agency nearby as an alternative for refugee accommodation.
The special representative for refugee questions at the Senate emphasizes that the area on the uniblerish area can be used for the accommodation of refugees as long as it is idle. The Senate decided to set up 16 other container villages in Berlin at the end of March in order to counter the acute lack of living space for refugees. These new locations are largely planned in the eastern part of the city, which further exacerbates the imbalance in the distribution of refugees in the city.
The resistance to refugee accommodation at the Free University has triggered ridicule and anger on the net. Critics question the open and tolerant attitude of the university in other areas compared to resistance to the container village. Some see this a contradiction between the proclaimed values and behavior in relation to refugee accommodation.