Asylum minister under fire for blocking outing for asylum-seeking children
Dutch Minister for Asylum and Migration Marjolein Faber has announced plans to cut funding for recreational activities for asylum seekers, prompting strong backlash from child welfare organizations and refugee advocates, NOS reported. The move follows the cancellation of a planned day trip for underage asylum seekers to the Efteling amusement park, which Faber denounced as a luxury expense.
“I will make cuts wherever I can,” Faber said Friday after the weekly Council of Ministers meeting. She confirmed that she wants to reduce the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers' (COA) budget for such outings and will begin talks with the agency as soon as possible. Going forward, she said, any recreational trips must be financed solely by the COA.
The COA, which operates independently though it falls under Faber’s ministry, had organized a trip for about 60 unaccompanied minors from the asylum center in Sint Annaparochie, Friesland. Half of the group are children who arrived in the Netherlands without their families. The children were to spend the day at Efteling, a popular Dutch amusement park, before the plan was abruptly scrapped.
Faber publicly opposed the trip last week, calling it an inappropriate use of public funds. “I find it inexplicable to send these youths on a luxury trip to the Efteling at taxpayers’ expense,” she posted on X. When the COA offered an alternative day trip after the original outing was canceled, the minister again expressed disapproval, stating: “This is not a vacation resort. The Netherlands must absolutely not be an attractive destination.”
Despite her objections, the COA announced Friday that the alternative outing will proceed. While the agency is funded by the national government, it retains authority over its operational decisions. Faber emphasized that “a very high amount of money goes to the whole asylum shelter” and added, “whoever pays, decides.”
The controversy has drawn fierce criticism from organizations that work with asylum-seeking children. The Netherlands Youth Institute (NJi) compared the canceled trip to a basic human need. “This is not candy — it’s a healthy, necessary sandwich,” the institute said in a statement. “By calling it a treat, you deny the functional value of leisure activities.”
The NJi stressed that recreational experiences outside the often stressful environment of asylum shelters are essential for children’s development. “When children lose a game, they learn how to deal with disappointment,” the institute explained. “And through different kinds of relaxation, they learn to work together and build social relationships.”
Although some recreation is available within asylum shelters—such as sports and games—these activities occur in a closed and tense environment, NJi added. Opportunities to spend time in new and stimulating settings help children recover from trauma and gain perspective.
Refugee support organization VluchtelingenWerk Nederland echoed those concerns. “Life in an asylum seekers’ center or emergency shelter is often extremely stressful,” the organization stated. “Children witness their parents struggling with the hopelessness of a long asylum procedure and lack even basic privacy.”
A simple day trip can offer major psychological benefits, the group argued. “Being able to relax and have fun boosts children’s self-confidence, helps them express their emotions, and allows them to process their fears in a safe way.”
VluchtelingenWerk chair Frank Candel accused the minister of political grandstanding instead of addressing systemic issues. “The minister seems to forget that she is responsible for the children in reception and for ensuring they grow up well,” he told NOS. “That includes not just food, sleep, and education, but also sports and recreation.”
Candel said many shelter environments are deeply unsuitable for children and that occasional excursions are not luxuries but necessities. “She’s mostly playing politics with this controversy and not doing her job,” he told NOS. “I would prefer the minister focus on the major issues within the asylum system, not on things like this.”
The NJi also pointed out that providing equal opportunities for play and leisure is a legal obligation under the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. “That’s why the Netherlands invests heavily in sports, play, and recreational activities for children,” the institute said.
In response to the canceled trip, Dutch citizens raised more than 204,000 euros through crowdfunding to help the children take a day trip elsewhere. The COA is currently exploring how the money can be distributed to benefit the group.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof said Friday that Faber’s plans had not been discussed during the Council of Ministers meeting and declined to weigh in directly. “We’ll wait to see the results of the discussions between Faber and the COA,” Schoof said during his weekly press conference. “If that leads to policy proposals or changes to the law, then we will cross that bridge when we come to it.”
