Prison camps or places of sanctuary? More efficient or restricting asylum seekers' rights? Opinions about Germany’s ‘anchor’ centers remain deeply divided. InfoMigrants visited Bamberg in Bavaria to find out how the center there is working 16 months on.
Germany's federal police chief said a lack of pre-deportation facilities is hampering the deportation of rejected asylum seekers and illegal foreigners to third-countries.
The international human rights organization Doctors of the World says it won't continue to run medical clinics at an asylum seeker center in Bavaria. The group says the living conditions in the Anchor Center make it impossible to provide proper treatment.
What is being done to protect women from violence in asylum shelters in Germany? Not enough, many activists say. So what can women do if they don’t feel safe there? Here’s what you need to know.
Since the launch of nine "anchor centers" ("Ankerzentren") in Germany last year, the concept of these holding facilities has been repeatedly criticized by NGOs while the government has called them a success. A new monitoring website lets current and former residents report incidents anonymously.
One year after the introduction of so-called 'anchor centers' for asylum seekers in Germany, the interior ministry delivered its first report, saying the new concept was a success. But not everyone is happy with their performance.
A group of migrants have pelted officers with stones as they tried to investigate the death of a woman at the migrant center in the southern German city of Regensburg. A three-hour operation ensued to remove her body.
Over the next few weeks, around 800 asylum seekers living in the Schweinfurt anchor center in northern Bavaria will move to another former US barracks nearby. Another 300 asylum seekers near Munich will move into a new outpost of the anchor center Manching over the next few days.
Most refugees in Germany aren't used to talking about their trials and tribulations. But even if they wanted to, psychological help is often hard to come by. One initiative at the anchor center for asylum seekers in Schweinfurt, Bavaria tries to change that with psychosocial peer counselors. We visited the center to find out more about the project for refugees by refugees.
Most asylum seekers at the Schweinfurt anchor center in Bavaria don't have good chances of being allowed to stay in Germany. They come from countries with a low 'protection rate' — regardless of the personal suffering many of the migrants have endured to make it to Europe. InfoMigrants visited the center and talked to its residents.
What is life like for asylum seekers in anchor centers in Germany? We visited one in Schweinfurt, Bavaria, to find out. Three German states recently introduced the so-called anchor centers, where asylum seekers are supposed to stay while their applications are being processed — and they are either given asylum or are deported.
Every year, hundreds of young Gambians make long and dangerous journeys to get to Europe. InfoMigrants spoke to one of them at the anchor center for asylum seekers in Donauwörth, Bavaria.