Asylum seekers will be living there from Monday, NH Nieuws took a look at the ship today. Hanneke Niele, COA location manager, shows what life on board will be like in the future. “It’s quite exciting because it was quite a road to get here.”
Niele is standing by a cabin with two single beds. Single men and women will soon be living here on their own. “It’s different from other shelters. But I wouldn’t call it luxury. If you stay in this cabin for six months, it’s not very luxurious,” she says. Families can stay in larger cabins.
Not fitting
Has luxury amenities the ship enough: a casino, several restaurants and bars and a shopping zone where normally clothes and perfumes are sold. All this state will remain closed for the next six months. “We don’t think it’s appropriate if the casino is open,” said Niele.
The playground inside the ship will remain open, where children can play. Three times a day the asylum seekers are served meals in ‘the least luxurious restaurant on the ship’.
The residents also have access to the Wi-Fi network, except in their rooms. According to COA, this should encourage people to use the communal areas.
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Mayor Frank Dales explains why ‘only’ the first asylum seekers arrive in Velsen on Monday. “A number of things still need to be done here on board. Outside on the site some safety measures still need to be taken. I really want to make sure that it is safe here. Some of those measures could only be taken after the ship was docked.”
The safety requirements will be checked on Saturday, according to the mayor. If everything is in order, the asylum seekers will come on Monday. “It will take about 1 to 1.5 weeks before everyone is here,” concludes Niele.