Critical situation. Up to six migrants live on 18 square meters, the mayors of German municipalities complain

“Accommodation capacities are no longer just used, but extremely overloaded,” write the signatories of the letter, which was quoted by Bild daily. According to the mayors, this also manifests itself in a “noticeable and worrying decrease in the willingness of local residents to accept immigrants”.

The writers point out that attacks on people with a migrant background are increasing, as well as cases where immigrants attack employees of German authorities. Refugees are still living in emergency shelters that were installed in 2015 as a temporary measure.

In addition, the municipalities are required to accommodate or – in the truest sense of the word – stuff migrants into old barracks, which of course very urgently require reconstruction. Four to six people live on 18 square meters, the complainants write.

Possible accommodation of immigrants in sports halls or gymnasiums is said to be out of the question. “This would not only lead to the fact that there would only be one step left for these facilities to turn into a refugee camp, but it is also financially and socially unfeasible,” the mayor continues, adding that their municipalities have already reached the “point of exhaustion”.

“Children grow up in makeshift spaces without windows and without privacy. Seriously ill people must be considerate of their roommates despite their suffering. How can such a person integrate in Germany?” the writers ask.

Five of them are non-party members, two are members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and one is from the coalition party of the Greens.

A spokesman for the state government told the newspaper Bild that the authorities of North Rhine-Westphalia take the mayors’ complaint “very seriously”. Christian Democratic (CDU) Prime Minister Wüst has not yet responded to the letter, but he says he will do so “in the near future”.