On Tuesday, a total of 50 Syrian refugees arrived in Luxembourg from Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
Most of the people involved, including 21 adults and 21 children, entered the European Union, after having being stopped at the Hungarian border. Luxembourg responded positively to a call from the German authorities and has taken the necessary steps to host the refugees who recently were able to reach Germany via Austria.
The Syrians arrived in Luxembourg in the early evening by bus, accompanied by supervising staff of the Luxembourg Office for Reception and Integration (OLAI), a number of social workers as well as a volunteer emergency doctor speaking Arabic. They were welcomed by Luxembourg's Minister for Family and Integration, Corinne Cahen, the mayor of Berdorf, Ern Walerius, and by the director of OLAI, Yves Piron.
Initially, the refugees will be housed in the Centre Heliar in Weilerbach, where 50 beds have been made available following the departure of Syrian families who had arrived in May. They have all since been relocated across the country in order to facilitate their integration and to enable children to integrate into municipal schools when the school year starts shortly in September.
The OLAI handles the reception, accommodation, administrative assistance, social monitoring and relocation of new families, as well as socio-pedagogical supervision of children. About 2,000 people are currently supported by the OLAI.
In collaboration with Luxembourg's Ministry of Education, Children and Youth, the OLAI also organises education of children and youth. Children aged under 13 will be initially integrated in special reception classes at the Centre Heliar. Young people will be integrated into reception classes of secondary education. Language courses are to be offered to adults.
Photos by Charles Caratini, copyright SIP
