ANP
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Too few places, too few staff, the reception of asylum seekers squeaks and creaks. According to the NRC, the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) is even about to collapse due to the high pressure. It’s a crisis, says board member Joeri Kapteijns to news hour, and not enough municipalities are coming up with shelters. “If that is not done voluntarily, then I fear that coercion is the only option,” he says.
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The big question has long been: which municipalities are prepared to receive asylum seekers? “We have been talking to many municipalities for a long time, but it is taking too long,” says Kapteijns. “A number of municipalities are cooperating, but a large number of municipalities are not. We need an agreement from municipalities, because it is acute. It has to be done quickly to be able to open those locations during the year.”
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NRC reported this morning on the basis of its own investigation that the COA is “on the verge of collapse”. Many employees drop out in Ter Apel, and absenteeism is also high at other COA locations. In addition, there are about a thousand open vacancies.
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“It’s a real crisis,” says Kapteijns. “You see that in Ter Apel. It has a huge impact on the asylum seekers there, and also on our employees. We cannot sustain that. We have already had a few days that the gate has to be closed, then people have to wait outside.”
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We want stable locations in the Netherlands in various regions. Those locations should not close again and again, but remain open.
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In Ter Apel slept for that reason in recent weeks people sometimes outside and on chairs. This could have been prevented this week, but that has not solved the crisis. Now 43,000 people are being accommodated with difficulty, COA expects to need 51,000 more places by the end of this year. “And certain contracts are still expiring,” says Kapteijns. “If they are not extended, we still need 14,000 places before the end of this year.”
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Compulsion?
State Secretary Van der Burg is working this summer on a so-called ‘dangwet‘, whereby municipalities in the Netherlands are obliged to receive asylum seekers. That law should come into effect on January 1, 2023.
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Kapteijns hopes that municipalities will not wait for that. “Every day counts, everything that can be done sooner must come sooner. I hope the municipalities take their responsibility. We prefer it on a voluntary basis, but if that is not possible, I fear that coercion is the only option.”
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Refugee work threatens to go to court on Monday to force the government to properly arrange the reception. “That is because of the stalemate between the government and the municipalities. While people are lying in the grass, the two are in discussion. And then our only option is to go to court.”
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Following the NRC article, two COA directors are sending an email to their employees today. In the email, which is in the hands of news hourit states that the COA wants to show “including through the media” that “we really want a different way of reception in the Netherlands”.
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“There is a plan”, Kapteijns tells news hour. “That just has to be implemented. The plan is that stable locations will be created in the Netherlands in different regions. Those locations should not close again and again, but should remain open. If there are fewer asylum seekers at a time, we can also use them for other target groups. like students.”
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NOS op 3 explains in this video how the problems in the asylum reception arose:
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Why it is total chaos in Ter Apel
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