In order to get an impression of the current situation, LH Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP) convened the State Security Council. It needs “a fair distribution of displaced persons within the EU, but also in Austria,” he said, probably also with a view to the meeting of the country’s refugee officers with Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) on Wednesday.
So far, Upper Austria has taken in as many refugees as seven other federal states put together, Stelzer wrote in a “humanitarian calling card” for his country. In a short time, Upper Austria, alongside Vienna, has taken on a central role in refugee accommodation, added Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer (ÖVP). “Now the other federal states are required to do their part and build up appropriate structures,” he clarified.
“Now the other federal states are required”
On Monday, 680 war refugees were in emergency quarters in Upper Austria, and 1,600 people had already been placed in private accommodation by the state. 1,920 expellees found a place to stay in Upper Austria either with friends, relatives or through the mediation of private individuals. As state police director Andreas Pilsl announced to the state security council, the executive will continue to expand its locations for recording from Thursday. In addition to Linz and Wels, there are other registration options in the Steyr city police command and the Freistadt, Gmunden, Vöcklabruck and Ried district police commands.
The Red Cross is working with 24,000 mostly voluntary helpers for the expellees, informed its President Walter Aichinger. The rescue organization is responsible for the emergency quarters, “also organizes donations and sends delegates” to aid operations in the conflict area, he listed.
After this “first uncomplicated help” it is now a matter of “ensuring integration”, Hattmannsdorfer emphasized the importance of German courses. The BFI Upper Austria, which runs German courses for displaced people from Ukraine on behalf of the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF), is looking for language trainers, as announced in a broadcast. “We expect that the demand for German courses will be very high in the coming months. Many Ukrainians will come to Upper Austria. We are therefore urgently looking for people who can teach German as German trainers at the BFI Upper Austria,” says the appeal from BFI Upper Austria Managing Director Christoph Jungwirth. Interested parties can send an email to deutsch@bfi-ooe.at or call the coordinator for the German Upper Austria starter package, Dunja Trenker-Eder, on 0732/ 6922-5262.
Source: Nachrichten
