Accommodating refugees in tents is “out of the question” in Lower Austria, according to the office of Asylum Councilor Gottfried Waldhäusl. These are not planned at the moment either, the quota set by the federal government for taking in refugees is “almost almost” met by accommodating many displaced persons from Ukraine, it said.
Due to the sharp increase in refugees in the federal care facilities, the federal government has recently urged the federal states to include more asylum seekers and displaced persons in their basic care and to ensure appropriate accommodation options.
Large-scale resistance to tents
The Federal Care Agency (BBU) therefore announced on Friday, as in 2015, that it would accommodate asylum seekers in tents. Construction on federal properties in Carinthia, Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Upper Austria began at the weekend. The tents are intended for several hundred young men traveling alone who are unlikely to stay, they say. Women, children and families should continue to come to permanent accommodation.
In Upper Austria and Carinthia, the erection of the tents by the BBU led to criticism at state and municipal level. Tyrol and Vorarlberg had announced that they would resist the requirement and examine alternatives – Vienna also spoke out once morest tents – more on that in Resistance to tents (orf.at; 15.10.2022).
Traiskirchen: Fire protection limit reached
Refugee coordinator and BBU boss Andreas Achrainer defended the measure: “With the exception of Vienna, none of the federal states is currently fulfilling its quota. And I think that also leads to expect that we will have to look for more shelter and at the end of the day we will have to put up tents to avoid homelessness.”
The initial reception center in Traiskirchen (Baden district), which is managed by the BBU, is now very overcrowded, says Achrainer: “We are already above the fire protection limit and here it is essential to relieve Traiskirchen. Also in the interests of my employees, in the interests of our clients. It’s all regarding safety.” From the office of Asylum Counselor Waldhäusl, it was said that no tent accommodation is planned for Traiskirchen either, despite the overcrowding.
