Winter is sending greetings to Tyrol these days: while it was already getting white at higher altitudes, it poured with rain at night in the valley at temperatures well below ten degrees. In Absam (district of Innsbruck-Land), where there has been a dispute between the municipality and the federal government for days regarding the accommodation of asylum seekers, it was freezing for refugees. On Thursday evening, around 30 people were accommodated there again in the controversial asylum tents. Can we finally agree on a solution today, Friday?
Around 20 to 30 people from Morocco and Tunisia were brought from Upper Austria to the Wiesenhof police school in Absam on Thursday evening. “They arrived between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. and slept in the tents,” said Absam’s mayor Manfred Schafferer (SPÖ) in a telephone call to the “Tiroler Krone”. The local chief contradicted media reports that the refugees had already been housed in the school’s gym or elsewhere. Therefore, the gym will be examined with regard to fire protection – including with the fire brigade and experts. What will come of it, Schafferer could not say for the time being.Are tents dismantled?According to the mayor, the tents themselves should be dismantled today. As is well known, the municipality had taken a stand against the accommodation of refugees in the tents by means of a decision that was sent to the responsible care and support services (BBU). The demand contained therein: The dismantling of the tents within three working days. Immediately after the tent camp had been erected, Schafferer spoke of a “black building”. However, the interior department remains committed to wanting to use the tents on the site. A complaint has already been lodged against the decision of the building authority. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) repeated in the APA interview that the tents are being used because the federal government no longer has any quarters available and it is necessary to prevent the refugees from finding independent accommodation and then settle down near schools and kindergartens or on village squares.Tyrol brings up the rear when it comes to specificationsThe fact that there is also particular pressure in Tyrol is probably also due to the fact that the federal state is at the bottom of the list when it comes to fulfilling the federal/state specifications, regarding refugee housing. The quota is currently being met at just 63 percent. In other words: Tyrol accommodates 2854 fewer refugees than it should. Only Carinthia has a value that is nearly as bad. The quota is currently only being met in Burgenland and clearly in Vienna. A video conference between the mayors and Interior Minister Karner is to take place on Friday morning. Absam’s local boss Manfred Schafferer will of course be there, as he emphasized. Can you agree on a solution?
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