Outsourcing of State Matters at the Cost of the Most Vulnerable
A couple of weeks ago, the German public was in shock after pictures and videos were released showing security personnel harassing and abusing asylum seekers in a refugee camp in the German town Burbach - not the only place where incidents like these took place, as was revealed later.
In the following days more and more details began to surface. In one instance, a security guard put a foot on a tied up refugee’s neck, who was lying on the ground while two of his tormentors grinned into the camera. In another case, they threatened to hit their victim, while forcing him to lie in his own vomit. Other refugee camps have been facing similar situations, with some cases of sexual abuse also exposed.
Reports on the conditions in the overcrowded refugee camps have been ignored. The company, named “European Homecare”, which was managing the affected camps, did not maintain the quality standards set out by the Federal State’s government. They were deficient in personnel and those they did have, lacked training to interact with partly traumatised people. Both sides were often overtaxed - where the original task was to secure entries and exits to refugee camps, now the security firm had, in some cases, become responsible for the supervision and regulation of every-day life inside. Handling asylum seekers is a complex task, from understanding their experiences as well as facing circumstances where the refugees might be unwilling to cooperate or where they show aggressive behaviour. While the situation is difficult, this in no way excuses any of these committed atrocities. The state trains its personnel in de-escalating strategies, but security firms appear to neglect intensive psychological training of their employees. This fact further underlines how dangerous it is when the state outsources its duty of protection simply to cut costs.
European Homecare tried to defend omissions by blaming increasing refugee numbers compounded with the need to work with the same budget for personnel while maintaining standards. There is no supervising administrative institution in Germany that is verifying quality standards, as is common procedure in care homes or orphanages.
Home Secretary Thomas de Maizière claims more solidarity across Europe and reproaches the member states of the European Union, where only 10 out of 28 seriously take part in offering asylum to refugees. In an interview he praises the German population for their increased willingness/readiness to welcome refugees in Germany (although this has not been visible recently, with latest reports showing neighbourhood resistance in Hamburg is increasing alongside protests against homes for asylum seekers occurring in more prosperous parts of the town). Regarding the recently revealed events from the refugee camp, he announced an increase in the household income for personnel as well as the provision of more homes.
But shouldn’t he rather be thinking of not assigning state duties to private firms? For short-term goals an increase of money could help increase the quality of living standards and requirements of training skills. Yet on the other hand, one should definitely question if the outsourcing of state matters and the resulting burden that is put on private firms can be a solution to the deeper underlying problems, such as an absent mutual asylum policy among EU members.
After the abuses and mistreatments have become public, all sites now promise to start legal investigations so that the perpetrators can be called into account for their actions. In the future, police and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution will investigate security personnel. It is highly questionable though if this plan can actually work beyond being an idea, outlined on paper.
It is a topic that has been pushed to the side for too long, and cannot be forgiven simply for its ignorance. The responsibility lies in the state. Hence it is the state that needs to find solutions.
Photo Credit: PRI
