Will there be tents for asylum seekers in Styria soon? According to the Ministry of the Interior, the situation can change daily. The concern is particularly high in Spital am Semmering, Leoben and Kindberg.
“If there are tents, there will be a revolt.” Maria Fischer underscores this bleak prophecy with an audible annoyance in her voice. She is the mayor of Spital am Semmering and the federal government has been running a large asylum seekers center in a former hotel in the Steinhaus district since 2014.
Over the past two weeks, the house has become increasingly crowded. “It’s actually designed for about 200 people, there are currently 370 – including many from countries like Tunisia, Egypt or Morocco who have no chance of asylum,” says Fischer. For her, the situation is even worse than in 2015. “It is much less coordinated, we are not getting any information,” she accuses the responsible Ministry of the Interior.
“We need a fair distribution”
A clear no to possible tents also comes from Leoben, where there is a large neighborhood in the so-called Baumaxhalle, against which all parties are mobilizing: “Tents must be strictly rejected,” emphasizes SPÖ mayor Kurt Wallner, who is committed to “a fair distribution” of migrants in the country. Incidentally, there is a second demonstration against the asylum seekers center on Saturday morning, again organized by name list politician Walter Reiter.
In Kindberg, the planned federal district in the former care center is not yet operational (it should be by January 1), but renovation work is already underway, says SPÖ mayor Christian Sander. “You see vehicles again and again, we are not informed.” The resistance has not yet given up: a lawyer is being called in, the local ÖVP has an appointment this week with Governor Christopher Drexler.
Federal asylum seekers centers are full
On Monday, he spoke out on behalf of the state government against tents in Styria. These are currently not planned either, according to the responsible BBU (Federal Agency for the Care of Asylum Seekers). But the situation can change every day. “Our 27 facilities in Austria are full, we are at the limit of what the fire service allows.” But new refugees keep coming into the country.
Source: Krone
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