The visit of outgoing State Secretary Ankie Broekers-Knol (Vreemdelingenzaken, VVD) to Ter Apel on Wednesday did not alleviate the problems at the application center for asylum seekers. Ter Apel was unable to process the large number of applications in recent weeks and became overcrowded. She promised 500 extra reception places this week, while the cabinet spoke on Monday about 800 places “in the short term”. The lack of a solution has brought administrative relations on edge and led to the Groningen Security Region deciding on Wednesday evening to force the minister to organize additional emergency shelters nationwide, via a so-called Article 51 procedure.
Because the problems in Ter Apel are only getting worse, says Mayor Koen Schuiling (VVD) of the Municipality of Groningen, who is also chairman of the Security Region. Hundreds of places seem to become available in the coming weeks, but already hundreds of people are staying in Ter Apel more than foreseen. And an average of 150 new asylum seekers register every day.
Staff overloaded
Schuiling saw the consequences during his visit to the center with Broekers-Knol on Wednesday. “In the evening a downpour hit the center, so that the tents that serve as emergency shelters were completely wet,” says Schuiling. “There was mud everywhere, because to go to the toilet you have to go to the dixies outside. It is cold in the tents and the children are literally walking around barefoot.”
In addition, the COA and IND employees are overloaded, there is too little staff and equipment to register the larger numbers of people and there are no signs that fewer people will come to Ter Apel in the coming days or weeks, says Schuiling. Informal consultations between municipalities resulted in hardly any extra reception places, and the Security Council, which was added on Monday, did not bring any relief either.
Asylum peak leads to anger in the municipality, and ‘brown drab’ in the azc
That is why the Groningen Security Region decided on an Article 51 procedure. In the event of ‘a fire, disaster or crisis or of serious fear of its occurrence’, the chairman of a security region calls on the assistance of the minister. It must comply with this, “unless urgent reasons oppose this”, the article of the Security Regions Act prescribes. “We have warned enough and that has not yielded enough. While the crisis in Ter Apel is a national issue.” Hubert Bruls, chairman of the Security Council, supports Schuiling. “It is beyond the shame that we have let it come to this,” he said in a radio program on Thursday 1 on 1.
But which scenarios are on the table? From a confidential memorandum from the Ministry of Justice and Security that was discussed during the Security Council on Monday and is in the hands of NRC the choices become clear. 800 more shelter places are needed this week and another 1,500 in the coming weeks.
The kids literally walk around barefoot
Koen Schuiling chairman of the security region
The preference is to allocate houses to the 11,000 status holders who reside in various asylum seekers’ centres. But, the ministry writes, that “seems difficult to realize within a few days” and can lead to “resistance among other urgent seekers and regular home seekers”. Impossible, the ministry said.
Arranging shelter in vacant buildings is also not sufficient. And care in sports halls, as in 2015 and 2016? Municipalities are not keen on this, because they are responsible for personnel and other matters at those locations.
The ministry has announced in a letter that it will enter into discussions with the Groningen Safety Region and the mayor of Ter Apel as soon as possible.
Mayor Ter Apel: ‘We need a second application center’
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