Crowding more and more people into the asylum registration center in Ter Apel is not safe for the asylum seekers involved, or for the locals in the town or the rest of his municipality, a clearly emotional Mayor Jaap Velema of Westerwolde said in court on Wednesday. His municipality, which covers Ter Apel, filed summary proceedings against the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA), asking the court to enforce the 2,000 people capacity limit at the asylum center.
Business owners in Ter Apel will probably be able to make use of a compensation fund for additional costs incurred as a result of the nuisance caused by asylum seekers at the beginning of next year. Mayor Jaap Velema of Westerwolde, to which Ter Apel belongs, announced this to the municipal council this week. The fund is a result of numerous complaints from store owners in Ter Apel who wrote a letter of distress to the municipality and others last month, stating that they are "at their wits' end" and are losing sales because customers are staying away.
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.