Friedland camp. A camp for migrants in Friedland, Germany. How can I get to the camp

Friedland is a small, very small town in Lower Saxony, only 14 kilometers from Göttingen. My relatives brought me there directly from the airport - so that, therefore, I would get used to it and complete all the necessary formalities.

I saw there a cluster of small one-story yellow buildings, which I had previously recommended as barracks. The time was late, so they just gave me the keys to the room and a card, according to which food was supposed to be issued, and they told me where and when I should come in the morning for registration.

The rooms there are for four people, with four iron beds and four lockers. But there are very few people (after all, almost everyone left the CIS before the mid-2000s), so I lived alone in my room all week, walked along quiet corridors, boiled tea in an empty kitchen. By the way, the kettles are fixed in place with some kind of locks: either so that they are not stolen, or so that they are not turned on in the rooms, violating fire safety rules. Apparently, the Germans do not really believe in the presence of legal consciousness among the newly arrived.

It seems that in the barracks people are grouped along ethnic lines. There are a couple of almost empty buildings for people coming from Russia and Kazakhstan (the latter are much larger) and there are a lot of other buildings densely populated with people with a less European appearance. Of course, blacks (from Somalia, from somewhere else) and, of course, Arabs (these are from Syria and Libya). They all meet three times a day at the same time, in the same place. At the entrance to the dining room, at 7.00, at 11.30 and at 16.30. They gather in advance, in a very dense crowd at the very doors, and when the guard opens the door (and he does this with an invariably squeamish expression on his face), they rush in, pushing each other away. In fact, there is enough food for everyone, and it’s not worth it (besides, the food is frankly bad), but people are still worried.

I can’t help but say something else about cultural features: next to the Friedland railway station, right on the pavement, during one walk I saw a pile of human excrement. Around - the usual German cleanliness, but here - this. I suspect that the culprit of the incident was not an indigenous person at all ... And a photograph of another "non-indigenous", namely a Somali, hangs in all administrative buildings. The man became famous for slaughtering someone right there in the camp, and has not yet been found.

But in general, refugees are a rather calm audience, and many of them try to behave correctly. For example, say "sorry", "thank you" or "hello" depending on the situation, in German or English. Do not climb ahead of their turn (well, almost never). And still there was only one unpleasant find, although I went around the whole town many times in an attempt to unwind.

True, most of the "settlers" are still very dissatisfied with the migration policy of Germany. Having stood in a general queue, under advertisements in Chinese, Polish and four versions of Arabic, having looked at pregnant black women, whose skirts were clutched by a couple more children, at uncontrolled Arab boys running, screaming and studying the world around them with great interest, Russians (well, or "Russians", the devil knows) start conversations over food on a limited range of topics: "why do they let all these in?", "Look, what a mug!" and even "the German race has completely degenerated."

Refugees live in the camp, as I understand it, for a long time. There are also German courses for them. But the settlers live in Friedland for an average of four days until they complete the necessary documents. First, registration. "First, you need to get familiar," experienced people say, following the established fashion, which is unpleasant for me - to insert German words modified in the Russian manner into Russian speech. Each migrant is given a "slider" with a list of all places and actions, and - the process has begun.

First you need to go to Göttingen for an x-ray. Of course, people with open tuberculosis are not expelled from Germany: they are sent to a specialized camp located somewhere nearby, and they are treated there. And then you have to go around five more rooms in the camp itself, and go into some more than once. It takes three days for this. Officials must record information about education and work experience, conclude an agreement for benefits, find out if there are places in the federal state where the migrant wants to go. By the way, I was not very lucky with this: my relatives live in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, but these lands are the most popular, and they were sent there, at least in those days, only if there were siblings or children-parents there. Uncles and aunts are not close enough relatives, alas. So I was offered a choice between Mecklenburg-Pomerania and Saxony. Upper, that is. I, of course, chose the latter.

Yes, I almost forgot: the favorite topic of conversation in queues in front of offices is German officials. This surprised me, to be honest. No one remembers the just abandoned Russia, where this is clearly worse, but they complain about the Germans. They work slowly, for show, not very friendly, do not accept at the appointed time. The last one is true, by the way. Moreover, it happened that they made an appointment for the early morning - at 7.30, for example, and made me wait until ten.

Here you go. They assigned me Saxony as a place of residence and asked me to stay in Friedland for another three days, until a place was vacated here. It was Friday-Sunday, so there was simply no one in the Russian barracks. At all. To entertain myself, I went to Göttingen, then went to Kassel, and on Monday at six in the morning I received a ticket when I was discharged from the camp and went east - with transfers in Schneewald, Halle, Leipzig, Dresden and Pirna.

Finally - photos from my building.

Next to each door, they write the names and number of people (top, of course; bottom - room number):

Window in the ceiling:

The map was very relevant:

Warn about phone scammers:

Kitchen:

This hangs over the sink:

Two such structures are in each room:

15 km from the German city of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony, there is a small settlement that plays the role of the first harbor for all those who seek salvation and protection in Germany. By the beginning of the 2000s, this place was practically empty, and it was decided to transform its territory into a memorial museum. But by 2014, the situation had changed dramatically, and today the settlement that once lost its significance is once again overflowing with refugees and migrants in need of asylum. Knowing what the Friedland camp is today will be useful to anyone who plans to move to this part of Europe as a settler.

How did the camp come about?

The appearance of a place of temporary residence for migrants in this particular part of the country is not accidental. The camp was founded at the very end of World War II. It was here that three zones of occupation touched: Soviet (Thuringia), English (Lower Saxony) and American (Hesse). If we add that the most important railway lines for that time between Kassel and Hannover passed between the three of them, then we can say that the place where the settlement was founded was predetermined.

The idea of ​​setting up the camp was put forward by the British troops, who chose the territory of the research laboratories of the University of Göttingen. The Friedland camp for settlers began operating on September 20, 1945. It has been used for different purposes over the years:

• the first inhabitants were liberated prisoners who were returning from the USSR;
• this was followed by defectors from the territory of the GDR to the lands of the FRG;
• in the 80s of the last century, Soviet migrants settled in Friedland;
• later - "Russian Germans".

In the middle of the 20th century, there were a considerable number of such places of settlement of late settlers. But due to the fact that their flow has gradually decreased, today only Friedland remains active.

How can I get to the camp

There are several ways to get to Friedland:

• by plane to Hannover, from there by train to Göttingen and then a little more to the final destination by train.
• by rail. This way to arrive from Russia is not the most convenient: only in Germany you will need to make two transfers - in Berlin and in Kassel. Considering the number of things that a migrant can have, it becomes clear that the option is not easy.
• flight to Hannover, then by taxi to the camp. Such a pleasure will cost about 220 euros.
• by bus from the Russian Federation - the path is the longest and not the most comfortable.

Alternatively, you can contact intermediary companies that provide resettlement services in Germany, meet you at the airport, and then take care of all the transfer concerns.

What awaits the migrants in the camp

The main goal pursued by the work of the camp is the registration of new arrivals and their resettlement throughout the German territory. The period for which newcomers can be accepted is 3-4 days. This time is sufficient for the following procedures:

• verification of available documents and compliance with the data in the questionnaire;
• carrying out fluorography;
• passing interviews with representatives of the employment center.

In order not to get confused in the upcoming actions, the refugee receives a special leaflet containing the schedule and venue of certain events.

All this period the migrant lives in the room allotted for him. Immediately after arrival, new tenants are issued coupons to visit the dining room. And although publicly funded food is not varied and complete, it is enough to satisfy basic needs. There is a shop on the territory of the settlement where you can buy the missing products.

The main problem of those who seek asylum is their lack of knowledge of the German language. To this end, it would be good to enlist the support of relatives, if they are available in Germany. If not, the state is ready to help by providing an interpreter.

During the identification and registration process, the migrant has the opportunity to change the spelling of the surname and name according to the German model.

For example, "Ivan" can become "Johan", and "Stepan" - "Stefan". Please note that you can make changes and refuse the Russian patronymic (it is not accepted in Germany) for free only once. All further attempts to make adjustments, even if it is only one letter, will cost 200 euros.

As for the national composition of the camp, today it accepts not only ethnic Germans. In 2009, the first refugees from Iraq arrived here. In 2013, Friedland became a haven for the first Syrian migrants. Today, this organization is working beyond its capabilities, providing a roof over the head of people from Libya, Afghanistan, and Syria.

How is the distribution for permanent residence

The final stage is the distribution already for permanent residence throughout the country. Only in recent years, this procedure began to be carried out taking into account the wishes of the settler. Previously, he had no choice and had to put up with any decision of the commission.

To get to the right place, a beginner only needs to indicate in his profile the region and even the locality in which he would like to settle. However, no one can guarantee that this desire will be satisfied. But in any case, officials are trying to meet the applicant halfway.

The migrant receives a document with his new data, which will serve as his identity card. Together with him, the late migrant is given tickets to the place of new residence and 102 euros for each of the family members. This amount will at least partially compensate for the funds spent on the way to Friedland.

It is important to understand that the resettlement camp in Germany is the primary reception point for those in need of help. The document that is issued to them after registration only confirms that they arrived in the country legally, were registered and are ready to move permanently to the region of their choice. The very process of legalization and recognition of a candidate as an migrant or refugee begins already at the place of his permanent residence.

What is the Otto Beneke Foundation

Migrants who managed to get a higher technical education before moving to Germany have special privileges. In particular, a diploma in engineering allows a newcomer to receive a referral to the Otto Beneke Foundation.

The main mission of the Foundation is to provide a special non-refundable scholarship to engineers who came from Eastern Europe. The money received allows you to retrain or improve your existing qualifications. This makes it possible to adapt as much as possible to the German labor market and get a good position with a high income.
Foreign specialists are undergoing retraining in one of the German universities, with which the Fund has signed a corresponding agreement. In addition to this project, the organization supports various educational programs that allow migrants to arrange their future in new conditions.

Rapid Integration Courses

A migrant who has arrived at a permanent place of residence is concerned about the speedy integration into a society that is still alien to him. Thanks to the help of the state, which undertakes not only the reception, but also their arrangement, the late migrant gets the opportunity, on the basis of his registration certificate, to take advantage of free courses that will help assimilate with the local population as soon as possible. The duration of the courses is 6 months. During the training, the beginner receives basic information on all aspects of life in Germany:

• legislation,
• features of the culture and traditions of the German nation.

The process of obtaining knowledge is divided into 6 modules. Each of them contains 100 hours of lessons. The entire course is divided into two main groups: language and indicative. Lessons in the first of them allow you to master German in the most necessary areas: a visit to the doctor, a telephone conversation, going to a cafe or restaurant. The orientation course introduces migrants to culture, legislation and other adaptation issues.

After the courses are completed, the student will have to pass the B1 exam and receive a certificate. If a migrant plans to enter a university, he will have to continue his education.

conclusions

Conceived as far back as 1945, Friedland today takes under its roof people from all over the world who are fleeing war and unfavorable living conditions.

Russian migrants can get here by direct bus or plane. The further route upon arrival in the country will have to be planned taking into account the composition of the family and the amount of luggage available, since there will be more than one transfer to be made.

Upon arrival at the camp, beginners can count on living space, food, and medical support. After registering and filling out all the necessary documents, migrants are sent to their place of permanent residence, where they will start.

Camp Friedland: Video

After arriving in Germany, like all late settlers, I had to arrive at the late settlers' camp in Friedland.

I would like to start by saying that I flew all night on an airplane, since it was the first time in my life, I did not manage to sleep on an airplane. And so, having arrived at the camp at 12 noon, I, sleepy and powerless, planned to quickly get the key and fall asleep where they would put me up. First of all, it was necessary to visit the commandant in order to somehow inform about himself and get the keys. Since it was 12 noon, the commandant said that she was having lunch. She asked me to wait in the hallway. Here the most interesting began. Returning half an hour later, the commandant began to call everyone except me on the speakerphone. After sitting for another two hours waiting, I felt that now I would fall down and fall asleep right in the corridor, and besides, I really wanted to eat. Unable to bear it, I went ahead, entered, gave my call, a passport and asked to issue me. The commandant handed over my papers to a girl sitting next to her at the computer, apparently this is an employee of the federal department. There, I entered something for a long time and returned the documents to the commandant. Then the commandant gives me the papers and declares that there is no place in the camp and they are ready to put me in a hotel or they offered to live with my closest relatives. My closest relatives lived in Bavaria and therefore I agreed to the hotel without hesitation. We were asked to wait in the corridor again. And after sitting until 16.30, being afraid to go anywhere, they suddenly call, a young girl comes out and says that I can take a suitcase, in 10 minutes her colleague will take me to the hotel. Taking the suitcase, I was met by an aged man, opened the trunk and I put the luggage there, tired, sat in the back seat. We drove for about 20 minutes and stopped at some village, as it turned out later it was a resort town, we stopped near some hotel. I pulled out my luggage and followed the man, he came to the reception, said a few words, pointed at me and left. I went to the reception and they asked me a couple of questions if I smoke and something like that. Then they said when breakfast, lunch and dinner were on time. Nodding my head wearily, I climbed into my room. It was surprisingly nice, a wonderful shower room, a TV, but it was cold, very cold ... then I found out that the batteries had to be switched on by myself. Turning on the battery, I took a shower and fell asleep without hind legs at 18 pm and slept until lunch the next day. After lunch, I saw that I was not the only Russian speaker. In addition to me, 3 more families of late settlers lived in the hotel. We all met and talked for a couple of days until we were told at one of the breakfasts that tomorrow at 10 am a bus would pick us up and take us to the procedures. The next day at exactly 10 a bus arrived in which there were 20 people and we. The girl on the voice recorder all over the bus announced that there is now a war in Syria and therefore there are a lot of refugees in the camp, asked us to sympathize with them and said that the employees were no less interested than us in quickly registering us. After that, she named everyone on the bus by last name and noted who was and who was not. My last name was already there. After that, she walked along the bus and gave everyone a form and a slider that says who we need to visit.

Fluorography

First of all, we arrived in a neighboring town where the same girl who was on the bus took us to the Fluorography. Entering the hospital, we were taken to the corridor where there are 4 doors. One person entered each of them, going there I ended up in a small room, as I understood, I had to undress there. Having taken off my outer clothes, I opened the next door and there the doctor led me to the apparatus and asked me not to breathe. Literally a couple of minutes later, he nodded his head, as if a sign that everything and I got dressed again and went out to everyone. We were asked to be in one place and not disperse. Going through everything Fluorography the same girl said that now the children will be examined. children Fluorography did not. The children were examined by therapists, lores ... All were successfully examined, everyone was given the results in their hands and we were taken to Friedland.

Primary registration

Then we were brought to the federal department, they told us to fill in the forms that we were given on the bus. It is written in German and below in Russian, but fill in only in German. There were some questions like this:

1. FULL NAME
2. Age
3. Where
4. Education
5. Work experience, where and when and by whom he worked
6. Relatives in Germany where they live
7. Religion
8. Where would I like to live in Germany

And everything is like that. After we were called by last name and brought to the office of an official who checked our profiles, entered the data into a computer.

We were then put on a bus and taken to our hotels.

Secondary registration

Just a couple of days later they called us and said that a minibus would come and be ready with things. The next day we were brought to the camp with our things. There they gave me the key to the room and told me to go back to the building of the federal department for a term. Arriving there, I found out that they were looking for me in the morning. I said that I came and literally after 30 minutes the official called me, not the one that was in the first term, there was another official and he already escorted me to his office and there he also filled out something and then said that he had submitted a request to the land and city where I want to live. He asked me to sit and wait. After sitting for about an hour, he called me again and already gave me the documents that I was registered, sent to courses and sent to the hostel where I would live. It turned out to be not the city where I wanted, but completely different. 400 km from the city where I wanted to live. Well, here I was powerless, so thanking for everything, I retired to my room in the camp.

Final stage

The next day, I visited the Job Center, where they brought me a questionnaire and handed it over to me to give it to my place of residence. Then, going to the commandant, he gave the documents and said that I was leaving, they asked me to wait, after 30 minutes they called me and showed me a train ticket and said that they would give it tomorrow. They gave out 110 euros, a partial compensation for my expenses for coming to Germany. After spending the night in the camp, at 7 in the morning I came to the commandant and gave the keys and in return for me a train ticket and a bunch of papers that came in handy in the city where I lived.

This is approximately the stage that all late settlers go through in the camp in Friedland. In the following articles I will talk about adaptation in the city, the first steps that will undoubtedly come in handy for you. And I'll give you some practical advice.

We flew from Siberia. Tickets were for March 3 to Dusseldorf. We deliberately bought tickets not to Hannover, for a banal reason - tickets to Dusseldorf cost us 300...350 euros for two, the same tickets to Hannover would cost 500 euros +.
In addition, it was just interesting for us to see this city. We booked an inexpensive but very decent hotel near the Hauptbahnhof. We rested after flights / transfers and boarded a train to Friedland at lunchtime. Tickets and a bahncard 25 discount card: we ordered more from the Russian Federation in advance. Everything was very simple and convenient. On the evening of the 4th we were already in Friedland. We settled in the 5th barrack. The people in Friedland are in darkness. There are 20-30 migrants and 200-250 refugees. At the end of our stay there, several refugees were placed in a barracks with the settlers, since there was simply no place. Enough has already been said about Friedland itself, food there, conditions and other things - a small, beautiful, clean and tidy town. The only thing I can note is what kind of "cadres" are found from the settlers - it's quiet darkness. Sitting on the "courts", near the barracks, drinking beer from the throat and peeling seeds right there on the ground - these gentlemen did not bother at all.
Distribution.
Since we had no relatives, there were few options to get to Bavaria or the NRV. This, in fact, was confirmed upon meeting with the berator. He simply showed a list of all lands and quotas for each. Berator, fortunately, spoke English, although worse than us))). We approached the issue openly. We just asked what we want in a big city and what would they advise us as IT people? They seemed to be imbued, they said that Thuringia, Brandenburg, Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt and the north would not suit us in any way, since these are practically only C\X regions. They advised Saxony. We didn’t really break down and agreed. When we came to the next term, he said that we were not going to Leipzig, but UNDER Leipzig, which I did not like at all (he said that in Leipzig all highs were full), and after he gave the exact address and I googled where this and how it was a slight shock to us.
Near Leipzig there was a very small town of Wurzen, it was unexpected, but not so scary. It turned out that Heim is located in the village of Trebelshain, 6 km from this same Wurzen. And there is no transport, no shop or bakery. Even the connection there worked poorly. We arrived there on March 11th.
http://goo.gl/maps/stmHX
The nearest transport is an electric train, the stop of which is 2 km from this "farm". 2km on a windswept road just to drive to Wurzen and buy groceries.
We experienced the biggest shock when the housemaster of this haym eventually brought us there.
Cold, 2-storey building in the style of "welcome to the USSR and the GDR", a half-wall map of the USSR from the GDR. Cast iron batteries and furniture from the USSR. Dust, web. Bunk beds. The image was completed by a view from the window at a barn with sheep that were grazing outside the window, as well as a note written in Russian and pasted over the urinal in the men's toilet - "do not flatter yourself - come closer!".










It was evident that this haym was very rarely sent in recent years. Besides us, there was only one family from Kazakhstan, who moved out a few days after we arrived.
With all the obvious disadvantages of this place and this haym, there were also pluses, as it turned out later.
1. Housemaster. Elderly German Herr Herberdt 65 years old. He helped with everything, drove everywhere in his car. It was evident that he knew all the procedures perfectly. He spoke only German with a hellish dialect, which we learned to understand a little. I helped fill in all the entrags, commenting on each complex line or word in the entrags.
2. Speed ​​of bureaucracy. On the second day in Heim, we visited the Job Center and the Burgersamt. On the third day, we already had German temporary annual foreign passports (Reisepassen) and an open account in Sparkasse. A week later we had Sparkasse cards in our hands, and a week later we already received certificates of a late migrant from Friedland.
3. Heim could be said to be empty, and therefore we could quite easily dispose of a huge kitchen with a bunch of dishes, designed in fact for 10-15 families and a huge dining room. We lived in a room on the second floor and we could say a private bathroom (very clean I must say), where we calmly left all the washing accessories.
4. The absence of azulants (refugees) was a positive factor. I normally treat people of the East, but let's say different approaches to hygiene in Russia and, say, Afghanistan, as well as religious aspects, would create certain inconveniences.
Search for an apartment.
As soon as our neighbors from Kazakhstan, with the help of relatives, found an apartment for themselves and moved out of the haim, we also took care of finding housing. The well-known site http://www.immobilienscout24.de came to the rescue
We wrote a very polite letter in German explaining who we are and what we want, and I began to methodically send requests to apartments of interest to us and passing by social norms. Previously, I studied in which areas of Leipzig it’s definitely better not to meddle, and which ones are good (why do you need the example of the Turkish quarter ?!). The fact is that farmers are very reluctant to rent apartments to applicants receiving ALG-II social benefits, which almost all of us, immigrants, are at first (and this point must be discussed when looking for housing - otherwise you will just waste your time / ride in vain). 30 messages sent 3 or 4 replies. We looked at the apartments and chose one. The farmer was a private trader, not a broker. This was his residence. Among other things, the farmer spoke good English, which improved mutual understanding 5 times.
Dry result. On March 3rd we landed in Germany and on April 1st we moved into an apartment in the wonderful and big city of Leipzig. Courses ahead... and much more. I don’t presume to judge myself, since I don’t have experience, but my friend, who has been living here for many years, said that everything turned out FANTASTICLY quickly. If someone has questions - write in a personal, that I can - I'll tell you. Good luck to all!

Auf Wiedersehen!