The number of asylum seekers for whom there is no place on Thursday evening in the overcrowded application center Ter Apel has grown. At first there were about fifty, but now there are about a hundred, including many small children. The Groningen village of Zuidbroek has set up emergency shelter for them.
The asylum seekers will be transferred to emergency emergency shelters in the Eurohal in Zuidbroek, the COA reports. The bus, arranged by the Groningen security region, will first transfer eighty people to Zuidbroek and return later on Thursday evening to pick up another twenty people.
On Wednesday evening, about a hundred emergency shelters were created in Heerenveen for asylum seekers because Ter Apel was full. They were then brought by transport arranged by the Red Cross. The Red Cross will most likely not place tents and units again for the reception of COA in Ter Apel on Thursday evening, a spokesperson previously told NU.nl.
COA structurally wants more places
A spokeswoman for the COA stated earlier Thursday that very hard work is being done to get everyone in the right place and that there is good guidance for the people. She agrees that there is a structural shortage of reception places: “We are doing what we can, we have been doing that for 2.5 years and we have been reporting this for a long time. It is best if places are added structurally.” But COA has no powers to designate or organize these. “We’re not about that, that’s up to the ministry.”
The Ministry of Justice and Security has been looking for a location for an additional registration center for years, but has so far been unsuccessful.
On average, about two hundred people a day arrive in Ter Apel, and about a hundred on weekend days. Mondays and Tuesdays are the busiest days. The people seeking asylum mainly come from Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and Turkey, the spokeswoman said.