Dispute over container village: Fu Berlin vs. Senate

Dispute over container village: Fu Berlin vs. Senate

The wasteful property on Thielallee 63 in Berlin-Dahlem, which is previously used as a parking lot, is the focus of a conflict. The Senate plans to build a container village for 260 refugees on this site. However, the Free University (FU) expresses resistance because it actually wants to build a building for teaching and research there. The university feels over because it was not included in the decisions. The FU President criticizes that the Senate plans were announced without consultation.

The university shows willingness to support refugees, but emphasizes the urgent need for space for its own construction projects from 2023. The FU proposes alternative locations, including empty buildings of the Federal Real Estate Institute. The special representative for refugee questions from the Senate emphasizes the temporary use of the fallow property as a possibility until the construction projects of the university begin.

At the end of March, the Senate decided to build other container villages in order to counter the lack of living space for refugees. Although the resistance to such facilities in high districts is not unusual, the network mocks the FU, which normally presents itself as cosmopolitan. Critics accuse the university of not offering any support for refugees, even though they are committed to social and tolerant values. This raises the question of whether the institution can maintain its own Woke facade when it comes to direct effects on its environment.