The emergency shelter for asylum seekers in the center of Vries threatened to close with immediate effect last night. Two men caused so much nuisance that mayor Marcel Thijsen immediately wanted them gone. But there turned out to be no other place elsewhere for the two, so Thijsen saw a closure as the only solution.
It did not get that far, partly due to interference from above. Thijsen called King’s Commissioner Jetta Klijnsma and later also got the director of the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) and the State Secretary on the phone. Eventually a taxi was sent to Vries, who took the two rioters to Ter Apel.
Drink, drugs and harassment
“The two men already had a long history of riots at another reception location. That behavior continued in Vries, with alcohol and drugs,” says Thijsen. The Algerians arrived in Vries yesterday and were looking for a coffee shop. In the village they would also have intimidated women and committed theft.
“We have an agreement with the COA that guests are welcome here. We show ourselves to be a good host, but we also need good guests,” says Thijsen. “If people don’t show themselves to be good guests, they don’t fit here. Certainly not in the center of Vries.”
Cream
Despite the agreement between the municipality of Tynaarlo and the COA, the Algerians were not picked up immediately. “I felt very powerless. It was against the agreement,” Thijsen looks back. “The COA said they had no place. They made their problem my problem. Then you are just like whipped cream. The harder you beat, the more stubborn you become.”
The mayor issued an ultimatum. “If the matter had not been settled before 9 p.m., I would withdraw the hospitality. That would mean that the reception center had to close and the 40 asylum seekers were sent back to Ter Apel.”
Support base
Thijsen is glad it didn’t come to that. “That’s terrible and you absolutely don’t want to do that. But I’m constantly conflicted. You want to do something for your guests, who otherwise have to sleep in harsh conditions in Ter Apel. But my primary task, and I was appointed for that, is to protect our residents. I have to be able to guarantee that they are safe.”
Incidentally, Thijsen would have liked to take care of the two troublemakers. “But not in the center of Vries. I am sensitive to the problems that exist and I have also been to Ter Apel, where I have seen the terrible conditions. But it is not possible here. Certainly not if you want to maintain support among the inhabitants .”
Safelanders
Hotel Wapen van Vries has been home to 38 refugees since October. There are 3 asylum seekers centers in the entire municipality of Tynaarlo. “In the past year, exactly 0 incidents took place there. Yesterday there were suddenly 5 or 6 incidents, caused by 2 people,” says Thijsen.
Manager Gerard Spaargaren did not want to respond extensively, but agreed that the two Algerians caused a nuisance. “They didn’t belong here. There are mainly Syrians here. It caused some unrest yesterday. Too bad, because otherwise it is always very quiet here.”
Extension until April?
Incidentally, Thijsen thinks it is ‘too easy’ to point out the COA as the culprit in this problem. “You must have a central government that solves the asylum problem,” he says. “Refugees should not have to sleep outside and residents should be able to trust that they are safe.”
A residents’ evening is planned for next Wednesday with residents of Vries. There they evaluate the first months of the reception in hotel Wapen van Vries. The contract for the reception of refugees now runs until mid-December. The contract is expected to be extended until April 2023.