The Red Cross has been called in to support the reception of asylum seekers in Ter Apel. The aid organization will provide basic equipment on the premises of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND), the IND reported. Due to the large crowds at the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA), asylum seekers had to wait in the IND waiting rooms at night for almost two months and now also during the day, sometimes on chairs and on the floor.
Hundreds of people gathered in Amsterdam and Utrecht on Thursday evening to protest against fascism, Islamophobia, racism, and anti-queer hatred after Geert Wilders’ PVV won the Dutch election. Demonstrators also interrupted a city council meeting in Midden-Groningen with anti-PVV posters. And the international online campaign network Avaaz launched a petition against making Wilders Prime Minister. The demonstration on Dam Square in Amsterdam was the initiative of Krakenburg020, an organization of squatters. Hundreds attended to protest for tolerance and inclusion.
Business organizations, immigrant organizations, and universities have expressed concern on Thursday following the results of the Dutch parliamentary elections. The two major winners, the PVV with 37 seats and the NSC with 20, both advocate for curbing the number of asylum seekers, labor migrants, and international students.
The Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) will speed up the decision-making process for family reunification applications from Palestinians in the Netherlands with relatives in Gaza, the service told NOS. The IND is working on around ten applications involving several dozen family members in the Gaza Strip, mainly partners and minor children.
Over the past four years, Justis issued 22 certificates of good behavior (VOG) to 13 people who were previously convicted of terrorist crimes, Minister Franc Weerwind for Legal Protection informed parliament, RTL Nieuws reports.