- In Windisch (AG) 49 people have to leave their homes by the end of June. In the future, 100 asylum seekers will live here.
- The municipality sharply criticized the canton for this on Monday. Parties and associations are now also criticizing the canton and demanding other solutions.
- The canton is tight-lipped and, according to the media release, does not want to resolve the dispute through the media.
The reactions were violent after the tenants in Windisch received notice of termination from their homeowner. “No to the eviction of tenants,” headlines the SVP Aargau. The whole asylum system had gotten out of hand.
We do not want an asylum policy at the expense of the financially weak.
The President of the FDP Aargau, Sabina Freiermuth, speaks to SRF of a communicative failure in the canton: “It leaves you speechless. Apparently, the decision went beyond the community. You just shift the problem.”
The young SVP Aargau is “astonished and angry about the actions of the canton” and has launched a corresponding petition. The Juso Aargau demands: “No asylum policy at the expense of the financially weak.”
The GLP finds that the layoffs in Windisch are “incomprehensible and show that in quieter times there was no forward-looking action”. There are definitely other options.
Possible solutions proposed by the parties differ depending on their political beliefs. Right calls for the borders to be closed for people without a reason for asylum. Links believes that wealthy Switzerland would certainly be able to accommodate refugees.
Short-sighted pseudo-solutions are extremely dangerous.
The association Netzwerk Asyl Aargau also finds clear words: “Short-sighted pseudo-solutions are extremely dangerous.” The association condemns the decision and calls for a reform of the asylum policy in Aargau, he said. The canton put off the search for asylum accommodation and did not act as a precaution. He accepts social conflicts.
City council wants to help those affected
The Windisch municipal council was already “deeply shocked by the procedure” on Monday. The Windisch authorities emphasized that they had informed the cantonal representatives that people lived in the properties.
Legend:
The houses in Windisch offer relatively cheap living space. It could be difficult to find suitable replacement housing for 49 residents, not only the Windisch municipal council fears.
SRF
The apartments are relatively cheap and are occupied by people with lower incomes. It is therefore clear to the municipal council that it will be very difficult for them to find new apartments in this price segment. That’s why the community wants to fight back for those affected. You could challenge the terminations of the apartments.
The canton is holding back
And what does the canton of Aargau say? «The cantonal social service received a letter from the Windisch municipal council on February 22, 2023. He will answer this letter in the next few days.” The social service does not want to carry out the existing differences via the media, he writes.
Legend:
The cantons are looking for places for the refugees allocated by the federal government.
Keystone/Gian Ehrenzeller
The Aargau government officially declared the asylum emergency in January. At that time it was emphasized that underground accommodation for asylum seekers should first be opened. This has already happened in Muri, for example, and underground accommodation is to be opened in Birmenstorf near Baden in a few days.
In extreme cases, the official emergency situation would allow the canton of Aargau to force private individuals or communities to make their buildings available for asylum accommodation.
The cantonal social service will inform you as soon as you have answered the letter from Windisch. In Windisch, these are old properties that are due to be renovated in the near future. The whole thing is not a confiscation of houses.
The property owner and landlord of the houses in Windisch has promised SRF a possible reaction. So far he has not commented. Many of the violent reactions hit not only the cantonal social service, but also him.