Within a period of one month, the courtyard of the Nuenen town hall has been transformed into a crisis shelter for asylum seekers. Fifty refugees from Budel and Ter Apel will stay in this location for three months.
Neighbours were invited Friday evening to view the shelter before it was put into use. “I think it’s a good place. The municipality has such a good understanding of it,” said one of the local residents. “It’s good that the municipality is doing it, and the neighbourhood is very friendly.”
Containers and tents
The shelter consists of residential containers and heated tents. There are two levels of construction. The first floor consists of a large tent measuring 10 by 20 metres. This is the dining and recreation area. Adjacent are the containers with sanitary facilities, storage space and offices for care, guidance and security. The sleeping quarters are in the floor above.
Actually, the municipality had hoped to have the shelter ready by the end of December, but that plan was a bit too ambitious. Still, in a month’s time, they managed to have the shelter ready. “This location is very suitable for accommodating asylum seekers,” says Simon La Févre, project manager of the Nuenen municipality’s Crisis Emergency Shelter. “The nice thing about this location is that it belongs to the municipality, so it was easy to put something up here.”
Search goes on
The municipality was asked by COA (Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers) to find a location for the asylum seekers.This is because the centres in Budel and Ter Apel are overcrowded. Meanwhile, the municipality is looking for a permanent place for asylum seekers.”Everyone is very positive about the temporary shelter, but less so about the arrival of a long-term asylum seeker centre,” says a local resident.”But that’s probably because of the stories from Budel, which is very close to here, and from Ter Apel.”Another local resident also understands the concerns. “Of course there are concerns. The news mainly gives you the negative stories.”
Last weekend the asylum seekers arrived in Nuenen.
Source: Studio040
Translator: Martijn
