Cruiseship refugee shelter "pressure cooker" of violence; Move kids, women, doctors plea
The cruise ship Silja, on which the municipality of Rotterdam and the COA are housing almost 2,000 refugees, is a “pressure cooker” of violence, threats, and possible abuse, healthcare workers warned in a letter. Infectious diseases are also spreading like wildfire on the ship. “This boat is not a suitable and safe shelter, especially not for children and young women,” wrote doctors from the Asylum Seekers’ Health Service, who provide healthcare on the ship, NRC reports.
The Silja is one of the largest reception centers in the Netherlands. It houses refugees - asylum seekers whose applications were approved and now have residency in the Netherlands - waiting for housing in Zuid-Holland. Initially, it was agreed that 1,000 refugees would live on the ship, in shared cabins of approximately 2 by 3 meters and often without windows, for no more than 18 months. The ship now houses twice as many people and will remain until at least 2026.
The doctors are very concerned about the children staying on the Silja. They roam around the ship unsupervised because their parents are “too tired, exhausted, or traumatized” to look after them, the doctors wrote. The children are also exposed to “too much physical and verbal violence,” and the doctors suspect that some children abuse each other “among themselves.” They did not elaborate on that.
Several children are showing behavioral problems, the doctors said. The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate and the Children’s Ombudsman, among others, have long raised concerns about children in COA emergency shelters.
The doctors are also worried about young women, saying they are “not safe from single young men” on the ship. Women have to keep watch for each other “so that they are not suddenly attacked by men from another deck.”
They also warn that minorities from Syria are being harassed by fellow countrymen on the ship and that there are signs of “radicalization.”
Furthermore, the doctors say that there are “serious hygiene problems” in the shelter and “infectious diseases like scabies, flu, chicken pox, and norovirus spread easily.” Tuberculosis has also been detected on the boat.
The Silja is “overcrowded and unsuitable as a transit location,” the doctors wrote. They advocate for smaller-scale locations, or at least downscaling the Silja shelter. “We are now making people sick(er),” they wrote.
Spokespersons for the COA and the municipality of Rotterdam confirmed that they have received the letter. A spokesperson for responsible alderman Faouzi Achbar (DENK) referred NRC to the COA for further response. “They are responsible for healthcare,” the spokesperson wrote. The newspaper pointed out that the alderman previously called the Silija sufficient for temporary shelter in a council debate. “The alderman was not aware of the details of the concerns mentioned at the time,” his spokesperson said.
The COA told NRC that it is taking the letter “very seriously” and is in discussions with the medical staff. “The Silja is not an optimal place to stay for a long period of time,” a spokesperson acknowledged. “Unfortunately, there are too few fully-fledged reception locations, which means that the existing reception facilities are also very full.”
The COA, the central agency for the reception of asylum seekers, said it was doing its “very best” to accommodate all asylum seekers and refugees “as humanely and safely as possible.” But added: “The fact remains that a ship with small rooms where many people stay close together for long periods of time can lead to tensions, dissatisfaction about, for example, the food and hygiene, and other undesirable situations.”
