For those who have fled Ukraine City of Bonn and police create flyer for Ukrainians
Buschdorf · The city of Bonn and the police introduced a new brochure at the initial contact point for refugees, located in Buschdorf. The flyers are meant to give Ukrainians who have fled their homeland some basic information they need to know upon arrival. There are leaflets in Ukrainian, German, Russian and English.
The scene repeats itself, another taxi with Ukrainians pulls up in front of the former Solarworld building in the Buschdorf industrial park. After a long journey from their home country, the refugees are to register here on Wednesday, and then get some rest. During the registration, they receive newly printed pamphlets from the police and the city of Bonn, giving them some basic information.
The flyer from the city provides information on the next steps after arrival: finding accommodation, contacts with the citizens' registration office and the vehicle registration office, for example, as well as filling out applications. The city administration has had 5,000 flyers printed in Ukrainian, 1,000 each in German and Russian, and 500 in English. The aim is to provide some orientation for the refugees coming to Bonn, explains Anja Ramos, head of the Office for Social Welfare and Housing.
In the pamphlet, police advise the refugees that they are there to help them at any time - the message going out in several languages. It also warns against scammers and dubious job offers - such stories have already been circulating in the media, but the police are not aware of any cases in Bonn so far, says press spokesman Simon Rott. Moreover, the refugees should not accept offers of housing that do not come from official agencies or people whom they already know. Addresses of the police stations in Bonn are also listed. In addition, there is another flyer that covers topics such as human trafficking, violence against women and working for housing. The flyers are also distributed at the train station near the police headquarters located on site called “Gabi” and at the information point at the Windeckbunker.
High turnover at the refugee facility in Buschdorf
The most important thing for new arrivals is probably that there is an initial point of contact. At the reception center, they can rest overnight before they are then referred to another place or can make contact with people they know. Accordingly, there is a significant fluctuation there. At peak times, more than 50 refugees stay in the building, says Ramos. For the Ukrainians, there is a portable restroom facility outside and showers inside the building. In the meantime, one floor has been converted for longer-term stays, she explains. But the goal is to find other accommodations for the refugees. A medical examination station is also to be set up on the first floor.
According to Marc Hoffmann, press spokesman for the city of Bonn, 2,682 Ukrainians have arrived in the city so far. 1,331 have found accommodations through the city of Bonn, the rest have found private accommodations, some of them with the 850 Ukrainians living in Bonn or with families who provide living space. No one can say what brings those who have no acquaintances or relatives here to Bonn. According to Hoffmann, there is not yet an official distribution plan as there was during the wave of refugees in 2015.
(Orig. text: Stefan Knopp; Translation: ck)
