After the radical Taliban overran the whole of Afghanistan, the debates about the deportation of criminals and the admission of NATO aid workers and women from the Muslim Asian country have flared up. It is therefore worth taking a look at the facts.
According to the Interior Ministry, 20,189 people from Afghanistan live in Vienna. That is almost five times as many as in 2011. And: Almost every second Afghan in Austria (42,150) is based in the federal capital.
Vienna has a population of around 21 percent of Austria as a whole. That means: Vienna bears higher (integration) burdens than other federal states. The numbers say nothing about the causes. It may be that people prefer to settle where others from their cultural area are already. It may be that different social benefits create incentives.
What’s next?
The question is, what’s next? For example with those who are now fleeing the Taliban. Should Vienna / Austria help the neighboring countries of Afghanistan to take care of refugees locally or take them in yourself?
The British development economist Paul Collier pleads in the “Standard” for help on the ground: “The problem is that if we ourselves become safe havens for Afghan refugees, we will attract other people who should not leave their country. The people who are most likely to want to go to Europe and North America are those with an education and some money. It’s the boys, often children of local elites. However, these people are needed most in their home countries, ”says Collier.