Doctors without Borders (AzG) has never taken action in the Netherlands before. Normally, the organization only operates in developing countries. On Thursday morning, the MSF director announced that he would be offering medical and psychological care outside the gate of the application center in Ter Apel.
“On the one hand, it is very bad that it is necessary for MSF to go there,” responds Van der Burg. “On the other hand, I am very happy that they are doing it, because it does help to improve the quality there. But we really need to arrange this in a different way. We need extra reception places in the Netherlands.”
In conclave
The State Secretary is still negotiating with municipalities about this extra reception. Last week, a municipality was forced to receive asylum seekers for the first time, but Van der Burg does not want to do that again. “We don’t get anywhere by force,” he says after all the fuss around the asylum hotel in Tubbergen. “We see that at Tubbergen. Then it takes weeks or months before something happens.”
Van der Burg is currently also negotiating an asylum deal within the cabinet and with the coalition parties. For example, the ruling party VVD wants the influx of asylum seekers into the Netherlands to be limited. Other coalition parties want municipalities to be forced more often to make asylum reception available. There are very different views on this within the coalition.
Influx
The State Secretary cannot say whether it will be possible to reach a deal this week: “You should ask the coalition parties what the coalition parties think. I do my best to make arrangements with everyone. Of course we have to look at the influx. We also have to look at how people who are not allowed to stay here can flow out again.”
Van der Burg calls the death of a three-month-old baby in a sports hall in Ter Apel ‘dramatic and terrible’. “It is now being investigated, I am waiting for that investigation.”
Accelerated housing
According to Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Housing), agreements will be made ‘in the very short term’ to relieve the pressure on the asylum reception. “We have a lot to do, realizing accelerated housing for asylum seekers with residency status is one of the components that could help.”
The CDA minister believes that all municipalities should contribute to shelter, if necessary by force. “You don’t want to force it. But we must ensure that all municipalities are given a task. If everyone takes a task, it is much better to do. Then you prevent small communities from feeling overloaded.”