Shortage of reception spaces Ter Apel

Frank Candel, Chairman of the board of the Dutch Council for Refugees, was travelling to Ter Apel that evening to see what the situation was and whether the Dutch Council for Refugees could provide support. When he arrived, he saw there were not enough people to help quickly. He decided to help distribute food to refugees and guided people to buses that were taken to two locations. In the next days, a team of the Dutch Council for Refugees will be ready to help if something goes wrong again.

The Council for Refugees has been urging the State Secretary for some time now to find more places for the first reception and to continue to draw attention to this. "There is still a lot to do in this country and we remain committed to these vulnerable people," said Frank Candel.

In Ter Apel, the Dutch Council for Refugees works at the Application Center, Central Reception Location, Process Reception Location and Custodial Location. We are working in various areas such as:

• supporting asylum seekers with information on a daily basis about (asylum) procedures, legal assistance and the current status of the asylum procedure;
• providing information all residents with regards to any matter related to the asylum procedure;
• providing information to family members: people who, in connection with come to the Netherlands for family reunification;
• discussing individual flight stories with the asylum seekers in the Flight StoryAnalysis, and offering help with requesting documents that support their flight story and identity;