The initiator is Aalsmeerder Ben Steenstra. In conversation with NH, he explains why he does not agree with the reception of forty status holders in the De Jonge Heertjes hotel on the Raadhuisplein.
“It’s all about the money,” Steenstra refers to the compensation that hotel owner Danny van Duinen receives from the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA).
According to Steenstra, Van Duinen is blind to the impact that the arrival of forty status holders has on the village center. Van Duinen ‘enriches himself at the expense of the safety and tranquility that make the wonderful Aalsmeer such a nice place to live’, writes Steenstra in an argument on his own website.
Last week, the Aalsmeer council informed the council about the deal that COA has concluded with hotel owner Van Duinen. This concerns follow-up travelers, the council emphasizes in the letter. In practice, these are often women and children of male refugees who have completed the asylum procedure and now have residence status.
Migrants whose request for reunification is granted will receive a residence permit immediately upon entry into the Netherlands. The idea is that they will live with their partner, but that is where the problem lies.
Not enough houses to accommodate status holders
Because there are not enough (social rental) homes available to provide all status holders with a house, the flow is slowing down and some of the status holders still live in asylum seeker centers or emergency reception locations. Most status holders are already linked to a municipality.
“The Ministry of Asylum and Migration has instructed COA to soon take following travelers to hotels in or near the municipality to which COA has linked status holders (linked municipality),” COA wrote in a letter to the municipality of Aalsmeer earlier this year.
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