Online reports – Society – Trials and tribulations in a host family with Ukrainian refugees

© Symbol photo by euro-news

“Everyone wanted the best”: Ukrainian refugees

The reason is an unfortunate overlap in the allocation to the cantons / SEM reacted unbureaucratically

From Fabian Schwarzenbach

An unfortunate scheduling conflict in the Basel region caused confusion in a good relationship between Iranian refugees and a well-meaning host family. The federal authorities reacted quickly and without red tape. And yet the traumatic experiences still have an impact. A case study.

A Ukrainian couple fled the war zone in their own car to Switzerland and on April 8th found shelter with the host family of Franz Meiringer (name changed) in a Basel-Landschaft agglomeration community. The man says that his leg was injured by the blast of a bomb and is therefore using crutches. They had their sheepdog with them. The Cane Corso Italiano, a friendly dog, weighs around 60 kilograms.

Apartment, three rooms, TV

On the day of their arrival, the couple registered online in Switzerland with Meiringer's help. Registration with the health insurance and social welfare agencies was also easy, reports host father Meiringer. In the weeks before and after Easter, the asylum seekers were able to settle into the host family's house, where they were able to move into three rooms with a television and hotplates. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) then asked the refugees and their hosts to officially register at the Federal Asylum Center in Basel.

The appointment was set for Monday, April 25th, at 9 a.m. Unfortunately, the dates overlapped: At the same time, the SEM was re-implementing the distribution key for the distribution of refugees to the cantons. Until then, those seeking protection were distributed pragmatically according to available capacity. Now all cantons must take in the same proportional number of refugees.

Redistribution due to overload

Baselland had taken in too many refugees proportionally. As a result, the couple was assigned to the canton of Lucerne by the SEM: On Monday, May 2nd, the Ukrainian couple was called upon to report to the migration office in Lucerne. Meiringers and the two asylum seekers were shocked.

The injured Ukrainian, a former policeman, was close to tears and his wife, a flight attendant, was paralyzed with fear. The host family was not only concerned about transporting a vulnerable person. The Meiringers were also irritated because during the conversation at the asylum center they had been asked to accommodate their guests for at least three months. Something that was a matter of course for them and now triggered contradiction in them.

In the meantime, the dog also had to successfully pass its entry examination at the vet. The Basel vet was also surprised by the official order to relocate the refugee couple in the canton of Lucerne and to tear them away from a functioning host family.

SEM corrected evaluation

OnlineReports also asked the Baselbieter Asylum Coordination early on Friday afternoon. Lea Wirz, representing asylum coordinator Rolf Rossi, answered: “The allocation is a federal matter.” The SEM put the regular distribution key into effect on April 25 – exactly the day the two refugees registered in Basel. This would relieve the burden on cantons like both Basels, which have taken in many refugees. “In individual cases, this is frustrating.”

OnlineReports confronted the SEM on Friday afternoon with the seemingly incomprehensible relocation. Daniel Bach, the head of the information and communication department, responded promptly: “As it makes sense for the couple to continue to live with their private host, we have corrected the decision in the sense of an exception,” he replied to OnlineReports after 9 p.m.

At 7 p.m., Meidinger received “a call from a very friendly employee of the Basel-Landschaft Migration Office. She told me that the two of them could stay with us.” An obviously unfortunate situation was resolved quickly and without red tape by correcting the allocation decision.

Suddenly changed mood

However, there was no “happy ending” at first. When the 28-year-old Ukrainian woman heard the liberating news, her mood suddenly changed. She then said that she wanted to register herself and her husband in Lucerne after all.

Now Meiringers no longer understood the world. We can only speculate about the reasons for her change of heart. “She heard from an acquaintance that she had received a social housing apartment in Biel,” explains the host. This gave the Ukrainian woman from Baselbiet some hope.

Meiringer: “But she ignores the fact that the nurse she knows was able to take up a job in a hospital and can therefore also pay for the apartment.” The host family has not failed to notice that the phones are ringing off the hook among the very well-connected refugees. Information is flying around among them, but it is not checked to see whether it is true or false. “They see what others have or receive, and they want that too.”

Horrible experiences

The situation became increasingly stressful for the Meiringers. After having put all their strength and goodwill into helping their two guests, they were now accused of “doing everything behind our backs”. On the other hand, they also understand the trauma caused by the terrible war: the refugee woman had just learned that her best friend and her mother had been shot in a cellar in the town of Bucha.

It is unclear what will happen to the two accepted applicants and whether they will travel to Lucerne on Monday. According to Daniel Bach, the attempt to register in Lucerne is “hopeless for the time being” because, according to the corrected decision, the Basel-Landschaft migration authority is now responsible again.

Franz Meiringer was happy that the immigration authorities made it possible for their guests to stay in the Basel area. “Everyone wanted the best and now it has turned out completely wrong,” he told OnlineReports. He is now “one experience richer.” If his current guests move away, then “I will no longer take in a host family.”

30 April 2022

“Rapidly changing reality”

The article shows very well that reality can quickly look different from how we imagine it. As I read it, two questions occurred to me: Who was more traumatized in the situation described? The refugees, who were already traumatized by the war in their home country, or the host family?

Apparently not the refugee couple. Because when they found out that there might be better accommodation in Lucerne, they were quickly ready to jump ship. How did the friendly host family feel about that? It quickly looks as if they were more affected by it than the refugees.

I think the statement that the authorities corrected their mistake without any red tape is significant because it is surprising to see that the authorities can do this! Isn't that the most normal thing we can expect from our authorities? Was it really that difficult?

Nevertheless, the authorities must be credited with doing a good job. The clear guidelines prevent refugees from being “optimized” in terms of their living situation.

It might also be appropriate to show a certain amount of “benevolent attention” towards people in need in order to avoid great disappointment as hosts.

Viktor KrummenacherBottmingen