Germany spends half a million euros on advertising alone for the campaign on voluntary return of refugees to their homeland
As 'Russkaya Germaniya' notes, this assistance program for voluntary repatriates from the Federal Republic offers 1,200 euros to each adult immigrant who expresses a desire to return to their homeland, and 600 euros for each child under 12 years of age. Thus, the total amount of relocation money for two adults and one child is at least three thousand euros. To this amount, one can also receive 800 euros, which is due to those who do not intend to file an appeal against the rejection.
In addition to the initial financial assistance, voluntary 'returnees' could also receive money to pay for housing in their home country for twelve months. This included, for example, financial support from the German state for housing repairs, possible house construction, purchase of a kitchen set, or even furnishing a bathroom. For families of rejected refugees consisting of three people, an additional up to three thousand euros per family was allocated, and for a single person – up to one thousand.
It seems that this program has become quite effective. Thus, in the first half of 2018, about eleven thousand people left the Federal Republic without any coercion. This figure is almost equal to the number of deportees during this period – 12,300 people.
Meanwhile, the cost of deporting a single illegal immigrant is about one and a half thousand euros. To this must be added the costs of maintaining the refugee in the period preceding their expulsion. So the financial benefit for the German state alone is obvious. Not to mention the improvement of Germany's image. After all, people are not forcibly expelled from the country, but leave on their own.
Apparently, this is why this time-limited campaign received its continuation the other day. On November 13, a new advertising campaign, designed for ten days, started in Berlin. Posters appeared at city public transport stations in seven languages, including Russian, urging refugees to return to their homeland. The cost of this advertising campaign is no less than 500 thousand euros.
According to the terms of the new Interior Ministry program, 'until December 31, you can receive an additional benefit for a maximum of 12 months of housing payment in your home country!' (with an exclamation mark). As noted by ministry spokesperson Eleonore Petermann, the 'special offer' compensates refugees for rental costs, which should facilitate their resettlement in a new place. On the program's special website (ReturningfromGermany.de), all compensation amounts are detailed in several languages, as well as the addresses of organizations that help refugees leave for their homeland.
Meanwhile, many human rights organizations sharply criticize the Interior Ministry for such 'Christmas offers' for refugees, speaking of 'additional pressure' on asylum seekers in the Federal Republic. Russian-speaking refugees call such monetary compensation nothing less than 'handouts' or simply 'get-out-of-here bonuses'.