More women and families on the streets in Luxembourg

2022 has been a year struck by crisis, with the number of refugees rising to over 100 million people worldwide. Some 14 million of these come from Ukraine, with a few thousand Ukrainian refugees seeking asylum in Luxembourg.

With such an influx of people, the existing accommodation structures have been found wanting. Director-general of Caritas, Marc Crochet, told RTL there had been issues in a building designed to house refugees on Boulevard Konrad Adenauer in Kirchberg, but added the problems had been partly resolved in the meantime.

In mid-December, a number of refugees were transferred to the unfinished building, due to extremely cold temperatures of around -12°C outside and -2°C in the tents. However, the building's heating system had not yet been completely installed. With 750 people to shelter, the situation posed a real challenge, but there seemed to be no other choice.

Around 75% of the 7,000 beds available across 68 accommodation structures in Luxembourg are occupied. The occupants hail from a multitude of cultures and must somehow co-exist. Crochet said it was not the norm for Europeans to join these accommodation structures, and explained they often had different expectations to other refugee groups.

© RTL Archiv

Crochet told RTL he did not have exact figures for the number of refugees staying with private hosts, as this data has not properly been collected. In addition, private accommodation often throws up its own issues, such as time limits.
On top of accommodation demands, there is a real concern for minor refugees in the Grand Duchy, with more and more arriving without suitable structures to house them. Crochet argues these refugees must be seen first and foremost as children, and should not be reduced to their refugee status.

Recently, a home for teenage refugees on Route d'Arlon underwent work to increase its capacity, and can now accommodate 78 young people. But having so many teenagers together is not optimal, said Crochet: "We are working with the authorities to find different solutions."

The issue spills over into the topic of homelessness, added Crochet: "We talk a lot about the homeless, but we don't properly engage with them enough to be able to understand their problems." He specified that there is no such thing as a typical homeless person. In Luxembourg, the number of people on the streets is increasing, with more and more women and families left homeless.

It is a complex problem, said Crochet, and regretfully it is often reduced to a security issue. He said municipal authorities should not be left to handle these issues alone, when it was really an issue of national politics.

"Social workers are not here to chase people away," he said. Disturbances or drug-related issues should be handled by the police. Alternatively, Crochet suggested a "social welfare committee", which does not yet exist, but could bridge the gap for such issues.