The children's rights organization Save the Children and the Paritätische Gesamtverband (Germany's Equal Welfare Association) have criticized the massive disadvantages facing children of refugees in Germany. Speaking in Berlin on Tuesday, the two organizations referred to the roughly 100,000 children in Germany who are entitled only to benefits under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act (Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz). According to the organizations, these children face restrictions in health care, nutrition and participation in social life.
In a survey conducted by the two organizations among professionals at counseling centers and other social institutions, 74 percent of participants said they considered the health care provided to affected children to be inadequate. More than 70 percent said a healthy diet was not possible for the children with the resources available to them. The so-called payment card for asylum seekers was also rated as "impractical for daily life and stigmatizing."
Entitlements under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act are significantly lower than standard welfare (Grundsicherung) rates. According to the organizations, particularly vulnerable groups are especially disadvantaged, including newborns, children with disabilities or chronic illnesses, children under psychological strain, and those living in remote accommodation facilities.
"Practical experience clearly shows that refugee children in Germany are systematically disadvantaged," criticized Florian Westphal, managing director of Save the Children Germany. "Germany is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and yet it allows even newborns to go without health care for months," he said. "That is scandalous."
Children must not be excluded from basic necessities because of their residency status, Westphal stressed. All children in Germany must "receive the same rights and the same protection."
Joachim Rock, managing director of the Paritätische Gesamtverband, called the survey results "shattering." "Children wait months for their birth certificates and receive no care in the meantime," he criticized. Families have benefits cut even though they are already living at subsistence level, he said. Rock therefore demanded that families with children be exempted from benefit cuts and exclusions.
According to the survey, 90 percent of participants pointed to disadvantages caused by the payment card. "Whether it's a bake sale or a youth club, without cash, children are often left out," the organizations explained. Families also lack money for clothing, food, school supplies or hygiene products, they said.
Save the Children and the Paritätische Gesamtverband demanded that authorities always ensure priority care for newborns, even when birth certificates are still missing. They also called on lawmakers to examine whether the statistically calculated standard rates under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act actually allow for a healthy diet that meets children's needs.
The organizations further called for a legal right to interpreters, noting that language barriers jeopardize the success of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment. Payment cards, they said, should be abolished for families with children.
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