“We get no money, no help,” says Tanya. She fled from Ukraine to Germany with her pregnant daughter and granddaughter – and has been in a hotel in Leipzig since March 8th. Next to her are other frustrated refugees. Almost all of them have been in Saxony for more than two months and are still not properly registered. This means that you are not allowed to work, but you cannot apply for social benefits either.
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“We don’t have the financial means to live reasonably reasonably here,” says Svetlana. They would have to be supported by their families from Ukraine. “People who are at war send us money for the most urgent needs.” Since these refugees did not arrive in the area of the municipality of Leipzig, but were admitted to an initial reception facility in the state, the Saxony State Directorate is responsible for them. Those in particular need of help – mostly women with children – were then transferred to a hotel.
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MDR Exactly met a larger group of refugees, many of whom were left without money for more than two months. When asked by MDR, the state directorate explained exactly that it was originally assumed that the refugees would only stay in the reception facilities of the Free State for a very short time: “maximum 20 days”. And further: “Due to the full catering offered in these facilities, the basic medical care and the planned short length of stay, additional cash benefits were not planned.”
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The background to this is that these refugees did not register with the city, but – more or less by chance – came to an initial reception facility in the state of Saxony, for which the state directorate of Saxony is responsible. Actually, this accommodation should only be a bridging measure until the refugees get permanent accommodation through the municipality. But this process took an unexpectedly long time.
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