Government agencies acted ‘improperly and inappropriately’ during the crisis situation in Ter Apel in the summer of 2022. This is what the National Ombudsman says in the report Forbidden to provide assistance?. Offered aids were taken from asylum seekers and citizens who offered help were warned that they would be arrested.
In the summer of 2022, the registration center of the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) was overcrowded. Hundreds of people had to wait and sleep outside in the grass without any aids. There was a lack of hygiene, drinking water, toilets, showers and shelter and the weather was variable: from very warm to cold with showers.
‘Government failed’
Local residents and authorities offered help to the asylum seekers because ‘the government fell short’, writes ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen. But tents, ponchos and garbage bags that were distributed were taken from the asylum seekers and tea was banned from being distributed.
This video shows how volunteers from the aid organization People for People distributed blankets, toothpaste and soap in Ter Apel:
An emergency decree was imposed and people who came to help the asylum seekers were threatened with persecution. While you can expect a government to ‘think along and work with citizens on a solution, instead of punishing citizens who offer help’, says Van Zutphen. According to him, too little attention was paid to the humanitarian needs of the waiting asylum seekers.
‘Extremely unhappy’
The authorities involved with whom Van Zutphen spoke also recognize that the situation should have been handled differently. According to them, the focus was too much on safety and public order and the response to aid providers was ‘particularly unfortunate’, they now believe.
The government says it wants to learn from the situation, but that does not reassure the ombudsman, because ‘the chance that asylum seekers will have to sleep outside again is still present’. He also sees that ‘virtually nothing has changed’ since his recommendations for improvements to asylum reception last year.
Prevent recurrence
Van Zutphen therefore warns against recurrence now that ‘a new low point in asylum reception is emerging’, because the registration center is again overcrowded. “Everyone I speak to wants to prevent a repeat of the situation of two years ago in Ter Apel,” he says.
According to him, this requires solidarity from all Dutch municipal administrators. They must now ‘take up the challenge together, stand next to each other and take their responsibility in the reception of asylum seekers’.
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Tags: Ombudsman response Ter Apel aid crisis improper inappropriate RTL News
