A Dutch refugee registration centre in Ter Apel has found itself making headlines — and it’s not good news.
With a large influx of asylum seekers passing through its doors, the centre is often left at breaking point and begging for help.
However, help has yet to come. According to multiple reports, those received there must now deal with horrific living conditions.
A leaked report
According to a leaked GGD report, asylum seekers who arrive at Ter Apel must cope with a lack of hygiene facilities, drug use, and the resulting unsafe environments.
READ MORE | The asylum crisis in the Netherlands: here’s the rundown
To be more specific, the report mentions that the few toilets on site have overflowing waste bins, mattresses “do not appear to have been cleaned,” and that many men at the reception centre are methadone users.
Added to this chaos is the fact that there isn’t enough room for people at the centre, with the report stating that people were left to sleep in the waiting areas.
This can then lead to violence and tension among those stuck there.
A “downright worrying” situation
Following a further report by the Justice and Security Inspectorate, the UN has stepped in to voice its own opinion, finding the situation at Ter Apel “downright worrying.”
The UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, says that the conditions are due to a lack of flow in the system, with people at registration centres not being moved to asylum seeker centres fast enough.
The result? In the UNHCR’s words, a “bankrupt reception system”, the NOS reports.
The UHNCR is now calling for a second registration centre to be established.
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Feature Image: Directie Voorlichting/Flickr/CC2.0
