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Sleeping outdoors: situation in Dutch refugee shelters is critical

According to Dutch government inspectors, the situation in refugee shelters remains unacceptable, conditions are especially critical in the registration center and refugee shelter Apel, where there is a risk of developing health problems, the Dutch news portal DutchNews reported on Wednesday, October 5.

Inspectors visited the center Apel last week and described a crowd of people crammed into a "cold, drafty, dirty gymnasium." Inadequate hygienic conditions remain at the site, with few sanitary facilities and insufficient medical supervision. About 300 unaccompanied minor migrants live in the center, while the premises are designed for a much smaller number of people. Inspectors also reported that hundreds of people in the center's courtyard were sleeping outdoors without appropriate clothing and beds.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has also drawn attention to the deteriorating situation of underage migrants arriving in the country. “The transfer of children from one refugee shelter to another only increases their sense of insecurity, as they do not know where they will live and go to school,” the international organization said.

According to the rules, those who arrive in Ter Apel in the north of the Netherlands would in principle have to stay there for no more than six days until their application is registered, but their stay there may drag on for several months, since there are few refugees in other refugee camps. places. About 17,000 people still live in refugee centers, although they should have already moved into suitable apartments. With the help of religious organizations in the Netherlands, approximately 9,000 refugees with residence permits have been able to provide adequate housing. Refugees are being housed in amusement parks and empty church buildings to ease pressure on refugee centers.

The NOS information portal reported that this year the Netherlands requested the return of about 7,000 refugees to another EU country, but only 370 people actually left the country, while the rest remained in the Netherlands as illegal migrants.

Sleeping outdoors: situation in Dutch refugee shelters is critical