9 mei 2024 om 11:24 Update: 2 uur geleden
Last night, 2,463 people spent the night in the registration center for asylum seekers in Ter Apel. According to the shelter organization COA, there have never been so many before.
Every time more than two thousand asylum seekers spend the night in the registration center, the COA must pay the municipality of Westerwolde a fine of 15,000 euros. This was determined by the judge earlier this year.
The total fine now stands at 1,012,500 euros. Since March 9, not a night has gone by without too many people staying in the registration center.
The one million euro mark has been exceeded earlier than expected. On Wednesday it was announced that COA and the municipality of Westerwolde did not agree on the number of people who stayed in Ter Apel in the period 2 to 8 March. The municipality and COA have agreed that COA will still pay a penalty for half of those days. This amounts to a total of 52,500 euros.
In the period from February 24 to March 8, fewer than two thousand people were counted in the registration center.
However, according to the municipality, this was not always correct. If buses with asylum seekers are taken to a special night shelter in the evening, fewer than two thousand people will indeed be counted in the morning. But when those asylum seekers return later that morning, the registration center is still too full.
Crowds still due to a shortage of childcare places
The large crowds in the registration center are still caused by a shortage of reception places, while new asylum applications are made every day. COA has therefore been in discussions with the minister for some time to see whether this can be alleviated. “For example, government land and pavilion sites are being looked at,” says a spokesperson.
In the meantime, the large number of people in Ter Apel is causing tensions, he says. “That’s what you get when a lot of people come into one room. Our people also feel the same tensions. They have to ensure that everyone ends up well, that there is sufficient care and that there are enough places to sleep. They are constantly trying to figure out how to solve the problem. see how to do that.”
Om een vraag te kunnen stellen dien je in te loggen. Log in of maak binnen 1 minuut jouw gratis account aan.
Direct inloggen
Gratis account aanmaken
