Gerhard Karner comes under the crossfire of criticism for the tents set up for the emergency shelter of refugees. While SOS Mitmensch strongly condemned the interior minister’s rhetoric (keyword: “hanging out”) towards asylum seekers, the FPÖ Lower Austria even demanded the resignation of the ÖVP politician and an immediate asylum freeze. “Illegal mass immigration continues to escalate,” emphasized Udo Landbauer, leader of the Blue State Party.
As the Interior Ministry’s asylum statistics show, the number of refugees receiving basic care peaked in September. With 89,520 people, that was already significantly more than in the years of the refugee crisis in 2016 and 2017, when almost 80,000 people were received.
‘It threatens to get worse than in the disaster year 2015’
At the beginning of September, 82,965 of the people in basic care were taken care of by the federal states. According to the database of basic services, 6550 were in the care of the federal government. It threatens to be “worse than in the disaster year 2015”, Landbauer emphasized. The “welcome policy” is also a “security risk for our women and children”.
Farmer: over 4000 attacks per week
The situation is untenable, Landbauer emphasizes. Karner failed and therefore has to resign. The current figures confirm the failure of the ÖVP to deal with the “flow of asylum seekers”, the PVV said. Only last week the limit of 85,000 arrests of illegal immigrants was broken. In comparison: Landbauer states that in 2015 there were a total of 88,340 asylum applications. According to the Lower Austrian FPÖ boss, Austria now records more than 4,000 arrests a week. And it is not primarily women, children and families who come to Austria.
SOS fellow man against Karner: “Humiliating statement”
SOS Mitmensch meanwhile strongly criticized Karner’s choice of words towards asylum seekers. In the “Krone” interview, he described setting up tents as a measure against “refugee loitering”. “Instead of acting professionally and providing decent housing, the Home Secretary uses derogatory statements against asylum seekers, as if they didn’t deserve to be treated like human beings. That is an embarrassing political indictment,” murmurs SOS spokesman Alexander Pollak.
According to Pollak, Karner must act now. “He cannot avoid responsibility for the humane treatment of asylum seekers, especially with shameful rhetoric. The same applies to those states that do not comply with the housing agreement and offer too little living space,” was the urgent appeal.
SOS Mitmensch demands permanent residence for asylum seekers
SOS Mitmensch generally criticizes the tent camp policy that is thriving again. According to the human rights organization, Austria has the capacity to provide humane housing for asylum seekers, it only fails because of the will of those responsible in politics. SOS Mitmensch demands permanent residence.
So far there are 25 tents in Austria
So far there are 25 tents throughout Austria, 23 of which (as of Monday afternoon) are occupied. Five of the eight-person tents are in Villach and Klagenfurt, 15 in the Thalham federal care center in Upper Austria. We are looking for other locations.
In some federal states there is a lot of concern, for example in Styria. “If there are tents, there will be an uprising,” predicts Maria Fischer, mayor of Spital am Semmering. Since 2014, the federal government has been running a large asylum seekers center in a former hotel in the Steinhaus district.
Source: Krone
I’m an experienced news author and editor based in New York City. I specialize in covering healthcare news stories for Today Times Live, helping to keep readers informed on the latest developments related to the industry. I have a deep understanding of medical topics, including emerging treatments and drugs, the changing laws that regulate healthcare providers, and other matters that affect public health.
