Hello dears! If you would like to start volunteering with us at Berlin Hauptbahnhof, or you have been here earlier in 2022 (but not since the beginning of October): Welcome / Welcome back 🎉💙
Current Situation and Tasks
Note our reduced operating hours: usually, we are on site between 08:30 AM and 10:45 PM (or: until the last train arrives, could be earlier/later). However, we can not ensure that someone is there all the time, so there might be gaps in the schedule.
Currently, about 300 refugees arrive per day at Berlin HBF. Organizations and groups on site:
- DRK Welcome Guides: Meeting at platform, info point, communication with Tegel Arrival Center, helping people moving throughout the station → Intructed by LAF
- Kinderschutz: Children protection service, for vulnerable minors
- Mingru Jipen e.V.: Support for Roma fleeing from the war
- EOTO/Cusbu: Support for BIPOC and 3rd country nationals fleeing to Berlin
- Berlin Arrival Support - it’s us 🙂🎉
How we support (among other things)
- Meeting arriving refugees at the platform, together with the DRK, accompanying them to/from the bus to Tegel Center
- Providing information about possible next steps for every individual, helping with the travel onward (e.g. in Reisezentrum, with eTokens that are handed out by authorities).
- Distributing water (and food, if possible) to arriving refugees.
- Support for vulnerable people
- Information sharing and networking with volunteers from other countries and cities
- Covering other stations e.g. Ostbahnhof, Lichtenberg in times of construction works (sometimes, trains from Poland do not go to Hbf but to other Berlin stations).
How to participate
If you want to join us (or you have been before already, and want to come back):
Please join this Telegram group and arrange a time for briefing / onboarding. We will try to pair you up with someone of us with much experience or a coordinator.
Due to the current situation (no fixed place at HBF, not all times covered), please come only with an arranged briefing! Arranging such a meeting can be spontaneous on the next day → Telegram Group.
Please read also through the additional information below - in particular our code of conduct, COVID precautions, etc.
Additional Information
- Covid / Sickness: please come only if you feel well. Wear a mask around other people. If you can arrange it, get also tested for COVID frequently.
- Code of Conduct: following certain rules in how we treat each other and refugees is crucial. Please read our Code of Conduct here.
- It is getting cold - please prepare accordingly (jacket, bottle with hot tea for example) as we have no proper place to wait and warm up in the station 😟
Make sure to learn about your specific station as well as the general procedures.
Warning — keep your eyes and ears open!
In the past, there were some people approaching our volunteers and others, offering them money to host women and/or children.
Better be safe than sorry - unfortunately, there could still be people taking advantage of the situation. We’ve experienced very unpleasant situations with people, especially men, approaching our volunteers asking them to host women (with children), even offering them money to do so. Also, there were cases where they tried to approach children/ unattended minors. We HAVE TO MAKE SURE that everybody who arrives here is safe!
If anyone approaches you or refugees, tell them to wait where they are and IMMEDIATELY INFORM THE POLICE AT BERLIN HBF.
📞 03020622930
Tell the police where the person is located (e.g. “UG1, near Rossmann”) and they will handle them.
For emergencies call 📞 112 – or approach DB security
If you need to call an ambulance, let them know the nearest entrance (Washingtonplatz or Europaplatz) and go to meet them upon arrival, so that they can get to the patient quicker.
Stay safe! Please make sure to look out for your own safety!
🔗 Read up about self-care