In Waalre, they rushed together almost 200 IKEA beds on Tuesday to receive the first asylum seekers. They are housed in two sports halls. This first group of refugees will arrive a day earlier than was announced. “That caused a bit of stress,” says a spokesperson for the municipality with a touch of irony.
Four to five buses are on their way south from the overcrowded registration center Ter Apel in Groningen on Tuesday evening. They transport 164 asylum seekers who would actually only arrive in Waalre on Wednesday. “But at the end of the afternoon we were told by the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) that they will already be on our doorstep around midnight on Tuesday,” said the spokesman for the municipality.
brush up on your teeth
Dozens of volunteers, firefighters and officials from the municipality of Waalre had to go the extra mile to get the first emergency shelter ready in time. In sports hall De Pracht and ‘t Hazzo, almost 200 beds are lined up. “At first we thought we would get beds from the Red Cross. They are easy to install. Later it turned out that they were kits from IKEA, so we had to rush in people to screw everything together in time.”
After the first batch of 164 asylum seekers, a few dozen more refugees follow. In total, this concerns the emergency shelter of 225 people.
‘Unfortunately unavoidable’
Mayor Jan Boelhouwer shows understanding for the situation, he says via the municipal website: “We had to switch immediately, but in times of crisis this is unfortunately unavoidable. We are doing everything we can to ensure that it runs smoothly and we hope We sincerely appreciate your understanding. The safety of our residents and asylum seekers is paramount.”
More than a hundred people were informed on Monday evening in the town hall of Waalre about the arrival of the 225 refugees. A meeting is planned for next Monday in the same Huis van Waalre, again for local residents, among others, to share and discuss their first experiences. The municipality also has an extra newsletter issued.
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