At the request of the Ministry of Asylum and Migration, the municipality of Groningen will accommodate asylum seekers for at least one more night for whom there is no longer room in the overcrowded center in Ter Apel. The municipality announced this on Tuesday. If the ministry finds a longer-term solution, the municipality is prepared to extend the night shelter after tomorrow for another week.
Because other municipalities do not arrange sufficient shelter, the center in Ter Apel is structurally above capacity. Since Wednesday, “controlled access” has been in effect at the Ter Apel registration center. The registration center no longer admits everyone who reports; Vulnerable asylum seekers are given priority.
On the nights of Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Groningen already received asylum seekers in the Hanzeplaza conference and meeting center. The asylum seekers then had to travel from Ter Apel to Groningen to spend the night, and return to the registration center in Ter Apel the next morning. On Tuesday evening, the Red Cross reported to the ANP news agency that around 120 asylum seekers were again waiting in the grass for clarity about where they would spend the night. They are “physically and mentally exhausted from being taken somewhere different every night,” the Red Cross said.
Solidarity
The municipality of Groningen arranged the shelter according to Asylum Councilor Manouska Molema (GroenLinks) “in solidarity with people on the run and the municipality of Westerwolde”, which includes Ter Apel. In a statement on Tuesday, the municipality of Groningen called it “inhumane” to let people sleep outside. But in the longer term, other municipalities must also take responsibility for the reception of asylum seekers, according to Groningen.
According to the municipality, the ministry is now discussing a longer-term solution. “It is expected that more will be known tomorrow.” Because arranging shelter elsewhere can take time, the municipality is prepared to extend shelter, but only if an alternative is available first. In addition to reception in other municipalities, Groningen also mentions Defense sites as possible reception locations.
