The Zurich communities want to help. The only question is how exactly. Another issue is who ultimately pays for the costs.
Residents of the city of Irpin flee their city over a destroyed bridge. Nobody knows how many people will leave Ukraine.
Five people per 1000 inhabitants: This distribution key currently applies in the canton of Zurich for the reception of refugees in the municipalities. For Gossau in the Zurich Oberland, this would mean that around twenty more people could come before the quota was exhausted.
“This quota should not be implemented strictly mathematically,” says the mayor of Gossau, Jörg Kündig. “It takes a sense of proportion and common sense. We certainly don’t split up families just because we’ve reached a target.”
Kündig is not only the head of the Gossau executive, he is also president of the association of municipal councils in the canton of Zurich and FDP cantonal council. He knows what taking in refugees means, socially, politically and, above all, practically.
“The current situation in Ukraine is not comparable to other conflicts that trigger refugee movements,” he says. “We are not only talking about uncertain dimensions in terms of numbers.” The circumstances are also completely different, the proximity of the crisis area, but also the media reports aroused people’s need to help.
“We experience an incredible willingness to help,” he says. “By private individuals, by organizations and by churches. But this help must also be coordinated. Supply has to be matched with demand, which isn’t always easy.”
“Many move on immediately”
Around 2,000 places for refugees are still available throughout the canton of Zurich. 750 additional ones can be created within a short time. Nobody knows how long these capacities will last.
“That’s the big question,” says Kündig. “We see Ukrainians entering Switzerland. But many of them don’t want to stay. They move on straight away, for example to Italy, Spain or Portugal, where they have relatives or friends. However, this is a snapshot.”
Another uncertainty arises because Ukrainians entering Switzerland do not necessarily have to register with the authorities. You also do not need a visa to enter the country. “You can stay in the country for 90 days or move on in the Schengen area without ever appearing on the federal, cantonal or municipal radar,” says Kündig. You can apply for protection status S, but you don’t have to. At least not right from the start.
The question is what happens to them after the 90 days. Whether, for example, those who were initially supported by relatives or friends then still needed help from the municipality and the canton, for example other accommodation.
“These people may not need our support today, but they will in the medium term. We have to adjust to that,” says Kündig. This makes it all the more important to coordinate all the bodies that have to do with the refugees: the municipalities, but also the cantonal social welfare office, the police, the cantonal medical service, and the schools.
Particular attention is paid to children and young people. Not only because they are more vulnerable than adults, but also because they have the right to an education from day one. “This also involves demands,” says Kündig. “What about young people who were about to graduate from high school in Ukraine? What about those who want to do vocational training? We have to find solutions here.”
Last but not least, the municipalities are also concerned with finances. Kündig emphasizes that this point is certainly not the priority now, in the acute phase. Anyone who needs help should get it, even if it costs something. It is crucial to offer people protection.
“But a significant part of the integration task is already carried out by the municipalities,” he says. “If the number of refugees from Ukraine should increase sharply, the municipalities and the canton will have to talk to the federal government about who will ultimately pay for it.”