The heads of government of North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin, Hendrik Wüst and Franziska Giffey, emphasize the differences to the refugee crisis of 2015. Today, women and children in particular are coming, says Wüst after the consultations with the federal and state governments. Therefore, it must be ensured quickly that people are housed in apartments and “children can be children again“. Giffey says the lessons of 2015 have been learned. There are “good prerequisites that we can do better this time”. Many of the helpers were already there to take care of the people. Wüst and Giffey both emphasize that federal support is essential, including financially.
However, the federal government generally acknowledged its “shared responsibility for financing”. Wuest emphasized: “Our municipalities will not be able to do this alone.” It is important that women and children are accommodated in makeshift shelters for as short a time as possible and that they do not have to “sit on packed suitcases” all the time. It is important to set the right course from the start, said Berlin’s governing mayor, Franziska Giffey (SPD). Among the Ukrainian refugees, there are many people who are already asking: “Where can I work?”. It is just as important to do justice to that as to those who need state aid.