TRAUN. The federal government’s announcement that it would build a container village in Traun caused quite a stir. City politics is now mounting the barricades.
Up to 100 asylum seekers are to be accommodated on the ÖBB property on Zaunermühlstraße (see graphic) – with immediate effect and for an indefinite period of time. “It’s not that we don’t want to help, but we simply can’t handle this number of asylum seekers,” said Traun Mayor Karl-Heinz Koll (VP) at yesterday’s press conference. Containers have not yet been set up.
Accommodation for asylum seekers must always go hand in hand with sensible integration measures, said Koll. In addition to the willingness to integrate on the part of those affected, this also requires enough money and time. But there are already no more free capacities in Traun, neither in childcare nor in other integration-promoting measures.
Koll sees the federal government called on to look for alternative quarters for the asylum seekers. The city cannot provide any apartments, there is simply no offer due to the high population density, said Koll, who fears that the construction of a mass quarter could change the “mood in the population of Traun”.
Koll also pointed out yesterday that the area in question is also problematic because two-thirds of it is in a protection and buffer zone according to the Seveso guidelines. This applies because a company that stores hazardous substances is located in the immediate vicinity. According to EU law, people are not allowed to live in such a zone, the mayor argued. There are therefore also massive safety concerns on the part of the fire brigade, from which there is already a negative assessment. This will be mentioned in Koll’s negative statement on the project. In addition to this, the city politicians passed a resolution on Wednesday, addressed to the federal and state governments. On the one hand, this emphasizes a balanced distribution of the quarters. On the other hand, in the event that the district should be built despite the city’s concerns, financial and personnel support for the community is required. The clear goal is to avert the mass quarters, but the municipality has no power in terms of permits when it is set up. Common solutions are needed, says Koll: “After all, it’s not about numbers, it’s about people.”
The office of Social Provincial Councilor Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer (VP) said yesterday that the concerns of the population were understood and that the communities were supported. However, the country is only fighting symptoms with the municipalities, which would be triggered by the unchecked influx of illegal migrants to Austria. This must finally be stopped.
The Federal Agency for Care and Support Services did not want to comment on the Traun location yesterday with reference to ongoing reviews. More on nachrichten.at/linz (jp)
Source: Nachrichten
