Asylum seekers can temporarily go to an event hall in Assen from 1 July, when the application center in Ter Apel becomes too full. The municipality of Assen and the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) announced this on Wednesday. The Expo Assen can accommodate up to 700 people. The hall currently serves as an emergency shelter for about 440 people, but next month it will be emptied to function as a waiting room.
The COA has been looking for more reception space for the growing number of asylum seekers for months. At Ter Apel in particular, where asylum seekers go to get their registration and identification in order before they find shelter elsewhere, the shortages are often acute; at the lowest point last summer, 700 people had to sleep outside. Fights broke out regularly.
This year the forecasts point to an even higher influx; up to about 75,000 asylum seekers are expected. The Expo Assen must ensure that they can complete their registration under more humane circumstances. Previously, attempts by the government to provide people with temporary shelter elsewhere have been unsuccessful because they were afraid of losing their place in the queue.
At the beginning of this month, the COA, the municipality of Westerwolde, of which Ter Apel is a part, and the Ministry of Justice and Security agreed that a maximum of two thousand asylum seekers would be accommodated in Ter Apel. The arrival of the waiting room does not change that appointment, a spokesperson said.