Feces float in baths placed on the sidewalk, volunteers heal weeks-old wounds and infections as best they can, chronic patients are hospitalized, and others live under tents: the reception for refugees in the Netherlands resembles the notorious camp at Moria in Greece.
During a visit to Ter Apel, the reception and registration center for asylum seekers in the province of Groningen, an observer confirmed the inhumane conditions that have emerged. The Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders MSF have been voicing complaints for weeks.
Women, some pregnant, and children enter the center to begin enrollment, while men of various ages lie on the floor in crowded queues, sleeping outdoors under white tents or beneath the clouded sky. The forecast weather suggests that the cold and rain will intensify in the days ahead, making conditions harsher than in July and August.
Among those seeking safety are nationals from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and from Eritrea, Sudan and Uganda. Many refuse to share names for fear of jeopardizing their asylum cases, while stories of escape, human trafficking, slavery, and abuse at the hands of organized crime unfold over months, sometimes years.
An elderly Palestinian tells the journalist, “The pain of escaping bombs again as a refugee in Syria”; several young LGBTQ individuals describe fleeing to the Netherlands because their personal circumstances could not allow them to stay in Uganda; Fadua, 39, recently arrived in Ter Apel from Beirut and fears for her three children, hoping to find a shelter soon.
“I’ve been going from one country to another for three years”
A 25-year-old Yemeni, who has traversed Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Niger, Algeria, and Morocco, attempted to cross into Spain 28 times and lost companions along the way. He recounts crossing in a small boat but says the most harrowing part was being imprisoned in Libya, treated as a slave, and fearing death there.
Most refugees MSF has assisted since Thursday suffer from wounds, injuries, and skin problems caused by poor hygiene, including cases of scabies and various infections. Yet many also need medications for chronic conditions, as volunteers noted.
“The situation remains the same: bad. There are no proper shelters or blankets. It will be colder and rainier, and we are already seeing health problems. People are living in an inhumane state. This should not be the case in any country, especially not in a European nation like the Netherlands,” MSF spokesperson Monique Nagelkerke told the press.
Tragically, health authorities confirmed the death of a three-month-old baby on a Wednesday in a sports center used as an emergency shelter in Ter Apel, underscoring the severity of the crisis.
MSF notes that this is their first direct operation in the Ter Apel area. The need to deploy teams to assist refugees in the Netherlands, a country with a strong economy, was highlighted as conditions worsened.
MEP Sophie in ’t Veld wrote to the European Commission describing Ter Apel as aDutch Moria, arguing that the conditions violate European law. MSF echoed this comparison, noting that living conditions resembled those seen in camps like Moria.
700 people outdoors
Currently, about 700 people spend the night outside, waiting to register at the reception center.
Ter Apel marks the official starting point for asylum applications in the Netherlands, a process that should take a few days in ideal conditions but can extend to three months in practice, according to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The Dutch government has faced persistent complaints and has urged municipalities to offer temporary housing for refugees; a nationwide housing shortage complicates the response. Authorities are negotiating with municipalities to allocate more funds to ease the burden.
The broader challenge is that thousands of people remain in asylum centers while awaiting approval, due in part to a lack of adequate housing. The Center for Receiving Asylum Seekers Agency COA is grappling with staff shortages and absenteeism, a problem that nearly doubles the national average. Fewer employees across the IND are available to process and evaluate asylum applications, further delaying timelines.