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Poo on the sides of the pot, a dirty floor, dirty walls and an unbearable stench.” Sara from Syria is short and sweet about it. She has been living at the asylum seekers’ center in Budel for about five weeks. She was transferred from a Groningen camp and did not know what she saw when she wanted to go to the toilet in Budel “You can’t let an animal live like this.” Refugee work agrees with her that cleaning should be better and states that Budel is no exception.
It’s not just the toilets, say Sara and two of her co-residents, Ahmed and Jameel, also from Syria. The communal kitchens and showers are also not too fresh. “I think residents should actually clean it themselves,” says Sara. “It’s our responsibility. But we arrived here and it’s so dirty here, we just can’t get it clean anymore.”
“I also lived in the camp in Groningen,” says Ahmed. “It was a big white tent, with partitions, it was cold and there was a lot of noise. But I’d rather go to the toilet there. The poop is behind the toilet here. You should see it for yourself. Still I’m happy that I’m here, I don’t want to appear ungrateful.”
“It makes me desperate and I cry all the time”
Jameel thinks the toilets should be cleaned better. “You can’t expect residents to get this clean. Please, we need the toilet here to be properly cleaned every day.”
According to Sara, there is a cleaning company active at the asylum seekers’ center. “We tried to talk to that, but nothing happened. Recently a cleaning lady wiped the floor of the toilet with a tissue. No disinfectant was used at all. It makes me desperate and I cry all the time.”
“We think something should change about this.”
Refugee Work is active at the AZC in Budel. In a written response, the organization says that it occasionally receives reports of dirty conditions. “We notice that especially the buildings where asylum seekers stay for a shorter period of time are very dirty. We receive fewer complaints from asylum seekers who stay here for a longer period of time.”
The organization states: “We understand very well that residents do not feel comfortable with this and would even rather go to the toilet at a different location. We believe that something should change about this. Not only in Budel, but also at other locations where asylum seekers are taken in. The quality of care and hygiene, especially in the sanitary facilities, can differ greatly per location.”
According to Vluchtelingenwerk, the problem could be solved by installing more sanitary facilities. “In certain emergency shelters you see, for example, that many residents have to share a few toilets and showers with each other. That then gets dirty more quickly. Or that these places have to be cleaned more often per day. The same applies to Budel. It could certainly be a solution here to deploy a cleaning team there several times a day instead of at one time a day.”
“Professional cleaning is done twice a day”
According to a spokesperson for the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers, the COA, the sanitary facilities at the asylum seekers’ center in Budel are cleaned twice a day. “We do not recognize the image that the toilets and showers are left to their own devices. A lot of people use the facilities. There is always a moment when you can film a dirty toilet bowl. We can’t be next to every toilet bowl putting people down.”
According to the spokesperson, people also have their own responsibility. “That’s what toilet brushes are for. To also leave it clean for the other person.” According to the spokesperson, residents who stay at the asylum seekers’ center for a shorter period of time also handle hygiene differently than people who stay longer. “They see it more as their living environment. It really starts with the people themselves.”
The names of Sara, Ahmed and Jameel have been changed for privacy reasons. Their real names are known to the editors.