University dispute over refugee accommodation in Berlin-Dahlem

University dispute over refugee accommodation in Berlin-Dahlem

The wasteful property on Thielallee 63 in Berlin-Dahlem, according to the Senate plans, will soon be used for a container village to accommodate 260 refugees. This encounters resistance in particular at the Free University, since the university actually wants to build a building for teaching and research. The university management felt ignored because she only learned about the plans from the newspaper and did not agree.

Free University of Berlin has supported people in the past. In winter 2014 and 2015, around 200 adults and children were able to temporarily offer accommodation in an emergency accommodation in the sports hall of the university. Despite the commitment, the university said that the property is urgently needed for its own construction projects after 2023, since there are no other areas available due to renovation measures.

The special representative for refugee questions at the Senate, Broemme, intends to use the fallow property until the construction work of the university begins. At the end of March, the Senate decided to build 16 other container villages in various parts of the city, since the need for living space for refugees is still high and the existing accommodations are not sufficient. Despite resistance in some parts of the city, the Senate provides joint efforts to find solutions for the accommodation of refugees.