New asylum seeker centre opens in Limpertsberg

(CS/SH) A new refugee centre in Limpertsberg opened its doors this week, offering primary care for newly arrived asylum seekers before they move into more permanent homes.

“Foyer Lily Unden” opened next door to former asylum seeker centre “Foyer Don Bosco”, which was built in the 1960s and is now set to be demolished after falling into a state of disrepair over the past years.

The new centre provides a dormitory, as well as bedrooms and family rooms, with a total of 120 beds available. There are also bathrooms, sitting rooms, classrooms, a playroom for children, a kitchen and a dining hall. A work-out room is planned but has not yet been set up.

Clothes have been stocked for asylum seekers arriving without any personal belongings.

The centre mainly receives asylum seekers who arrive late at night or over the weekend when official institutions and offices are closed. They are housed temporarily at the “Foyer” until they can be transferred to an asylum seekers home elsewhere in the country.

Most asylum seekers stay only for a few days.

The 2,800sqm building cost 9.9 million euros and is run by the Red Cross.

The “Foyer” is named after Lily Unden, a Luxembourg poet and artist born in 1908 who was deported to concentration camp Ravensbrück during the Nazi occupation but survived and returned to her home country where she continued to teach and contribute to Luxembourg's cultural heritage until her death in 1989.