Container village or university building? Conflict of refugee accommodation

Container village or university building? Conflict of refugee accommodation

The property on Thielallee 63 in Berlin-Dahlem, which is currently being used as a parking lot, is to be used by the Senate to build a container village to accommodate 260 refugees. This is mainly based on resistance at the Free University, since the university actually wants to build a building for teaching and research there. The refugee coordinator of Berlin, Andrea Güttner, defended itself against the use of the property for refugee accommodation because it is required for teaching and research purposes.

Free university feels over, since the university management was not included in the decision. Although the university is fundamentally willing to support refugee people, she points out that the property from 2023 will be needed for its own construction projects. The university proposes to use empty buildings of the Federal Real Estate Agency for refugee accommodation instead of claiming the university area.

The special representative for refugee issues at the Senate, Albrecht Broemme, emphasizes that refugees are possible on the university area as long as it is broke. He demands a time for the planned new building from the university and points out that further container villages in Berlin are planned to counteract the lack of apartments for refugees.

The discussion about refugee accommodation on the universe area in Berlin again shows the challenges in creating adequate accommodations for refugees in the city. The resistance on the part of the Free University and the reactions on the Internet reflect different views and opinions on this sensitive topic.