Deplorable conditions at Ter Apel asylum center described in health service report
Update 11:55 - Article updated with concerns from the Justice and Security Inspectorate about fire safety at the overcrowded registration center in Ter Apel
No health screenings, poor hygiene, methadone use, overflowing waste bins, and dirty mattresses in waiting areas. The GGD Groningen described deplorable conditions at the Ter Apel asylum registration center in a report obtained by EenVandaag. On Thursday, the Justice and Security Inspectorate also warned that fire safety in the overcrowded registration center is not in order.
The GGD Groningen notes that the large groups of people waiting at both the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) and the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) are not screened for infectious diseases like tuberculosis or norovirus by a doctor. The health screening only happens after the asylum seeker has been registered. That leaves plenty of time for diseases to spread, especially in the close and unhygienic quarters.
Between 2,300 and 2,500 asylum seekers have been sleeping at the Ter Apel registration center in recent weeks, while there is room for only 2,000. The health service reported that people live very close to each other and have access to too few sanitary facilities. The mattresses on waiting area floors, where asylum seekers sleep when no more beds are available, are also dirty. The health service also raised concerns about people being unable to wash and dry their clothes.
The GGD report also noted that many single men waiting in the center to get transferred to a regular asylum shelter use methadone. “That can cause tensions,” the GGD writes.
The Justice and Security Inspectorate visited Ter Apel on Tuesday and concluded that the center's maximum occupancy was exceeded by hundreds of people. The most "basic requirements of care in the area of bed and bath" cannot be met, the Inspectorate said on Thursday, NOS reports. It is particularly concerned about fire safety. The COA needs immediate help.
Mayor Jaap Velema of Westerwolde, the municipality that covers Ter Apel, visited the registration center on Sunday and saw the problems noted in the GGD report. “This entails several health risks. I saw that on Sunday, and it makes me sad,” he told EenVandaag.
“The situation is starting to look very similar to last summer,” Eize Hoomoedt, leader of the local GroenLinks faction, told EenVandaag. Last summer, hundreds of asylum seekers ended up sleeping outside for weeks because there was nowhere to shelter them. “The situation should have been resolved yesterday.”
“It is clear that we are in a crisis situation,” said Marco Visscher of Gemeentebelangen Westerwolde, the largest party in the municipality. He added that the people working at Ter Apel are also under increasing emotional strain. “They have to tell people again: You’re sleeping on the floor tonight.”
Mayor Velema is skeptical about the Ministry of Justice and Security’s promise to create more shelter space. “We constantly hear that people are very busy, and I believe that, too. We are also working hard. But, there is resistance from municipalities to make locations available. Then they include locations in the calculations that are not delivered at the last minute.”
