The large number of asylum seekers, which far exceeds the capacity of the application center, led to a clash between the various agencies involved in the reception on Tuesday. The asylum seekers have been received in extra tents at the application center in recent weeks, for which the permit expired today. It had been known for some time that Mayor Jaap Velema of the municipality of Westerwolde would not renew the permit, but there was no place to sleep for the three hundred asylum seekers on Tuesday afternoon.
State Secretary Van der Burg showed understanding for Velema’s decision: ‘He says: I have more than accomplished our task, and have done extra. Now it’s the rest of the Netherlands’ turn.’ Van der Burg thinks it is ‘a real defeat’ that it has not been possible to find enough shelter places, he said. He says he will have to arrange childcare in the coming month ‘with a lot of stress, a lot of calling’ to solve the problem. He calls it ‘very undesirable’ that the asylum seekers are literally on the doorstep in Ter Apel, unsure about their whereabouts tonight.
More relatives
According to Van der Burg, the Netherlands still needs a ‘second, third, perhaps fourth Ter Apel’. According to Van der Burg, an explanation for the relatively high influx of people is the growth in the number of so-called relatives. In the past two years, few relatives of status holders traveled to the Netherlands due to the corona pandemic. In addition, too few status holders move on to a normal home, as a result of which they occupy places in the asylum seekers’ centres.
The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) reports that no alternative shelter has yet been found for the refugees. “Everyone is looking for shelter, but nothing is final yet,” said the spokesperson. It is not yet clear where the group will be staying on Tuesday evening. At the moment, the lack of places is ‘very visible’, says the spokesperson. ‘And when a shelter has been found for these three hundred people, new people will arrive tomorrow.’