LOCAL INITIATIVES TO HELP ASYLUM SEEKERS THAT WAIT FOR PERMIT

A local Dutch foundation that fights for the rights of asylum seekers that already wait for their residence permit for more than five years, decided to give an advance on the future possibility to get a status. The foundation, based in a town in the middle of the country, will offer housing, income and accompaniment until the national authorities come with a solution for this group. The foundation expects that this will happen before the end of 2007.

The asylum seekers foundation fights for the status of asylum seekers that requested a residence permit before the April 1, 2001, the day that the new immigration laws were taken on. The ambitious project we give these people the opportunity to make a start with building up their life. Until now these people did not have any chance to do this and the foundation blames the national authorities. They state that the national authorities do not have respects for human rights. Some of the families, with young children, are jailed. Often for longer than a few weeks.

From the 1 of July 2006, people of the target group will be accommodated in apartments of one of the housing associations for free. The foundation expects that the number of participants will increase, up to 150 in early 2007. Also other housing associations are contacted to see what they can do.

The initiative of the foundation does not have a political colour. It sees itself as the centre of the resistance against the immigration policy that violates the principles of normal management and human rights. The funding comes from all around The Netherlands.

One of the members of the foundation board: ‘Endlessly these people have been messed around. Again and again these people ended up in situations from which they did not see any way out. When the new immigration law was implemented, in 2001, the immigration office handles the new permit requests first. The old requests piled up for years. Some of the request are now older than 10 years. Children are raised or even born here, they often do not speak the language of their parents. Most of the people are traumatised, also because they do not know what will happen with them, because they are not allowed to do anything and because of bad living conditions. It is a question of good management, that the Dutch national authorities will have to say: these people had enough problems now.’

The foundation is happy with the critics of international human rights organisations, among which the UN-committee for children’s rights and the Board of Europe, that indicated that the Dutch policy is violating human rights. The spokesman of the foundation: ‘we do not expect the present government to solve this inhumane situation, for them their policy and the future votes are apparently more important. We expect the future government to organise a general pardon for these people. Even the association of Dutch cities indicated that they want to see a generous pardon- arrangement.

Sadly enough it is expected that many of the thousands of asylum seekers that still wait for a permit, will end up in the streets. Often it is the authorities themselves that put whole families in the streets or the families want to avoid the ‘return-home-route’, “offered” by the Dutch authorities. The association of Dutch cities wants a generous pardon as soon as possible, because they know that there is no local safety net. In some smaller cities it is the individual people that set-up voluntary reception centres.  The foundation wants to make an example so there will be more attention for the problems, and ask others to do something, before a humanitarian disaster will take place. One of the larger Dutch city councils already stated that they will also develop plans to help the large group of asylum seekers that is still waiting for a permit.  more features

June 29 , 2006