In the night from Saturday to Sunday, between 250 and 300 asylum seekers slept outside at the overcrowded application center in Ter Apel, the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) reports. It is the largest number in ages.
Over the course of the week, the number of people without shelter in the application center increased. At the beginning of the week there were a few dozen and the last few nights there were around a hundred.
The COA reported on Saturday evening that asylum seekers were still taken from Ter Apel to other locations that day. This allowed those waiting at the registration center to move on. But new people had also arrived. At the time, the organization estimated that another 100 people would sleep outside, but it has clearly become more.
It is still unclear what the situation will be in Ter Apel next night. According to a spokesperson for the COA, “hard work is still being done on solutions for shelter”.