An deserted airport in a significant capital metropolis is now used to deal with refugees from world wide.
As soon as a significant airport simply exterior the nation’s capital, Berlin’s Tempelhof airport now hosts refugees from Turkey, Syria, and Ukraine.
A refugee camp is simply one of many many issues Tempelhof has been used for, for the reason that ultimate airplane landed in 2008.
Within the 16 years because it has been used as an area for personal occasions and exhibitions and the native park has been opened as much as the general public.
The runways, taxiways and areas exterior the gates which noticed tens of planes contact down through the Berlin Airlift have additionally been transformed right into a racetrack.
Building on the transport hub, which right now spans an space higher than New York’s Central Park, started simply earlier than the beginning of World Struggle 2. Its essential terminal was so giant, it was briefly the biggest constructing on the earth.
Following Germany’s defeat, it was opened as a refugee hub for individuals fleeing west from Soviet-occupied areas. Later, it turned essential through the Berlin Airlift because the USA and UK flew planes in with meals for West Berliners.
Tempelhof was first opened to refugees in 2015 when then Chancellor Angela Merkel transformed the airport into what was Germany’s largest refugee camp.
Designed with a complete capability of seven,000 individuals in thoughts, the camp welcomed refugees from Turkey, escaping warfare in Syria.
Later, when Russia invaded Ukraine, a ‘Container City’ was constructed on one of many outdated runways.
Talking to International Coverage final yr, Sascha Langenbach, a spokesperson for the State Workplace for Refugee Affairs in Berlin, mentioned: “Final yr, Tempelhof opened up once more. We’re at the moment internet hosting 850 asylum seekers within the hangars, a lot of them from Afghanistan and Turkey.”
Based on Mr Langebach, a number of the Ukrainian refugees ready within the container city on the runway have already got resident permits, however nowhere to dwell.
Not all the refugees are from Europe, some escaped from Afghanistan simply earlier than the Taliban took energy within the nation.
Abdul Khaluq defined that it was tough to dwell within the airport as a result of there was no privateness and never a lot area within the 161 sq. foot container. Nevertheless, he mentioned it was “nonetheless higher than being in Afghanistan proper now”.
Tempelhof’s standing as considered one of Germany’s largest refugee camps stands for example of considered one of many related amenities dotted round a rustic that has taken in 1000’s of refugees.
Based on the BBC, Germany obtained round 25 % of all first-time asylum purposes within the European Union. Moreover, of the 197,540 asylum selections made in 2022, the nation authorized over 50 % of them.
Categorical.co.uk has approached the State Workplace for Refugee Affairs for remark.
