Amsterdam turns away Ukrainian refugees due to lack of shelter space

The municipality of Amsterdam has had to reject Ukrainian refugees in the last few weeks because there is insufficient space for them in the city. This is the first time that this has happened. There is a lack of available space throughout the country, Alderman Rutger Groot Wassink warned. He wants the Minister of Asylum and Migration, Marjolein Faber, to take responsibility for this issue.

Dozens of Ukrainians were rejected by Amsterdam in the last few weeks. Referrals are not possible because there are only 35 shelter places available nationwide, the municipality stated.

“We have come to the sad point that the Netherlands cannot take in any refugee from Ukraine, and in doing so, we are abandoning the Ukrainian people," said Groot Wassink.

The alderman added that people are not just being left to their fate "but, it also means no registration in the BRP (population registers), no education, no healthcare, and no work." They also disappear from view, he warned.

Groot Wassink thinks that the government in The Hague are not doing enough to help the municipalities with this. The government has reduced the amount that municipalities receive per day per bed for the reception of Ukrainians this year from 61 to 44 euros.

This has led to shelter becoming an impossible task for the municipalities, he said. The alderman wants the minister to take control, ensure good organization for shelter places, and create a suitable financing system.

The Association of Netherlands Municipalities sounded the alarm about the shelter of Ukrainians at the end of last year. A commission debate about the subject will take place in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, on Thursday.

The G4 (Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, and Utrecht) also expressed their concerns in a letter to the MPs about a lack of governance.

The issue does not show any sign of slowing down as the Red Cross reported that February saw double the number of requests for help from Ukrainians than the months prior. Around 400 Ukrainians contacted the Red Cross to ask for aid in February, with 200 of the Eastern Europeans making contact in December and January.

Of the refugees who spoke to the Red Cross, 18 stated that they had slept on the street for at least one night. Some also slept in their car before the municipality had a spot for them, said the organization.