Methadone use, poor hygiene, overflowing waste bins and dirty mattresses in waiting areas. These are all problems they encounter in the asylum center in Ter Apel. This is evident from a recent GGD report in the hands of One today.
“This entails a number of health risks. I saw this on Sunday and it makes me sad,” says the mayor of Westerwolde, Jaap Velema. At his request, the GGD Groningen visited the registration center last Sunday evening, together with him.
In the GGD report (pdf) it can be read that many single men use methadone. “Which can cause mutual tensions,” writes the GGD Groningen. Due to the stagnation of the flow, the group of North African methadone users has increased, according to Velema. “A lot of these guys use drugs and alcohol.”
Although he himself has seen that they are cared for separately and women and children stay in a different room, it is a concern. “When you have a number of these men together, it is not only unsanitary, but it also creates a risk of unrest,” he says. This became apparent last Tuesday evening, after a stabbing incident in which a 25-year-old asylum seeker was injured and had to be taken to hospital.