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GERMANY AND UKRAINE

Facing uncertain future, Ukrainians struggle to adapt in Germany

In her previous life in southern Ukraine, Tetiana Chepeliova was an accountant. In Berlin, she is unemployed, like the 16 other Ukrainian women with whom she is learning German in a course aimed at helping them integrate into society.

Facing uncertain future, Ukrainians struggle to adapt in Germany
German teacher Petra Schulte gives a German language lesson to Ukrainian women refugees in Berlin, Germany, on October 21, 2022. Photo: Tobias Schwarz/AFP

The 47-year-old is one of more than a million Ukrainians who have fled to Germany since Russia’s invasion in February. Among the European Union countries, only Poland has welcomed more.

The influx has put huge pressure on local authorities with Interior Minister Nancy Faeser recently describing the situation as “tense”.

But unlike in 2015, when huge protests stoked by the far-right erupted over the arrival of Syrians and Iraqis fleeing war, this time there have been few dissenting voices over the influx.

Instead, a key challenge is turning out to be the “major uncertainty” faced by the Ukrainians, said Benjamin Beckmann, who oversees integration programmes at Germany’s federal office for migration and refugees.

For many of them — mostly women and children — it remains an open question whether or not they will return to their homeland once the war is over, he added.

Qualifications not recognised

At a language school in a residential district of the German capital, Chepeliova is among a group of Ukrainians learning to navigate the German language.

When AFP visited, she was learning basic terms to express herself during a visit to the doctor.

The courses consist of three hours of classes a day, offered free to Ukrainians for nine months.

“The are extremely motivated,” said teacher Petra Schulte. But Schulte also senses the frustration of her class, which has just one male student. They include a mechanical engineer, a dentist, a doctor, nurses,
and a piano teacher.

“They have worked for years… and suddenly, their qualifications are not recognised, and they cannot practise” their professions, the teacher said.

Chepeliova fled the southern city of Kherson after it fell to the Russians in March. Today, she sees her future in Germany: “It is the best place for me. The country is super welcoming towards Ukrainians.”

Her 12-year-old son found German school difficult at first but “after spending a weekend with his class, it is as if a wall fell — he was no longer frightened of speaking German”.

Other women however want eventually to return to Ukraine, where they have left loved ones behind.

“None of them seem happy in the role of housewife,” observed Schulte, 63.

She even questioned sometimes why she was teaching them when they might end up returning home, she admitted.

For now, while the Ukrainians weigh up their future in Europe’s biggest economy, Schulte and others like her can only support them in their journey to adapt in Germany.

“The will to help has not weakened,” she said.

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GERMANY AND UKRAINE

German politicians want to cut benefits for Ukrainian refugees

A growing number of FDP and CDU/CSU politicians have called for the end of Bürgergeld - Germany's long-term unemployment benefit - for Ukrainian refugees. Here's the background on the debate.

German politicians want to cut benefits for Ukrainian refugees

FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai is calling for reduced state benefits for Ukrainians fleeing the Russian war of aggression to Germany. 

“Newly arriving war refugees from Ukraine should no longer receive Bürgergeld in the future, but should fall under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act,” FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai told the Bild newspaper.

Similar demands have repeatedly come from the conservative CDU/CSU as well as the pro-business Free Democratic (FDP) parliamentary group.

Bürgergeld, or citizens’ allowance is a long-term unemployment benefit which amounts to €563 per month. It is granted to Ukrainian refugees when they register in Germany if they are unemployed, as opposed to a €460 per month benefit which is granted to all other asylum seekers who successfully apply for it. 

Other asylum seekers also face more obstacles entering the labour market. 

What’s the debate around Bürgergeld for Ukrainian refugees?

Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU) criticised the payment of citizen’s allowance to Ukrainian refugees, suggesting that the benefit disincentivises incoming Ukrainians from taking up work. 

FDP’s Djir-Sarai told Bild: “We have a shortage of workers everywhere – for example in gastronomy, construction or care. We should no longer finance unemployment with taxpayers’ money, but must ensure that people get into work.”

The labour market policy spokesman for the SPD, Martin Rosemann, disagrees, countering that citizen’s allowance and access to Germany’s job centres gives Ukrainian refugees the necessary support they need to access the labour market.

According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), 80 percent of Ukrainian refugees in Germany are women. Just under half of these live with children who are minors, and the majority have no partner with them.

Last autumn, the German government announced an effort to enable refugees to find work more quickly. The plan involved placing 400,000 refugees in jobs directly from their language courses, including around 200,000 from Ukraine. According to figures from April, about 160,000 Ukrainian refugees have been brought into work since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression.

Recent EU election results showed a strengthening of far-right and far-left parties that have been critical of Germany’s economic and military support of Ukraine. 

READ ALSO: ANALYSIS – What do Germany’s far-right gains in EU elections mean for foreigners?

Whereas support for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees has been largely supported by members of the traffic-light coalition, some members of CDU/CSU and FDP parties may be repositioning themselves on the issue in light of a perceived shift in public opinion.

Different systems for refugees in Germany 

Since the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine, some have criticised what they see as a two-tiered asylum system in Germany, where war refugees coming from countries such as Syria, West Asia or Africa face a longer and more complicated asylum-seeking procedure.

One example of this is seen in the granting of citizen’s allowance. Refugees from Ukraine have been able to receive basic security benefits in Germany since June 2022 (then Hartz IV, now citizen’s allowance) – instead of the lower benefits granted by the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act. 

According to state and federal actors, the reason for this difference was that refugees from Ukraine are directly entitled to a residence permit and do not have to wait for a decision, as is the case with asylum seekers.

Ukrainians who land in Germany are also permitted to work immediately. As with other residents, they are only entitled to Bürgergeld if they have low income or no income.

READ ALSO: ‘Happy to work here’ – How refugees in Germany are helping labour shortage

With reporting by DPA.

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