In the election campaign

Amnesty: Politics fuels fears against refugees

An arrival center for refugees from Ukraine in the "Arena Nova" in Wiener Neustadt

(Bild: APA/MARTIN HÖRMANDINGER)

June 20 is World Refugee Day. To mark the occasion, several NGOs have jointly called for improvements to the asylum system, including free access to the labor market and custody for unaccompanied refugee minors from day one.

Currently, not a day goes by without fears being stirred up against refugees, said Amnesty International Managing Director Shoura Hashemi. However, these are not a danger to the population. A debate is needed that aims to find solutions based on solidarity. For NGOs such as Amnesty International, Train of Hope, Asylkoordination, the Ute Bock association and SOS Balkanroute, this means, for example, custody for unaccompanied children and young people from day one. Currently, they are often left without school for months and without any knowledge of what will happen to them. To change this, higher daily rates would be needed.

Work as a "leap towards integration"
 Gerd Trimmal from the Ute Bock association called for better access to the job market for refugees at a press conference. "Getting a job is a leap towards integration for people." Although asylum seekers are allowed to accept a job after three months under certain circumstances, the bureaucratic hurdles are high and deter entrepreneurs from taking up the opportunity.

Furthermore, the additional income limits in basic welfare support are set too tightly. According to Trimmal, the employment permit should be abolished without replacement, which would mean that the same rules would apply to everyone as for displaced persons from Ukraine. The NGOs also see a need for action in this area. Train of Hope criticized the "Red-White-Red Card Plus" as a "niche solution" for high earners. People would have to be transferred from basic welfare to social assistance.

Despite the high demand, the doors to the labor market are still so narrow that many qualified workers with a refugee or migrant background cannot find their way through. This means that enormous potential is lost.

Nora Tödtling-Musenbichler, Caritas-Präsidentin

Caritas agreed with the call for better access to the labor market, otherwise enormous potential would be lost (see quote above). This would require comprehensive and free German courses as well as rapid recognition of qualifications and work experience acquired in the country of origin.

"Smuggling network is flourishing"
SOS Balkanroute again spoke of a flourishing network of smugglers that is better organized than ever. The former Afghan FIFA referee Ibrahim Rasool, who was supported by his organization and has since been granted a residence permit, was cited as a positive example. He was supposed to have been deported to Croatia, but was fighting against it due to police violence.