Posted on 02/28/2013 5:11:58 AM PST by DeaconBenjamin
With frigid temperatures outside, German homeless and emergency shelters are usually full this time of year. But a rising number of homeless people, many from other EU states, are exceeding their capacities and triggering competition for limited cots and resources.
The doors won't open for another two hours, but Gerd doesn't want to take the risk of being turned away this time. "I was too late yesterday and didn't get a bed," the 57-year-old says. His thin, blond hair is sticking to his head, he has scabs on his forehead and chin, and his breath reeks of schnapps.
Gerd would rather spend the afternoon standing in the rain than go away empty-handed again. Three Africans and seven Eastern Europeans are also standing in line.
Munich, Stuttgart, Cologne and other German cities face a similar problem: more people seek help than there is space in homeless and emergency shelters. The homeless population in Germany has grown sharply in recent years, partly because of a growing influx of destitute Romanians, Bulgarians and other Eastern Europeans.
In a shelter on Spaldingstrasse in Hamburg, about two-thirds are from Romania, Bulgaria and Poland. A bus from Romania pulled up to the building and unloaded 12 day laborers.
Nello is a tractor driver. His wife and his youngest daughter live in his son's studio apartment in Cologne, but there isn't enough space there for him.
Immigrants are waiting outside the doors of the former veterinary office at Cologne's Eifelwall streetcar station, which opens at 7 p.m. There are about 30 people there, and the most common language being spoken is Romanian. Nello has been sleeping there for the last six months, but he hasn't found a job yet. "Going back isn't an option," he says. "There is nothing for me at home, only poverty."
(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...
Soooo, how’s that “cradle to grave” eurosocialist thing working out? Not so good, eh?
I guess old east Germany needs to build a wall on its other side.
Coming soon to a Neighborhood near you.
Homeless on the streets of Germany, eh?
I had no idea Republicans were running the place these days.
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