No one had to sleep outside at the registration center in Ter Apel during the night from Friday to Saturday. According to the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA), it has been possible to accommodate people in Stadskanaal, Haren and Ter Apel itself. In total, this involved a group of between 400 and 500 people.
State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum) had promised on Friday evening that from that day on, no one would have to sleep outside anymore. That seems to have worked, the COA reported on Saturday morning. “With a lot of art and flying work”, says a spokeswoman.
Asylum seekers have been sleeping outside in Ter Apel for months. Some of the refugees want to stay close to the application center in order to be on time for their identification and registration. Due to all the crowds, COA lost sight of the registrations.
An emergency reception location will open today in the Zoutkamp in Groningen for asylum seekers who cannot yet go to Ter Apel. There people can wait until they can go to the application center and start the procedure. The barracks in Zoutkamp can accommodate up to seven hundred people.
The municipality of Goes will temporarily receive a maximum of four hundred extra asylum seekers in the Zeelandhallen, it was announced on Friday evening. The first asylum seekers will probably arrive there today.
A new emergency ordinance has been in effect in Ter Apel since today. As of this afternoon, it is prohibited for asylum seekers who are not yet registered at the application center to move around the center.
The ban does not apply to people who are already registered or people who have an appointment at the application center to register. The emergency ordinance had already been announced earlier. In principle, the emergency ordinance applies until 1 October.