Foreign

THE success achieved in integrating refugees from the war in Ukraine should serve as an example for the future, the German government’s commissioner for integration said on Tuesday.

Immediate access to the labour market and integration courses, coupled with assistance from Germany’s government employment offices, meant that the arrivals had gone well, Reem Alabali-Radovan said.

“This should be a blueprint for our migration and integration policies so that we become an immigration and integration country in line with the times,’’ she said.

Alabali-Radovan paid tribute to the work of many volunteers who had helped the arrivals at railway stations and emergency accommodation centres or even offered them a place in their own homes.

Many of the refugees would remain in Germany for months, years or even their entire lives and needed a reliable outlook, she said.

Helmut Dedy, chief executive of the Association of German Cities, has said.

“German cities are continuing to assist with all their strength to ease the safe arrival of war refugees from Ukraine.

“They are providing accommodation, childcare and schooling places,’’ he said.

The refugees are being provided with accommodation by friends and relatives, private individuals, as well as in hotels and reception centres.

Dedy said that Germany remained a popular destination for migrants from other parts and expressed criticism of certain municipalities.

“It’s wrong when a few large cities have to take in many more refugees from Ukraine in proportion than the average, and in addition, have to absorb arrivals from other countries,’’ he said.

The governments of Germany’s 16 states should distribute the arrivals better, Dedy said. (dpa/NAN)

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Tags: Helmut Dedy Reem Alabali-Radovan