Ter Apel refugee center tents dispute underscores Dutch asylum challenges

In recent weeks the Red Cross and VluchtelingenWerk Nederland organized assistance on the forecourt of the Ter Apel registration centre for refugees. Activist group MiGreat stepped in to provide tents and other sleeping supplies to refugees who are left without shelter after the last bus to the emergency accommodation in Nieuwe Pekela departs at 23:00. Those arriving later are forced to sleep outside the centre’s forecourt.

MiGreat hands out a handful of tents each night, but municipal enforcement officers seized the tents, repeating a practice from the summer of 2022. After a complaint, the Dutch National Ombudsman deemed the seizure “inappropriate and improper” and the municipality agreed to return the tents.

Romy Santpoort, project leader of Movisie’s “Wat werkt” team, stresses that helping people on the move is a long‑standing Dutch norm. She recounts accompanying refugees such as Caro from Brazil and journalist Mohammed from Gaza, noting that public support for asylum accommodation remains strong and that normalising this support can influence broader social attitudes.