Hamburg will accept Iranian refugees

Published in German daily “Die Welt” on 7. May 2010
Source (German): http://www.welt.de/die-welt/vermischtes/hamburg/article7512777/Hamburg-nimmt-Fluechtlinge-aus-dem-Iran-auf.html

By Florian Hanauer

Dozens of refugees from Iran who stranded in Turkey months ago could possibly soon find refuge in Hamburg. The black-green coalition* has agreed that Hamburg is willing to take in some of them, most of them journalists.

“In Iran, opposition members, journalists, and ordinary citizens risked their lives to protest against the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Those who escaped arrest are now in need of the solidarity of the community of democratic states”, said Antje Möller, floor leader of the Green Alternative List (GAL). Hamburg is going to accept a rate of refugees that extends the number assigned by the federal distribution basis, she added.

* Translator’s note: The “black-green coalition” comprises of the parties CDU and Green Party, and is the governing coalition in the city of Hamburg