The Dutch Government\u2019s new policy prioritising Ukrainian asylum seekers has left many other refugees wondering what will happen to those awaiting to be processed. This new policy has meant that many people from countries other than Ukraine, may be waiting longer than previously anticipated to be processed. Kamayungi highlights that this new policy will largely impact the majority of the Netherlands\u2019 asylum seeker and refugee population from Middle Eastern and African regions. \u201c[These] people have been abandoned\u201d, said Kamayungi.<\/p>\n
Kamayungi has argued the unequal treatment of these people reflects a \u201clegacy of colonisation\u201d and \u201cengrained racism\u201d. \u201cIt is very shocking to see how our system is going\u201d, he said. Many of these asylum seekers have been left \u201chomeless and sleeping outside\u201d immigration facilities, such as the Ter Apel application centre.<\/p>\n\n
System concerns<\/strong><\/p>\n To seek asylum in the Netherlands, a person must report themselves at an immigration application centre. In centres like Ter Apel, the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers strives to provide 3 to 10 days of accommodation, meals, counselling and medical support once a person has reported their asylum status.<\/p>\n However, due to the increasing number of Ukrainian asylum seekers, many other immigrants are left waiting be processed. \u201c[The Government will] let a person live in the Netherlands \u2026 without income, without clothes on their back, without a right to work, without rights to healthcare, without the right to education\u201d, says Kamayungi. He believes the country has a history of xenophobic policies and \u201cracism within the community\u201d that influence policy.<\/p>\n For example, residents in the village of Albergen protested against refugees. The residents rallied to buy a nearby hotel intended to accommodate up to 300 incoming non-Ukrainian asylum seekers. They proclaimed messages such as \u201cKeep Albergen clean\u201d and \u201cWhat are you doing to our beautiful little village?\u201d. This tension led to delays in housing these asylum seekers.<\/p>\n Their call to action<\/strong><\/p>\n In response to cases of discrimination like this, the African Refugee Collective made a call to action. On September 13th<\/sup>, from Amsterdam to Rotterdam and The Hague, protesters met with flags, plaques and signs. They stood proudly in support of the refugee and asylum seeker community and rallied to raise awareness of the issue. People could be heard shouting \u201cthe crime is my colour\u201d and singing \u201crefugees are welcome here\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must change this narrative\u201d, Kamayungi emphasised. He argued the importance of raising the voices of people of colour through education. He stated, \u201cthere is so much work to do\u201d.<\/p>\n The IND and Dutch Government have taken initial action to prevent the homelessness of asylum seekers and refugees in Ter Apel. However, they are yet to enforce long-term solutions to prevent these prevailing issues as the Ukrainian War persists.<\/p>\n People around the Netherlands have taken to the streets to fight for equal treatment of refugees. On the 19th of July, the Dutch Government announced changes to legislation to fast-track Ukrainian asylum seeker applications. However, ongoing delays in immigration centres around the country have left many non-Ukrainian asylum seekers and refugees sleeping on the streets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2682,"featured_media":7533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cbj","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2022\/11\/IMG_6744-2-193x300.jpg\")
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