University abuse? Berlin university grounds should become a refugee container village
University abuse? Berlin university grounds should become a refugee container village
The property on Thielallee 63 in Berlin-Dahlem may be used to build a container village to accommodate 260 refugees. However, these plans have caused resistance, especially at the Free University of Berlin. The President of the University, Günter Ziegler, criticized that the Senate plans were announced without the approval of the university management. The university has emphasized its willingness to support refugees, but pointed out that the site is required for internal construction projects after 2023.
The university suggests that fallow buildings from the Federal Real Estate Agency could be used for refugee accommodation. The special representative for refugee issues at the Senate emphasizes that as long as the property remains unused and refugees could be accommodated there. In addition, 16 other locations for container villages were decided at the end of March to address the lack of accommodation for refugees.
The planned location for the container village in Berlin-Steglitz-Zehlendorf has led to criticism on the net, especially with regard to the resistance of the Free University. Some users commented on the supposed discrepancy between the idealized values of the university and their negative attitude towards refugee accommodation. This controversy illustrates the challenges and tensions in connection with refugee policy and the distribution of accommodations in the city of Berlin.