Municipalities in the Netherlands use double standards when it comes to the reception of refugees. That is the opinion of the mayor of Westerwolde Jaap Velema, who is responsible for the reception of refugees in the application center of Ter Apel.
“It’s great that my colleagues from other municipalities are lining up to receive tens of thousands of refugees from Ukraine,” he says. news hour“But it is shameful that no municipality has volunteered to receive refugees from other countries. That is not possible in the Netherlands.”
‘Inhuman’
The chairman of the security region and mayor of Groningen Koen Schuiling shares his concerns. He demands that the responsible State Secretary Eric van der Burg forces municipalities with emergency legislation to make reception centers available if they do not do so independently.
“It is understandable that there is a lot of enthusiasm to receive Ukrainians, but people from other war zones such as Syria and Afghanistan have equal rights.” Schuiling calls the situation in Ter Apel “untenable and inhumane”.
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Velema has been sounding the alarm about the night shelter at the registration center in Ter Apel for months. Refugees are registered here and normally accommodated for one night. But because all asylum seekers’ centers in the Netherlands are full, people are flowing barely through† The centers, in turn, are full because asylum seekers with a residence permit cannot move on to a home.
In addition, as of April 1, no fewer than thirteen municipalities are canceling their contract with COA. As a result, the shelter for more than 2500 people will disappear. As of May 1, another nine locations will close.
In total, 5500 beds will disappear. And that while no municipality has yet offered new shelter.
According to Mayor Velema van Westerwolde, there are even municipalities that close the shelter for asylum seekers in order to be able to receive Ukrainians after April 1. “The COA has told me that and I find this distressing and bad. It cannot be the case that someone who saw Russian bombs fall in Syria is treated differently than someone who had to flee the same bombs in Ukraine.”
‘No coercion’
COA acknowledges the problems in a response to news hour† “The quality of reception in Ter Apel falls short. Our people are doing their best, but this high occupation demands too much from everyone. This is a national problem and therefore requires a solution from more municipalities.”
State Secretary Van der Burg says that he does not want to pressure the municipalities to offer reception locations for asylum seekers. †Force is not possible† So I can do nothing but approach municipalities and ask if they want to help. And they must also help Ter Apel.”
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