No food or drink for an entire working week. Twenty asylum seekers from the crisis shelter in Purmerend have been on hunger strike since Monday evening. The strikers are dissatisfied with the progress of their asylum application. They hope to be heard by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND). Four questions to Britt Enthoven, IND spokesperson, about the impact of this strike.
Twenty asylum seekers have been on hunger strike since Monday evening to get your attention, will that help?
“Demonstrations or other forms of protest have no influence on the planning of procedures by the IND.”
We spoke to a resident of the crisis shelter. He said that some strikers have been waiting nine months for their asylum application to be processed. In addition, there would be people who arrived later in the Netherlands already have been helped. How can that happen?
“We understand that the long waiting times and uncertainty for applicants can lead to unrest and stress. The starting point is and remains that asylum applications are processed in the order they are received in the Netherlands. Exceptions to this are based on variations in the procedures. Think of logistical considerations or people who qualify for a shorter procedure on the basis of their file.”
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Have you already been to the crisis shelter?
“This afternoon the IND will provide asylum information at the location in Purmerend. We do this more often at reception locations, always in consultation with the location managers. Asylum information means that IND employees explain what the procedures look like and give people the opportunity to ask questions. It is general information, not about individual procedures.”
What will the coming months look like for the residents of the crisis shelter in Purmerend?
“The procedures are proceeding as planned or will be. As indicated above: demonstrations or other forms of protest have no influence on this. This will therefore look different for each individual. In the end, everyone will be heard, and a decision will be made for everyone. “
Still on strike?
It is still unclear whether the hunger strikers are still on strike. “We currently have no current information. I have not received a message that they have stopped striking, so they are probably still on hunger strike, but I am not sure,” says Yildiz Jonkers of the Zaanstreek-Waterland Security Region.
The Security Region also says that residents were informed yesterday with the following: “At the beginning of April, the IND already had a list of residents – 50 to 100 people – who are eligible for a written interview. The invitation from the IND has already been sent out. or will that go soon. The written hearings will take place in early May in week 18 or 19.”