Members of parliament have described a state-run refugee shelter as akin to a “prison” and a “picture of a Luxembourg that I am not proud of”, following a visit by a parliamentary committee to three reception centres which have been criticised over poor living conditions in recent weeks.

“I saw a picture of a Luxembourg that I am not proud of,” said déi Gréng deputy Djuna Bernard in Soleuvre on Monday after the visit by parliament’s family affairs committee, while déi Lénk deputy Marc Baum said the visits to the centres were more like trips to “prisons”.

Earlier this month the government hit back against renewed claims about poor conditions at the shelters, saying professional cleaning companies operate seven days a week, with a caretaker on site during office hours for maintenance and repairs.

During a meeting of the committee last year, Family Affairs Minister Max Hahn – whose ministry is also responsible for refugee reception centres – invited members of parliament to visit the facilities.

Of the three facilities, the committee members were allowed to choose two, and the minister then selected the third. The members of parliament chose the facilities in Mersch and Soleuvre, while Hahn chose one in Käerjeng.

Claims of clean-up for visit

During Monday’s visit in Soleuvre, members of the press who attended were not allowed to enter the facility, nor were campaigners who were present, such as former civil servant and founder of the Oppent Haus (open house) initiative, Marianne Donven, and Serge Kollwelter, co-founder of the Association de soutien aux travailleurs immigrés (Asti), a Luxembourg-based non-governmental organisation that supports immigrants.

“Ministry employees told us to leave when we approached the structure,” Kollwelter said, adding that members of parliament should always have the right to visit refugee accommodations unannounced.

“They’ve cleaned and scrubbed everything here. Perhaps the members of parliament should systematically visit these facilities every two months,” Kollwelter said.

Members of the press attempting to approach the facility were also turned away by security, a decision which was taken by the Chamber’s Conference of Presidents, a group comprising the parliament’s president plus the chairs of each political faction.

“I wasn’t present at the meeting,” said Mandy Minella, an MP for the DP party who chairs the family affairs committee. She added she believes it’s important for “the press to see the reality.”

The ONA refugee reception centre in Soleuvre © Photo credit: Gerry Huberty

Residents speak to press

Videos and pictures from the Soleuvre site leaked to the press last year, including to the Luxemburger Wort, revealed the conditions inside: dust, mould, dirt, and the lack of privacy in a dormitory with almost 30 women.

In the committee meeting last September, Hahn stated that he did not want to “sugarcoat” the situation, but failed to offer a plan to improve the conditions in the reception centres.

Instead, a Grand-Ducal decree, scheduled for Tuesday’s State Council meeting, would shift the responsibility for ensuring that the shelters respects certain hygiene and safety regulations from the Labour Inspectorate (ITM) to the ONA, the National Reception Office which is responsible for housing refugees and asylum seekers and falls under the family ministry.

Several women who have been living in the refugee centre in Soleuvre came out to meet the group and hand them an open letter, and also speak to the press. The letter described conditions “that violate our dignity, our health and our psychological well-being.”

Former civil servant and founder of the Oppent Haus (open house) initiative, Marianne Donven (right), with Serge Kollwelter, co-founder of the Association de soutien aux travailleurs immigrés (Asti), neither of whom were allowed to join the visit in Zolver © Photo credit: Gerry Huberty

In it, they express their gratitude for having received protection from Luxembourg, but criticise the cleanliness of the facility, the psychological pressure of the conditions and “insufficient food”, calling on politicians to take action.

One woman, who has been living in the facility for five years, said that in the weeks before the visit by the members of parliament, the three facilities had apparently been thoroughly cleaned.

“Before, everything was dirty, now everything is clean,” she said. Her claim was not only confirmed by other residents, but also by members of parliament, who reported that the scent of cleaning products could still be smelled during the visit.

Asked whether it was truly possible for the members of parliament to judge hygiene standards given that a major cleaning operation had recently taken place in the facility, Minella replied that she had “not been aware” of it.

Since taking office, Hahn has been trying to convince municipalities, through talks with various councils, to support the ONA in accommodating refugees.

However, he has ruled out introducing mandatory admission quotas for the municipalities. “Someone will have to explain to me how these quotas are supposed to work if the aldermen don’t want them,” Hahn said last year. “We are grateful for every bed that is made available to us.”

The residents of the structure in Zolver have written an open letter to the deputies to draw their attention to the poor conditions at the centre. © Photo credit: Gerry Huberty

Deputies left disappointed

When the visit to Soleuvre ended, Hahn got into his car and drove off without making a statement. Beforehand, he had answered questions from members of parliament during the visit.

They sounded far from convinced by his remarks: “The meeting was a huge disappointment. There’s no plan and no strategy. It’s all just knee-jerk reactions, with municipalities being asked for help on a purely voluntary basis,” déi Lénk’s Baum. The facilities the deputies saw were more like “prisons” and the accommodation in Mersch “is on the verge of inhumanity,” Baum added.

Déi Gréng deputy Djuna Bernard said she was “not proud” of the Luxembourg she saw during her visit. © Photo credit: Gerry Huberty

For Bernard, the final meeting with the minister was “disheartening”. Luxembourg has been confronted with waves of refugees for eleven years, yet the country is still failing to make the reception of refugees “more proactive and humane”, she said, calling for a mandatory quota system for municipalities. “It’s commendable that they are hoping for voluntary participation, but the emergency situation is no longer tenable,” said Bernard.

Such quotas have been a topic of political discussion for years. Former Foreign Minister Minister Jean Asselborn had already floated the idea during his time in the previous coalition government involving the DP, LSAP and déi Gréng, urging municipalities to become more involved in accepting refugees. However, the push was unsuccessful.

A more regulated distribution of refugees across the country is also a goal of the CSV’s current coalition government agreement with the DP. However, CSV MP Nathalie Morgenthaler continued to put the brakes on the proposal after visiting the Soleuvre facility.

CSV MP Nathalie Morgenthaler © Photo credit: Gerry Huberty

For her, better communication with citizens is needed to convince them to distribute refugees more evenly within the country. “It’s up to us to reassure people,” said Morgenthaler.

However, if the emergency situation regarding reception centres persists and voluntary measures fail to motivate municipalities to act, politicians will have to “consider other approaches to get them moving,” Morgenthaler added.

(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Machine translated using AI, with editing and adaptation by John Monaghan.)