About 250 refugees have to sleep outside on Saturday night in Ter Apel, on the site in front of the asylum center. No shelter has been found for them.
This is reported by the COA through spokeswoman Jacqueline Engbers. “All the authorities involved have been trying to find shelter elsewhere for them on Saturday, but unfortunately they were not successful,” she said.
According to her, the fact that so many people have to sleep outside has become more common in recent times. “Not very often, but it has happened before.”
Overcrowded for months
The asylum center in Ter Apel, the entrance for refugees in the Netherlands, has been overcrowded for months. This is partly because the usual ‘flow’ to other asylum seekers’ centers is not possible. They are also full, partly with status holders waiting for a home.
The government has declared the problem a national crisis and announced and partially implemented various measures in consultation with security regions. For example, crisis shelters have been set up all over the country where refugees can go, especially if people in Ter Apel are likely to have to spend the night on the lawn.
Not enough
These measures are therefore not always sufficient. Asylum seekers stay on the site in front of the asylum center in Ter Apel every day and crisis emergency shelters are not always found for them overnight. Neither will Saturday. ,,One day it works, the next it doesn’t”, says Engbers. “It’s been that way for many weeks.”