Austria. Outrage after replacing the benches in front of the station. “Discrimination”, “ruthless and inhumane”

At the end of November standing in front of the station in the western town of Dornbirn Austria the benches were replaced with new ones. Information about the exchange quickly circulated in local and national media. The voices of critics of the project were becoming more and more numerous. This is a “merciless and inhuman, even sadistic concept,” wrote Robert Schneider, a columnist for the Kronen Zeitung daily, about the benches.

The benches resemble the classic ones. What distinguishes them are wooden beams running across the seats, which makes it impossible to lie down on them. According to the authorities, this solution is intended to ensure greater safety for travelers. However, people in crisis of homelessness perceive it as a sign of discrimination.

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– The issue with these wooden beams is simply discriminatory – said Daniel Trupp, who is in crisis of homelessness, and whom the reporters met at the station, in front of the cameras of the Austrian television ORF. Another interlocutor of the station, Helmut Leitenbauer, noted that sleeping on station benches is neither the first nor a frequent choice of a person in a homeless crisis. “You really only sleep here in emergencies,” he said. – It would make more sense if politicians considered how to help people who do not have a home and in case of emergency have to stay here overnight – he added.

On Tuesday, the Dornbirn authorities issued a statement saying that “seating spaces at train and bus stations are intended primarily for passengers” and “care for those in need is very well organized in Austria and no one has to live or spend the night on the streets.” . Ferdinand Koller, the director of a nearby shelter, disagrees. In his opinion, such benches are a “symbol of rejection”. – This can be interpreted as an expression of the institution's helplessness in the face of the problem of homelessness – says Koller. – We have a very good social system, we have very good social institutions and we can deal with social problems other than by removing the homeless from urban spaces – he adds.

Last year, the Austrian statistics office estimated that about 20,000 people in the country were in a homeless crisis. This number has been gradually increasing in recent years.

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