Uni-ärger in Berlin: Dispute over refugee accommodation

Uni-ärger in Berlin: Dispute over refugee accommodation

The wastewap on Thielallee 63 in Berlin-Dahlem, which is currently still being used as a parking lot, is to accommodate a container village for 260 refugees in the near future. However, these plans encounter resistance, especially at the Free University. The university intends to build a building for teaching and research on the site, which leads to disagreements with the Senate's refugee coordinator.

The President of the Free University, Günter Ziegler, expressed resentment that the university management only learned from the media from the Senate plans. The university basically signals willingness to support refugees according to their possibilities. However, she points out that the site is urgently needed for its own construction projects from 2023 and has already proposed alternative locations how empty buildings nearby.

The special representative for refugee issues from the Senate, Broemme, emphasizes that the accommodation of refugees on the fallow property could be a temporary solution as long as the site is not used elsewhere. He urges to obtain clear time information about the university's construction plans in order to plan the container accommodation. In addition, further container villages were decided at the end of March to counter the acute lack of living space for refugees in Berlin.

On the net, criticism of the Free University is ignited for their resistance to the planned container village on the universe area. Some users emphasize the discrepancy between the cosmopolitan image of the university and their attitude towards refugee accommodation. The debate illustrates the challenges and tensions in dealing with the accommodation of refugees in Berlin.