Netherlands: Asylum-seekers homeless?
01 January 1991
Netherlands: Asylum-seekers homeless?
artdoc May=1994
The organisation `Refugee Work' has condemned the government's
decision to close refugee centres to newly-arrived asylum-
seekers. The decision, they say, will lead to at least eight
people being put on the streets each day.
The Minister of Welfare is calling for the provision of tents
for use in an emergency as well as looking into the possibility
of housing 300 asylum-seekers on a `hotel boat' (De Volkskrant
8.7.93, Trouw 11.8.93).
Liberians protest unfair treatment
Asylum-seekers from Liberia occupied the offices of the Ministry
of Justice on 31 August to draw attention to a dispute over
government handling of their applications.
An extraordinary situation, it seems, has developed whereby the
government refuses to believe the Liberians are from Liberia at
all. The government is accused of confiscating the papers of the
asylum-seekers and then presenting them to the Nigerian embassy
which, in turn, refuse to have anything to do with them because
the Dutch government will not release their papers. Furthermore,
it is claimed that the government is developing a policy whereby
Liberians are deported to any west African country should their
applications be refused. If they are allowed to remain in
Holland, then, the refugees say, they are just dumped on the
streets, without work permits, in the hope that they will
disappear. The newspaper NN cites a series of case-studies to
illustrate the above points. Benson Goodwin went on hunger-strike
in June 1993 to draw attention to his detention in the Schipol
border prison. Although he arrived in Holland on 26 March, and
presented various documents to prove his Liberian identity, the
government refused to present him to the Liberian consulate.Then,
on 15 July, he was, it is alleged, beaten by staff at the border
prison. On 2 August he was deported to Lagos, where the
authorities refused to accept he was Nigerian and returned him
to Holland. Here he was dumped onto the streets, without papers,
money or shelter. Other cases involve unsuccessful attempts by
the Dutch government to deport Liberians to Sierra Leone and
Ghana (NN 14.9.93).
Financial compensation for brain-damaged Romanian
The Romanian asylum-seeker who suffered brain damage following
an attempted deportation, during which tape was placed over his
mouth, will most probably receive financial compensation, says
the Minister of Justice. A judicial inquiry is presently under
way (De Leeuwarder Courant 25.8.93).
IRR European Race Audit, Bulletin no 6, December 1993. Contact:
Liz Fekete, Institute of Race Relations, 2-6 Leeke Street, London
WC1X 9HS. Tel: 071 837 0041.