Help for Ukraine
Carsten Maschmeyer visits a hotel on the Polish border
Carsten Maschmeyer (left) and the mayor of Hoyerswerda, Torsten Ruban-Zeh.
© City of Hoyerswerda
Carsten Maschmeyer has rented a hotel in Hoyerswerda to help refugees. On Friday he made a picture for himself on site.
Carsten Maschmeyer (62, “The Lion’s Den”) traveled to Hoyerswerda (Saxony) near the Polish border on Friday, as spot on news learned on site. The entrepreneur has rented a hotel there to offer shelter to people and families from Ukraine.
“I wanted to get an idea of how the people who are admitted there are doing on site. Where else can you help? How can you support them even better to alleviate their suffering?” Maschmeyer explained when asked by spot on news.
He rented the hotel for three months. Depending on their needs, the entrepreneur would like to make this available to the refugees for a longer period of time. The approximately 80 rooms and 160 beds are currently mostly occupied by women, including mothers and children. Most refugees leave their country across the border to Poland. According to the United Nations, around four million people are expected to arrive at the borders in the next few weeks. The hotel expects to be fully booked by early April.
“Bureaucracy gets in the way”
“Many now want to learn the language quickly. And they are used to working and want to work here too,” says Maschmeyer, describing the current situation. “But they are not allowed to because the bureaucracy is in their way. They have to wait several weeks for their registration and are forced to wait and do nothing until then. It would help the refugees in this situation a lot if this could be improved would.”
In Hoyerswerda, Maschmeyer met the mayor, Torsten Ruban-Zeh, among others. The investor was impressed by the commitment of the city, the region and the organizations involved. The entrepreneur also exchanged ideas with the refugees thanks to the mayor, who speaks perfect Russian. “Peace and home – that’s the most important thing Ukrainian refugees want,” Maschmeyer emphasized.