It is therefore expected that the 280 residents of the reception location will go to Uithoorn for shopping or leisure activities, for example. Uithoorn politicians call the choice of location ‘undesirable and indecent by human standards.’
A majority of the Amstelveen municipal council agreed in April to extended conditions for shelter. This means that more people will be allowed to live there than initially intended and that the location will remain open for not five, but ten years. Only then will it be financially feasible, according to the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA).
Amstelveen holds its ground
Several discussions have been held between the two municipalities in recent months, but according to Uithoorn they have yielded nothing. That is why the municipality is now taking legal action. It is still unclear exactly what those steps will look like.
A spokesperson for the municipality of Amstelveen informed NH that there are no other locations for asylum reception possible in Amstelveen. “We are trying to comply with the dispersal law and now have a reception location in the north and west, and there will be one in the south.”
She emphasizes that the municipality of Amstelveen, together with the COA, is responsible for arranging matters such as daytime activities and education. The spokesperson does not want to respond to Uithoorn’s intention to take legal action. “We would like to continue discussions with Uithoorn.”
Unrest about the arrival of asylum seekers’ centers
A group of Uithoorn residents has been resisting the asylum seekers’ center in Amstelveen for some time and one in Uithoorn. A demonstration against the arrival of that asylum seekers’ center got out of hand. The municipality has announced that the center in Uithoorn will be built despite the demonstrations. The Collective AZC Get rid of it is considering hiring a lawyer.