Cabinet considering a "refugee village" for fleeing Ukrainians: report

The Dutch Cabinet is considering creating "refugee villages" if the war in Ukraine turns into a full-blown refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing to the Netherlands, NRC reports based on a memo in its possession. It is not clear how concrete this plan is, the newspaper noted.

The memo includes consultations with the police, refugees' council Vluchtelingenwerk Nederland, and the Red Cross. In refugee villages, the police can help maintain public order, refugees could "self-organize," and the Red Cross can mobilize 100,000 "civil volunteers" to help where needed, the document said. 

The consulted organizations also raised some concerns, noted in the document. The police said that the chance of exploitation "could be greater than comes to light" and worried that refugees from other countries could mix with Ukrainians. "Identification is important," the police said. 

The government asked the 25 security regions in the Netherlands to arrange a total of 50,000 shelter spots for Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion of their country. On Thursday, about 15,000 Ukrainians made use of these shelters, according to the newspaper.

The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) is also struggling to find shelter space for non-Ukrainian asylum seekers. The COA is currently sheltering over 37,000 asylum seekers. The agency expects to need approximately 42,000 shelter spots this year. But several shelters are closing because the municipalities wouldn't extend their contracts.

Municipalities are still willing to find space for Ukrainian refugees. But the memo warns that this "positive sentiment" may "turn," and the Cabinet must "prepare well for that," according to the newspaper.