1,000 people are sleeping in giant heated tents on an old airfield on the outskirts of Berlin. The German capital is struggling to properly house Ukraine’s refugees. Authorities in Berlin are hastily preparing more emergency shelters in anticipation of the arrival of what they estimate could be up to 10,000 more people.
million Ukrainians have fled to Germany since the start of the war, according to latest figures. That has awakened memories of 2015 and 2016 when a comparable number of people sought asylum here. As then, Germany initially extended a warm welcome. But there are now growing concerns about how best to accommodate such a large number of people.
Berlin, around 100 Ukrainians arrive every day at the city’s main reception centre for refugees. The operations manager, Kleo Tümmler, is trying to make life as easy and comfortable as possible for the people. The number of people seeking asylum has indeed risen, fuelled largely by people from Syria and Afghanistan.