Hotel Landgoed Ekenstein in Appingedam. Photo: Own photo
A first group of dozens of refugees from Ukraine, consisting of women and children, arrived in the municipality of Eemsdelta on Thursday afternoon. The group is temporarily housed in Hotel Boven Groningen in Delfzijl.
This is one of two hotels in the municipality of Eemsdelta, where refugees can be accommodated in the short term. The other is Hotel Landgoed Ekenstein in Appingedam. Alfred Pels, owner of both hotels, has agreed with the municipality to make a total of thirty rooms available. This can temporarily house sixty to ninety refugees.
“It is good to be able to offer people in need a safe place in our municipality and to help them further,” says Mayor Ben Visser.
Longer-term care at locations ‘with some care’
The municipality of Eemsdelta will therefore have reception capacity for a maximum of ninety Ukrainian refugees in the short term. An inventory of possible locations for longer-term reception revealed ‘two to three’ locations that the municipality considers to be promising. These are locations ‘of some size’ (several dozen shelters), which are ‘reasonably immediately available for a longer period of time at a location with, if possible, also some facilities in the area, when it comes to education, care and shops’.
Possible deployment of volunteers
According to the municipality, the possible deployment of volunteers should also be considered when designing these locations. For this, contact has already been made with organizations such as the Netherlands Council for Refugees, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and the Groningen Helps Ukraine Foundation. The municipality is also in contact with the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA).