Young refugees in Germany are spending months or even years living in temporary accommodation that is “not suitable for children”, research by Unicef has found.
One Syrian child reported living in a “container behind a fence” as Germany struggles to put up refugees from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Ukraine.
Children said in interviews that their makeshift housing was confined, lacked private spaces, had poor hygiene and that they struggled to get schooling. One girl said: “This is not life.”
Unicef said there was a lack of children’s spaces, with communal areas such as kitchens typically used for adults to play card games and people cramped into small bedrooms.
Campaigners noted that children’s rights were being contravened and said refugees who had sometimes spent years en route to Germany should be treated the same way as native-born youths.
Refugee children talk about “how much they miss opportunities to develop, how much their life has basically been put on the brakes”, said Michael Windfuhr of the German Institute for Human Rights.
He said young people wanted a “normal living situation” with more private space, more contacts with fellow children and easier access to health care in Germany.
More than 240,000 people applied for asylum in Germany last year, with refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey and Iraq accounting for about two thirds. Many more were admitted from Ukraine under temporary EU rules.
About 40 per cent of asylum seekers who have arrived in Germany since the peak year of 2015 have been minors, said Christian Schneider, the head of Unicef Germany.
Around 430,000 children and young people sought asylum last year alone – testing Germany’s ability to house them.
Under pressure from overstretched local authorities, ministers have announced plans to speed up deportations and widen the immigration powers of police.
Many refugees stay in temporary housing for months or even years, said Mr Schneider. There were cases of families being separated or having to put up strangers in their accommodation, worsening the lack of private space.
“From Unicef’s point of view there is one thing they [the housing facilities] are not – suitable for children”, Mr Schneider said.
One Syrian family on the run for a decade had a 10-year-old child who speaks four languages and helped others but “in Germany he now lives in a container behind a fence”, Mr Schneider said.
Unicef interviewed 50 children aged between six and 17 at four accommodation sites in Germany. Some of the youths took pictures of their surroundings.
One boy was quoted as saying: “I would like to finally begin my life”. Another girl said she “can’t take life in this accommodation seriously … you’re simply not living life.”
Mr Schneider said confined conditions, discrimination and difficulties in accessing education meant that “after months and years as a refugee, even here they cannot truly begin a childhood worthy of the name”.
“The reality is that many children and young people spend their important, defining and also short childhood in these places that are not meant or suited for them, after everything that they’ve already endured,” he said.
New schools in Dubai
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.
"Nothing and no-one can stop you from succeeding with the right work application, and a little bit of luck along the way.”
Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
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The specs: 2019 Cadillac XT4
Price, base: Dh145,000
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged in-line four-cylinder engine
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 237hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
CRICKET%20WORLD%20CUP%20QUALIFIER%2C%20ZIMBABWE%20
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The bio
Academics: Phd in strategic management in University of Wales
Number one caps: His best-seller caps are in shades of grey, blue, black and yellow
Reading: Is immersed in books on colours to understand more about the usage of different shades
Sport: Started playing polo two years ago. Helps him relax, plus he enjoys the speed and focus
Cars: Loves exotic cars and currently drives a Bentley Bentayga
Holiday: Favourite travel destinations are London and St Tropez
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
How it works
1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water
3) One application is said to last five years
4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare
