Drop in Church Asylum Seekers in Saxony-Anhalt: EKM Speaks Up
Decreased Instances of 'Church Sanctuary' in Saxony-Anhalt - Decrease in Church Asylum Seekers in Saxony-Anhalt
The Evangelical Church in Central Germany (EKM) has noticed a substantial decrease in cases of church asylum in Saxony-Anhalt. While the number stood at 49 in 2023, it's now down to 13 in 2024. Most of these cases have already been concluded, an EKM spokesperson confirmed upon inquiry in Magdeburg.
"Escalating inquiries for church asylum don't seem to correlate with the drop in actual cases," the spokesperson noted. Priests and pastors are receiving more inquiries, but the number of resulting church asylum cases is on the decline.
Each church asylum case is an individual decision. It's all about humanitarian hardships and distress. "As a church, we feel responsible for helping those in distress. The Dublin Regulation doesn't encompass all humanitarian situations, especially those concerning family," the spokesperson added. There are still countries to which refugees reluctantly return, fearing additional traumatic experiences. "The local church weighs all these factors when making decisions regarding church asylum," the spokesperson assured.
While changes in the asylum procedure and a decline in overall asylum applications may contribute to the dip in church asylum cases, no specific causes like political developments or security issues were reported to impact church asylum rates directly in Saxony-Anhalt in 2024.
Germany experienced a significant decrease in 2024 asylum applications, registering 250,945 applications compared to 351,915 in 2023. This reduction may account for the drop in church asylum cases, as fewer asylum seekers are making their way into the system. Furthermore, processing times for asylum appeals in Saxony-Anhalt have improved somewhat, averaging 8.3 months, making progress towards the six-month target set by the Minister Presidents’ Conference.
These improvements in handling asylum cases by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) may lessen the need for church asylum, which serves as a form of temporary protection while asylum cases are being processed.
- Despite the decrease in church asylum cases in Saxony-Anhalt, vocational training centers in EC countries are still receiving numerous inquiries for vocational training from asylum seekers, as they seek skills to secure their futures post-asylum process.
- As the general-news continues to show a decline in overall asylum applications across Germany, political discourse has shifted towards discusssing the importance of vocational training for asylum seekers to integrate into society more effectively, as vital job skills can ease the burden on the welfare system and boost the economy.
