The municipality of De Wolden will temporarily accommodate asylum seekers in Sports Hall De Slenken in De Wijk. With the temporary emergency shelter in De Wijk, De Wolden takes over the shelter from the municipality of Noordenveld, where the Hullen sports hall was used as emergency shelter.
This is confirmed by Marianne van der Linden, spokesperson for the municipality of De Wolden. “From tomorrow evening, reception will start together with the Red Cross. The asylum seekers will stay for 4 nights,” says Van der Linden.
Just like in the other places where emergency shelter was provided, the refugees arrive between 10 p.m. and 12 a.m. and leave early in the morning. The numbers differ according to the spokesperson.
“Every day the numbers are different, but we expect to receive around a hundred people. This concerns men, because they mainly have to sleep on the grass in Ter Apel. Women and children are accommodated in Ter Apel itself.”
The municipality of De Wolden has been asked by the ministry. “Today we were asked by the ministry if we wanted to help. We then made a plan with the Red Cross and tomorrow at 1 p.m. we will start setting up beds.”
Local residents were informed during the day on Wednesday. “We did our best to inform the residents in a timely manner, but we were unable to provide clarity earlier because the plan was not yet completed,” Van der Linden concludes.