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How Austria and Austrians are helping Ukrainian refugees

As the number of refugees increases with the ongoing war, Austria has received thousands of people already.

Published: 12 March 2022 11:19 CET
People attend a demonstration against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Vienna on March 5, 2022. (Photo by ALEX HALADA / AFP)
People attend a demonstration against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Vienna on March 5, 2022. (Photo by ALEX HALADA / AFP)

The influx of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war in their country is not slowing down. The United Nation’s current estimates are that more than 2.5 million people have fled since Russia invaded its neighbour two weeks ago. 

Austria has already received thousands of people, and it’s hard to keep track, as many continue their journeys to other European countries where they have family members or other connections. 

Those who want to stay, though, have been welcomed by the population. A new survey by Peter Hajek Institute showed that 85 per cent of Austrians favour admitting the displaced people, ORF reports.

Some 27,000 private places have been offered accommodation on the Federal Care Agency platform so far. Among the offers, 100 hotels are prepared to host the Ukrainian refugees for free.

READ MORE: How Austria is preparing to accept Ukrainian refugees

The government centres

Austria’s government has also set up several offers. In the federal quarters, 3,600 places have already been assigned, but up to 3,200 more could be offered. 

Four quarters were specially provided for refugees fleeing Ukraine in Graz-Puntigam, Villach, Ohlsdorf, and Mondsee – they receive a daily average of between 500 and 600 people. Vienna also has an arrival centre set up by Ernst Happel Stadium, where more than 8,500 have received help with emergency care, accommodation and information.

READ MORE: Austria announces free public transport for people fleeing Ukraine

The influx of arrivals at Vienna Central Station has also increased, ÖBB says, and there are always from 200 to 300 refugees on site.

The number fluctuates as people leave the train station for the arrival centre or move on with their journey to other states and countries.

Hotline for refugees

Austria’s federal government has also set up a hotline to assist with information in Ukrainian. So far, they have received approximately 12,000 calls. 

The questions are mainly about getting access to needed medicine, how to gain entry to the job market, and what can be done if they’ve arrived with pets but can’t stay with the animals in the emergency shelters.

Change to upper limit for Ukrainian earnings

At a federal level, refugees from Ukraine will be allowed to earn up to 485 euros a month, instead of the usual 110 euros.

The decision was announced by the Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) after a conference with the refugee state councillors in Austria. There will also be an increased payment of 60 euros per month for people who are housing refugees.

This means that a total of 180 euros per person is available to pay for private accommodation, broadcaster ORF reports. This extra payment will also be available for anyone housing asylum seekers.

According to Karner, 40,000 people from Ukraine have already been registered so far, and around 7,000 are now available for the job market.

Vienna City Councillor Peter Hacker estimates that 200,000 to 250,000 people from Ukraine could seek shelter in Austria in future.

 

How you can help

There are several ways to help those affected by the war in Ukraine. For example, you can donate money or essential necessity items, host a displaced person from Ukraine, join demonstrations to show your support, be mindful of the information you share to help prevent fake news from spreading, and assist in the reception logistics of refugees.

You can read more here.

READ MORE: How people in Austria can help Ukraine

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UKRAINE

Two years of war: Ukrainian refugees face lasting exile in Austria

Iryna, Maryna, Katya -- three generations from one family -- fled their home in southern Ukraine for Austria just after the war started, hoping to return quickly.

Published: 12 February 2024 11:43 CET
Two years of war: Ukrainian refugees face lasting exile in Austria

But two years later, these hopes are fading.

Just a few days ago, a fresh attack blew off the roofs of many buildings intheir home city of Mykolaiv. “Ukraine’s future is not clear. I think that the war will not stop, even in one or two years,” said Maryna Troshchenko, 43, while showing photos of the damage sent by relatives still living in the port city.

Troshchenko, her mother and her daughter, who all now live in Vienna, are among six million Ukrainian refugees, marking the biggest exodus since World War II, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Germany and Poland host the largest populations, with about one million Ukrainian refugees in each country.

Incessant bombings and a lack of progress on the front make their return in the short term increasingly improbable.

‘Started from scratch’

After months of housing problems and rejected CVs, Troshchenko finally landed a job in a supermarket, enabling the trio to move into their own apartment this year.

“I started from scratch” at the bakery department before being promoted to head cashier, said the former purchasing director, who did not speak a word of German when she arrived. “We are happy to have been able to accomplish so much in two years,” the divorcee added.

Her daughter, Katya, 17, has managed to obtain her Ukrainian school graduation certificate while attending a Viennese high school, from where she is eyeing to graduate next year.

Mother Maryna Troshchenko (L) from southern Ukraine with her daughter Katya Troshchenko (R) and grandmother Iryna Simonova pose for photos in their apartment in Vienna, Austria on February 8, 2024. (Photo by Alex HALADA / AFP)

Katya’s grandmother, Iryna Simonova, 64, meanwhile, has been able to find a volleyball team to practice her favourite sport and has made friends. But tears stream from her eyes as soon as she thinks of her home country as she recalls leaving behind her mother, who at 87 refused to join them.

‘Build a future’

At refugee help organisation Diakonie in Austria, workers note that many Ukrainian refugees have decided to try to settle after being paralysed by the “dilemma of waiting” to return home.

“For a long time, it was very difficult for them to decide how to proceed further,” Sarah Brandstetter, deputy at Diakonie’s Ukrainian refugee advice centre, told AFP.

“Two years later, the situation has changed — people are now planning to stay in the country. They have their children here in schools. They want to build a future for themselves,” she added.

But especially mothers of young children who find themselves alone to take care of them continue to struggle.

The initial surge of solidarity is also running out of steam in some places.

In Austria — which hosts some 80,000 Ukrainian refugees — “the increase of energy costs and high inflation was a game changer”, according to Christoph Riedl, a migration and integration expert at Diakonie.

In neighbouring Germany, anti-migration discourse is also on the rise amid a spike in the number of asylum-seekers from outside of Europe, weighing heavily on reception capacities.

Demographic challenge

Until March 2025, under EU rules, Ukrainians are eligible for temporary protection, a status allowing them access to the labour market, housing, and social and medical assistance. But what is next, experts wonder. Riedl said the EU should agree now on a
lasting status.

“When a conflict lasts for two or three years, people change their minds. It’s a reality check. They integrate, they have a new life,” he told AFP.

Faced with a real demographic challenge, Ukrainian authorities fear the massive exodus — and in contrast to other nations want refugees to be able to return.

A photo taken in Vienna, Austria on February 8, 2024 shows a sign at the entrance to the Ukrainian refugee advice centre of the Diakonie help organisation. Workers note that many Ukrainian refugees have decided to try to settle after being paralysed by the “dilemma of waiting” to return home. (Photo by Alex HALADA / AFP)

“We find a somewhat specific situation in Ukraine — a country at war, which also wants to maintain the greatest possible connection with its population,” Philippe Leclerc, UNHCR Director for Europe, told AFP.

Katya Troshchenko too insists on the importance “for young Ukrainians to come back to rebuild Ukraine, to build a new, modern country, which will be in EU too”.

However — still traumatised by the nights in air raid shelters at the start of the war — she is “afraid” to return.   

“I don’t want to see how it’s absolutely ruined by Russians, and I don’t want to see my ruined childhood,” she said. And she has no illusions — she will probably have to stay in Vienna for her university studies.

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