Again people have to sleep outside at the registration center in Ter Apel. It concerns ‘quite a few people’, says a spokeswoman for the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA).
It is still difficult to estimate how many people are involved, but according to the spokeswoman ‘there will probably be more than last night’. Although it was expected that there would be enough space in Ter Apel, 70 people still had to sleep outside, ANP news agency reports.
It is expected to remain dry overnight. Due to the rain that fell earlier this week, a group of entrepreneurs handed out two hundred tents to refugees in Ter Apel on Monday. Initiator Willem Straat said he wanted to send a signal: “People should not sleep outside. We do not interfere with politics, but we believe that you cannot do this.”
The tents were removed on Tuesday evening because, according to the municipality, safety could not be guaranteed for everyone. COA said it appreciated the gesture of the entrepreneurs, but indicated that this is not the solution and that it does not make the work easier. Straat announced today that he may go to court to challenge the decision. He and his lawyer want the shelters to come back.
Recently, asylum seekers regularly slept outside. The Groningen registration center has been busy for months, where people also spent the night on chairs in the waiting areas. Asylum seekers’ centers no longer have a place and status holders cannot move on to a home due to, among other things, the overheated housing market.