Media: Netherlands almost run out of places for Ukrainian refugees
Shelters for refugees from Ukraine in the Netherlands are almost full: 99 percent of the 90,000 reception places for Ukrainians are occupied, TASS reports with reference to De Telegraaf
As the newspaper notes, more than three thousand Ukrainian citizens turned to the registration centre in Utrecht wishing to obtain asylum in municipal shelters in the first weeks of 2024 alone. The number of refugees continues to grow, but there is no place to accommodate them.
“There is a very realistic chance that we will have to temporarily close the gates in the coming weeks,” said local government spokesman Jaap Donker. “Of course, we absolutely do not want this, but we have no other choice because mental and physical living conditions can no longer be guaranteed.”
The problem of refugee resettlement is also recognised at the government level. Thus, in a recent letter to parliament Acting State Secretary for Justice and Security Eric van der Burg underlined that the country’s authorities need to take measures to encourage Ukrainians to provide for themselves and participate in society. This would make it possible to free up some places in municipal shelters.
Commenting on the publication of De Telegraaf, the leader of the far-right Freedom Party, Geert Wilders, stressed that ‘Ukrainians are coming to the Netherlands from all over the EU not because of the war, but because of free housing, free healthcare and jobs’.
