Photo Gallery Decrepit Refugee Hostels
This image, depicting security guards mistreating an asylum seeker at a shelter in Burbach, Germany, has led to significant handwringing among politicians and officials throughout Germany. It casts a light on a system that is only barely coping with a huge influx of newcomers.
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière called the incident in Burbach "disconcerting and depressing." But the lack of uniform, nationwide standards for refugee housing has contributed to the rising number of problems in the country's shelters.
North Rhine-Westphalian Interior Minister Ralf Jäger (gesturing) apologized for the Burbach incident and issued a plan to improve the situation in his state, including the introduction of background checks for all shelter guards in the state in the future.
The refugee home in Burbach. One of the guards involved in the abuse incident here is said to have a neo-Nazi background. A recent study in Brandenburg found that neo-Nazis frequently seek out work as security guards.
