Jan 8, 2024 at 5:07 am
This week the judge is looking at problems surrounding the registration center in Ter Apel. The municipality of Westerwolde wants the agreements made to be fulfilled again. This “unworkable situation” in the asylum seeker center is also felt in Ter Apel itself.
In brief
- The court in Groningen will look at the problems surrounding the registration center in Ter Apel on Wednesday. The municipality of Westerwolde wants the agreements to be fulfilled again.
- More than two thousand people are regularly present in the registration center. This also leads to nuisance in the village.
- The question is whether COA should again strictly adhere to the limit of two thousand asylum seekers.
Summary made using AI.
Upon arrival, Ter Apel resembles a village like many in Groningen. It has a canal, with detached houses on either side of the water. The village center itself consists of several supermarkets, well-known retail chains and some sole proprietorships.
But Ter Apel is not a typical Groningen place. The village of approximately 9,500 inhabitants has a large asylum seeker center (azc) and the registration center where most asylum seekers first report. The asylum center has been there since 1996 and can accommodate a maximum of two thousand people.
At least, that is the agreement that the municipality of Westerwolde made at the time with the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). And when it was so busy last year that people had to sleep outside in the grass, that agreement was reaffirmed: no more than two thousand people will stay in Ter Apel.
This year, the crisis mainly takes place within the gate
Yet it has been so busy again since October that there were regularly more than two thousand people in Ter Apel. People even had to sleep in waiting rooms of the COA and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) for nights. The crowds have arisen due to the combination of status holders who are still waiting for a home, a lack of long-term shelter places and a relatively large number of asylum applications.
Since the night shelter in the nearby Stadskanaal opened a month ago, no one had to sleep in waiting rooms anymore. But the temporary buildings that have been placed here and there on the site reveal that Ter Apel is still busier than it should be. This year the crisis is mainly taking place within the gates of the asylum seekers’ center.
In the mobile construction chain, people can wait warm and dry for a place to sleep. Photo: ANP
Security in the village and self-established vigilante group
The situation in the registration center is not only undesirable for the asylum seekers themselves, but is also a heavy burden on the village. Residents and entrepreneurs have already raised the alarm several times about an increasing number of (shop) thefts and other incidents.
A group even formed a vigilante group, with which they arrest nuisance asylum seekers themselves. The local authorities initially said that they understand this, but are now also concerned that the situation is getting out of hand. There have already been several incidents in which asylum seekers were also injured.
The nuisance is attributed to a group of about 250 nuisance-causing asylum seekers. They mainly come from the so-called ‘safe countries’ and therefore have little chance of obtaining a residence permit. But until that decision is finally made, they will remain in Ter Apel. After all, they are the first to report there and other municipalities would rather not accommodate this group of people.
The consequences of the nuisance are not only felt by the residents, but are also visible in the village. Anyone who walks the approximately 3 kilometer long route from the asylum center to the village center will see cameras hanging near many houses. When you finally arrive in the center, there is not only a large police station, but there are also guards at every supermarket. These are scenes that are anything but usual in many other Groningen villages.
People walk through a street in Ter Apel. Photo: ANP
Agreement with COA examined
For years, Ter Apel has received asylum seekers without any problems. The limit has now been reached, according to the municipality. “The consequences of the problems with asylum reception in the Netherlands have been disproportionately passed on to Ter Apel and its residents for far too long,” Mayor Jaap Velema said in a statement just before Christmas. The situation is now no longer acceptable.
And so the so-called administrative agreement between the municipality and the COA is being scrutinized. This agreement, which is valid until 2040 anyway, cannot simply be terminated. In addition, it is now difficult to get municipalities to open additional locations. If the court orders the COA to absolutely adhere to that maximum of two thousand again, where should the other asylum seekers go?
The COA itself also wants there to be fewer than two thousand people in Ter Apel again soon. But reception is “a human matter with an administrative question, and not a legal issue”, says the national asylum body.
The municipality understands “the task” facing the COA, but believes it has no choice but to go to court. “An unworkable and, above all, inhumane situation has arisen. Something must be done.”
The case will be heard in the court in Groningen on Wednesday.
2024-01-08 04:07:40
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