Sahar Hesselbarth (45) is the spokesperson for the “Hamburg Citizens’ Initiative for Adequate Refugee Accommodation”, in which Flottbek residents are fighting against the accommodation of 144 refugees in the visitor parking lot of the Botanical Garden – on the grounds, among other things, that there is no food discounter in the immediate area.
Mopo: Ms. Hesselbarth, why do the residents in Flottbek stand up against this relatively small accommodation?
Sahar Hesselbarth: Because it is not a suitable place for refugee accommodation. There are better areas in the area, for example Holmbrook, an area on Osdorfer Landstrasse or nursing homes that have been vacant for years.
Don’t you think that the residents of the nursing homes in Nienstedten will object to refugees being accommodated next door?
There are people everywhere who are against refugees. We are for these people seeking protection and want to create the optimal place for them. And the parking lot is too small, there is no space for play and meeting areas, trees also have to be felled and disabled parking spaces are no longer available. I was a refugee child myself and children simply don’t belong in this place. If one parking space were chosen, there would be another one 200 meters away that belonged to the University of Hamburg. This is not directly on the street in front of the bus turning circle and not on the S-Bahn tracks.
Less area can be built on there, says the social authorities.
It is undoubtedly larger and has no disabled parking spaces, and does not prevent visitors to the Loki Schmidt Garden, who have to travel barrier-free, from accessing it. But that’s what we think: there is a lack of transparency. And many people see it that way. We never expected such a response. There is an incredible rush, my phone rings every five minutes.
What do people say to you?
There are a lot of people who say, we agree that the refugees are coming, we also want to help, but let’s look for an optimal place.
In other parts of the city, refugees are also accommodated in suboptimal locations, without discount stores or a helping church community around the corner. The residents also had to accept that.
I also get calls from other parts of the city asking for help. If people are being housed in an unworthy manner elsewhere, we take note of it and bring it to the attention of the city.
What role does the loss of value of houses due to refugee accommodation play?
I’m sorry, what?
Loss of home value has played a large role in previous shelter lawsuits.
This is not an issue for us.
How many of you are now in the initiative?
Over 100. And there are almost 2,000 signatures for the petition on paper, plus almost 1,000 who signed the petition online.
And you are sure that they are all looking forward to refugees in Flottbek?
It’s not about joy or the “if”, it’s all about the “how” of how integration can succeed. Otherwise I wouldn’t be doing this here.
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There are clear words from North Rhine-Westphalia: The new Islamism report warns of small groups and solo perpetrators – often lured in by jihadist propaganda. In addition, the NRW state security officers have noticed increasing contacts between Salafist preachers and criminal Kurdish-Lebanese clans.
The original for this article “Refugee dispute in Hamburg’s rich west: “Want to help”, but not here” comes from Mopo.
