This 2 minute YouTube video caught my eye. It's either OMG or WTF. I was lost for words. If this carries on there will be civil war in Europe. Push people around for long enough and something has to give. I despair. This is what happens when a government puts others ahead of its own people. Could it happen here? I'm not so sure. But this is awful.
German woman threatened with eviction to make way for refugees A 51-year-old German woman is being evicted from her home of 16 years to make way for refugees, with shelters already full across the country please log in to view this image The woman lives in the small western German town of Nieheim Photo: Alamy A woman in Germany is being evicted from her home of 16 years to make way for asylum-seekers, amid growing concerns over how Germany will find accommodation for the hundreds of thousands of refugees flooding into the country. Bettina Halbey, a 51-year-old nurse, has lived alone in her flat in the small western German town of Nieheim since her children grew up. On September 1, she received a letter from her landlord, the local municipality, telling her the building was being turned into a refugee shelter and she had until next May to leave. “I was completely taken aback,” Ms Halbey told Welt newspaper. “I find it impossible to describe how the city has treated me.” please log in to view this image Migrants sleep on camp beds by the running track at the August Schaerttner Halle in Hanau, Germany When Ms Halbey vented her frustration on Facebook, asking why she was being evicted when properties were standing empty in the town, her comment was shared 200,000 times. In Germany, where 52 per cent of people rent their homes, it is unheard of to be asked to leave under such circumstances. Tenants are strongly protected by law, and can normally only be evicted if they have broken the terms of their rental agreement. “I’ve muddled through sorrow and distress, and then I get this notice,” said Ms Halbey, who brought up her two children as a single mother in the flat. “It was like a kick in the teeth.” Ms Halbey insisted she was not against Germany taking refugees in. When asylum-seekers moved into the flat above hers last May, they got on well, she said. “We take care of each other. Helping people, this is my commandment,” she said. Although the building belongs to the local municipality, it is not social housing and Ms Halbey pays the full market rent. But Rainer Vidal, the mayor of Nieheim, said the building was needed to house refugees because the town’s existing three shelters were full. “A new residential unit for 30 refugees in Nieheim would cost €300,000 (£222,000). This solution will cost me nothing,” he told Welt. Doubts have been raised over whether the municipality’s move is legal. It has invoked a law under which a private landlord can evict a tenant if he wants to move into the property himself.
It's terrible, Matt. The killer quote there: "But Rainer Vidal, the mayor of Nieheim, said the building was needed to house refugees because the town’s existing three shelters were full. “A new residential unit for 30 refugees in Nieheim would cost €300,000 (£222,000). This solution will cost me nothing,” he told Welt."
I hope so. What a way to treat anyone, let alone a public servant serving the community. This isn't a migrant issue as such because it's not their fault. This goes to show in a nutshell how Merkel has sown the seeds of Germany's demise.
In a street where my son lives theres an empty council property which after the previous tenant left was gutted with new kitchen , bathroom decorating boiler etc , this was two months ago and is still empty . The next tenants will be from overseas due in January . There is a two year waiting list for council properties .
The thing is Phil, this sort of nonsense highlighted by Matt actually sows division in society. Think of the resentment it generates. That's not the migrants' fault at all, and if they are from the camps as the Government says they will be particularly vulnerable. However, there must be a better way. If like me you think Swansea is really a collection of villages where there are only a few degrees of separation between people the word will get out that this poor family have jumped the queue. That's bound to cause problems. Very short sighted by the Local Authority if you ask me. Wouldn't it be better to help them by paying a private landlord short term until they get on their feet? Not ideal, but at least it keeps everyone happy.
I have a family member who works in Cardiff looking after immigrants and foreign tenants and housing issues in Wales, and I can say without any reservations that they get preferential treatment well above our own people, and have done for a very long time, you wouldn't believe how their homes are carpeted out and how a red carpet is put out for them, it really does irritate when you consider that we now have bedroom tax and food banks for our home grown poor..............
