Dutch communities are providing additional shelter for 1,200 refugees on short notice following a letter by State Secretary Erik Van der Burg (VVD/Renew) requesting measures to be taken as existing capacities are nearly exhausted.
The dire need for additional shelter comes as the country’s main asylum centre in Ter Apel is dealing with a spiralling influx of new refugees, most of whom are unaccompanied minors.
“Every year, the daily inflow of asylum seekers is highest in September, but this year, the number of people reporting per day in Ter Apel is above average,” Van der Burg wrote in his letter published on Friday.
Van der Burg called on communities to provide shelter for roughly 1,200 refugees by the end of the weekend, 550 of which are to be designated for unaccompanied minors.
These needs were met for the time being thanks to several cities and smaller communities stepping into the breach and offering additional spots for refugees to be housed, according to the country’s asylum agency, COA.
“The call to municipalities resulted in the acute need being resolved. COA has been offered enough places to get through at least this weekend and early next week,” the agency stated on Saturday, warning that “we will need many more spots in the coming period”.
Just last year, the Ter Apel Centre made headlines after the humanitarian group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) intervened due to the dire living situation within the overfilled shelter.
The Netherlands’ struggles to house asylum seekers are sure to add fuel to the fire of the ongoing election campaign in the country, in which migration plays a large role after the previous government fell due to insurmountable differences concerning the issue.
(Benedikt Stöckl | Euractiv.com)
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