Germany wants to build an “evacuation center” for refugees. At the border with Poland
“The island on the Oder is to become an 'evacuation center' for refugees,” says the German website rbb24.de. The center would be organized on the site of former Soviet army barracks.
The containers would be placed on the Oder Island, near the town of Küstrin-Kietz, close to the Polish-German border.
Initially, 200 people would live in the containers
The authorities of Märkisch-Oderland want to include this type of “travel center” in their future plans. First of all, 200 people would live in the indicated place. Specifically, this concerns migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected and therefore cannot continue to stay in Germany. But they have to live somewhere until they leave the country.
Plans to create a special center were presented at the city council on March 25. 0.5 km from Küstrin-Kietz, in the area where temporary accommodation for migrants would be organized, there are already numerous properties whose construction was used in the past, including: asbestos. The soil there was also polluted. That's why no one is allowed there at the moment. However, the authorities want to prepare an island from which not only asbestos would be removed, but also the soil would be cleaned.
The Maerkisch-Oderland district wants to lease the site from Brandenburg. However, some residents do not like the idea of creating a center for migrants. On March 25, they took part in talks during which they talked about their concerns about the future in connection with – as they said – a possible increase in criminal acts committed by refugees.
The Germans plan to renovate buildings that in the past served as barracks for the Soviets
The municipality of Küstrin would ultimately vote against the creation of an “exit center”. However, this does not mean that the topic will not come up again. Germany plans to accept another number of refugees – in 2024, 1.7 thousand of them will reach the Maerkisch-Oderland.
It is worth adding that the area, formerly belonging to the Soviet army, with decaying buildings that previously served as barracks, is to be repaired. Germans would live in this area in the coming years. The authorities plan to invest in the area in the future.
