Labour looks to move ten LGBT asylum seekers to Rotterdam

The Rotterdam faction of the PvdA asked the mayor and aldermen to offer safe shelter to 10 LGBT asylum seekers currently living in the emergency shelter in Alphen aan den Rijn. On Friday these 10 asylum seekers started a hunger strike because they are systematically threatened, abused and even assaulted by other refugees because of their sexual orientation, the Telegraaf reports. The Rotterdam PvdA thinks that in this situation, not only should the perpetrators be addressed, but the victims should also be offered protection. The party asked the mayor and aldermen to give these gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people room to breath while they wait for a "stable and permanent solution", according to the newspaper. Gay interest organization COC Nederland recently called on the Dutch government to arrange safe houses for LGBT asylum seekers who feel unsafe in the emergency shelters. Amsterdam gave heed to this call and recently arranged separate accommodation for a number of LGBT refugees. The government thinks that victims of discrimination, threats and violence in the shelters should only be moved to a different place in acute emergency situations. Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice told the Tweede Kamer, lower house of parliament, that the perpetrators are the ones to be addressed and transferred.