Steinfurt district informs about the Ukraine conflict
Steinfurt district. The district of Steinfurt is taking measures to control and coordinate offers of help from the population. For this purpose, the district will set up a “Stabsstelle Ukraine” under the direction of the head of civil protection, Dr. Karlheinz Fuchs, which will serve as a point of contact for citizens. The contact details will be published shortly on the district’s website(www.kreis-steinfurt.de/ukraine).
“I know from past crises that there is a great willingness to help in our region,” says District Administrator Dr. Martin Sommer. In order to be able to steer possible offers of help in a targeted and needs-oriented manner and at the same time not lose sight of the protection of citizens, they should be guided by the following points:
- From own or externally organized trips to the Ukrainian border with the aim to independently pick up refugees and transport them to the district, should be urgently refrained. At the moment, arriving refugees are received and registered at the national borders, and then further accommodation is organized – aid organizations provide support. From the German side, there will be central government control and coordination.
- Donations in kind for refugees in the war and crisis region are currently not necessary according to the consensus of all relevant actors. The primary destination states of the refugees and their civil society actors are apparently currently providing sufficient supplies.
- Anyone wishing to donate money should do so via the known donation accounts of the aid organizations.
Currently, the district of Steinfurt is only expecting an isolated influx of people or small groups and families coming from Ukraine to North Rhine-Westphalia due to family relationships and private contacts. However, depending on further developments, state allocations of refugees are also possible in the future. The European Union, the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia will then promptly activate the necessary regulations to enable an orderly procedure.
At the federal and state level, the necessary accommodation, care and support measures for refugees will be managed centrally. District Administrator Dr. Sommer nevertheless appeals directly to citizens with a view to a possible worsening of the situation “If you have privately available accommodation for refugee families, please feel free to report them to your respective city or municipal administration purely as a precautionary measure.”
The Municipal Integration Center (KI) of the Steinfurt district is gearing up to support arriving war refugees – also with translation services(www.kreis-steinfurt.de/sprachmittlerpool).
People who have already arrived from Ukraine as refugees and have found accommodation in the district of Steinfurt are asked to contact the Ukraine staff unit. This enables them to be contacted and informed about all relevant issues and to submit offers of support. The Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homeland provides information on the most important issues concerning aliens law at:https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/faqs/DE/themen/ministerium/ukraine-krieg/faq-ukraine-artikel.html.