Citizens’ Initiative Collecting Signatures Against Planned Container Village For Refugees in Speyer

As of: November 20, 2023 9:45 a.m

A citizens’ initiative in Speyer has apparently collected more than 3,000 signatures against a planned container village for refugees. They want to initiate a citizens’ petition. The list is to be handed over to the city today.

In July, the Speyer city council decided by majority to have a container village built in the southwest of the city near the “Judomaxx” – the sports center of the Speyer Judo Sports Club on Butenschönstrasse – for 1.6 million euros. 75 refugees were supposed to move in there because other accommodation options had been exhausted. Even before the city council’s decision, resistance had formed among the affected residents. Their argument: accommodating asylum seekers in containers is not humane. The refugees would be isolated and integration “into our society” would be at risk.

Signatures have been collected since September

The initiative is called “Speyer can do more than containers” and its goal is to get a referendum. It was founded by Alexander Romanski. According to him, 3,200 signatures were collected against container construction. The signatures must come from eligible voters who have lived in Speyer for at least three months. “I am convinced that the number of signatures is enough and that there will ultimately be a referendum,” says Romanski.

Uproar over flyers and posters at the beginning of November

At the beginning of November, leaflets and posters appeared in Speyer talking about the “blessings of multicultural folklore and colorful diversity” in connection with refugees and their accommodation. The CDU Speyer condemned the anonymous leaflets as “inhumane hate speech” and warned against having to accommodate refugees in sports halls. “This is even less in the interest of the people of Speyer than setting up containers,” said the CDU statement.

Citizens’ initiative distances itself

When asked by SWR, Alexander Romanski vehemently distanced himself from the content and form of the controversial leaflets. “We have nothing to do with that,” he insisted. His citizens’ initiative has nothing against refugees per se, but against their accommodation in containers. On Monday he will hand in the signatures for the citizens’ petition in the election office at the city administration in Speyer Town Hall.

Tasks for the electoral office and city council

The city administration must then check the signatures for authenticity and validity. This will take several weeks. 2,300 signatures must be valid for the citizens’ petition to be successful. And then? If there are enough signatures, the city council will then have to deal with the “container village” issue again. This will probably only be the case next year. There will probably not be enough time to examine the signatures for the meeting on December 14th in Speyer.

If the city council does not follow the content of the citizens’ request, a referendum will be held. The question is: “Are you in favor of building container-style accommodation for refugees on property owned by the city of Speyer?” If a majority then votes “no” and the number of “no” votes is 6,000 or more, the container plans would have failed.

Citizens’ initiatives are a “tradition” in Speyer

Compared to other cities in the Palatinate, there are quite frequent citizens’ initiatives in Speyer. In 2021 there was one against the construction of a daycare center in the north of the city. The request only narrowly failed because there were not enough signatures. In 2022, we opposed a possible state horticultural show in Speyer in 2027. There were enough signatures, but the garden show was moved to Neustadt and so the citizens’ petition was resolved. And now, in 2023, the issue will be how best to accommodate refugees.

More about refugees in Speyer

2023-11-20 10:45:21
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