This Thursday morning hammering and screwing will take place in the multi-purpose hall at the Waffenplatz in Emmen LU. Employees of a moving company assemble black metal bunk beds and remove mattresses from the plastic film. There are ten rows of ten bunk beds in the gym, good for 200 beds. The men use a laser to check distances and alignment. The sleeping places must also be set up in the army.
However, the beds are not intended for soldiers. Asylum seekers will be housed here on the Kasernenstrasse in Emmen from next week. The gym is one of about 20 temporary asylum accommodations that the federal government is currently preparing or has already commissioned in recent weeks. Because more space is urgently needed.
More than 10,000 refugees per month
Yesterday, the federal government revised its asylum forecast upwards again. In addition, there are people who seek protection from Ukraine. More than 60,000 refugees with protection status S currently live in Switzerland, with 20,000 to 25,000 more likely to arrive by the end of the year – this is the most likely scenario according to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). Depending on the weather and the course of the war, there could be a few thousand more. Experts fear that the Russian military is currently destroying electricity, water and energy systems in Ukraine to force people to flee.
Some 15,000 asylum seekers came to Switzerland in the first nine months of the year – the same number as in the whole of last year. In September, a third more people applied for asylum than a month earlier. Given the increasing number of migrants, the Secretariat of State for Migration (SEM) had already increased the expected number of asylum applications before the end of the year from 16,500 to 19,000 at the beginning of the month. The federal government now expects at least 22,000 applications.
Most of the people currently seeking asylum in Switzerland come from Afghanistan and Turkey. These nationals also registered the largest increase in the number of applications compared to the previous year.
According to the SEM, one of the reasons for the increasing number of asylum seekers is the Corona crisis. For a long time, due to the pandemic, travel was only possible to a limited extent, which also affected refugees. In addition, the pandemic has hit many countries economically hard, especially countries of origin and transit of asylum seekers. Added to this are the consequences of the war in Ukraine, such as inflation. All this has probably persuaded more people than usual to leave their homeland or travel on – in the hope of a better life in Western Europe.
Most migrants currently arrive in Switzerland via the Balkan route. Many people have stayed longer in Greece, have been granted protection status there, but are now moving on, notes the SEM. The fact that there are currently so many Turks among the asylum seekers could possibly be related to the fact that they can enter most Western Balkan countries without a visa.
According to SEM, the sharp increase in asylum applications from Afghans can also be partly explained by the fact that some hope for better asylum opportunities after the Taliban come to power. However, according to analyses, the overthrow itself had no direct impact on the emigration or onward migration of Afghan asylum seekers. Most had already fled their homeland. (lha)
Some 15,000 asylum seekers came to Switzerland in the first nine months of the year – the same number as in the whole of last year. In September, a third more people applied for asylum than a month earlier. Given the increasing number of migrants, the Secretariat of State for Migration (SEM) had already increased the expected number of asylum applications before the end of the year from 16,500 to 19,000 at the beginning of the month. The federal government now expects at least 22,000 applications.
Most of the people currently seeking asylum in Switzerland come from Afghanistan and Turkey. These nationals also registered the largest increase in the number of applications compared to the previous year.
According to the SEM, one of the reasons for the increasing number of asylum seekers is the Corona crisis. For a long time, due to the pandemic, travel was only possible to a limited extent, which also affected refugees. In addition, the pandemic has hit many countries economically hard, especially countries of origin and transit of asylum seekers. Added to this are the consequences of the war in Ukraine, such as inflation. All this has probably persuaded more people than usual to leave their homeland or travel on – in the hope of a better life in Western Europe.
Most migrants currently arrive in Switzerland via the Balkan route. Many people have stayed longer in Greece, have been granted protection status there, but are now moving on, notes the SEM. The fact that there are currently so many Turks among the asylum seekers could possibly be related to the fact that they can enter most Western Balkan countries without a visa.
According to SEM, the sharp increase in asylum applications from Afghans can also be partly explained by the fact that some hope for better asylum opportunities after the Taliban come to power. However, according to analyses, the overthrow itself had no direct impact on the emigration or onward migration of Afghan asylum seekers. Most had already fled their homeland. (lha)
All in all, more than 10,000 asylum and protection seekers could come to Switzerland every month in autumn and winter. In neighboring Austria, refugees currently have to sleep in tents because the asylum centers are overcrowded. A scenario that the people of Switzerland absolutely want to avoid. “We can’t just look for places when people are at the door. That is why we are constantly working on putting halls like this in Emmen into use,” says SEM spokesperson Reto Kormann. The number of available beds will be expanded from 7,500 to 9,500. Federal lodging is currently 90 percent full.
Urgently looking for staff
Kormann speaks of a “very challenging situation”. In addition to the lack of space, there is a second problem: there is a lack of staff. According to the organizations that receive the refugees, it is very difficult to find suitable employees. We are looking for social workers, caregivers, medical staff and other helpers. A consequence of this: unaccompanied minor asylum seekers, whose number according to the federal government has increased enormously, are no longer always received by a trained social worker. In addition, the care ratio has been adjusted: one informal carer is now responsible for more asylum seekers.
“We will not always and everywhere have enough and just the right staff for all asylum seekers,” says Kormann. However, they try to make as few compromises as possible with the most vulnerable groups, for example with unaccompanied minors.
Cantons are also preparing
Where the federal government is mainly concerned with the reception of regular asylum seekers from Afghanistan or Turkey, the cantons are mainly concerned with the reception of refugees from Ukraine. Because the refugees with protection status S are assigned much faster to the cantons.
The cantons also create additional places. Aargau has just rented a hotel in Unterentfelden for 150 people. And Geneva has launched a call to find additional host families. According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, 4,000 accommodation places will be available in Bern by the end of the year. In the event of an emergency, 4,000 emergency beds are also available, which can be set up in gyms or multipurpose rooms.
However, if more than 2,500 new asylum applications are still being filed per month, the cantons will soon have to help the federal government. Because then, the SEM announces, it will no longer be avoided to distribute many asylum seekers among the cantons earlier than usual.
Emergency plan may come into effect soon
The military and civil defense may also have to rush to help. The emergency plan for asylum, which the federal government, cantons and municipalities adopted after the refugee crisis in 2015 and 2016, could come into effect soon, according to the SEM. It states that the Federal Council can decide to deploy up to 2,000 military personnel. The military is already supporting the SEM, not only with housing, but also with transporting the migrants.
In Emmen, due to the tense asylum situation, the military will have to exercise outside instead of in the heated gym in the coming months. At the end of next week, the first asylum seekers must move into the hall. The federal government hopes that as many of the 200 beds as possible will remain empty for as long as possible.