XPost: alt.religion.islam, soc.culture.canada   
   From: crusader@crusader.com   
      
   Rotterdam refuses to take in any more refugees. The city authorities say the   
   influx of underprivileged newcomers is placing too heavy a burden on the   
   port's poorer districts. The move flies in the face of national government   
   policy, which is aimed at spreading new migrants across the country.   
   Nevertheless, Parliament says it´s willing to consider Rotterdam's   
   objections.   
      
   Foreign migrants will make up 70 percent of the Rotterdam population by 2017   
   if current policy remains unchanged. The forecast, by the Rotterdam Centre   
   for Research and Statistics, has sparked concern among city officials. They   
   argue that many of the newcomers are low-skilled and low-educated and   
   therefore end up in districts that are already facing serious social   
   problems. The Rotterdam authorities are preparing an action plan to "tackle   
   the accumulation of social and economic problems in certain   
   areas."Signalling one of the key measures that are set to be included in the   
   plan, Rotterdam's integration councillor, Sjaak van der Tak, has said the   
   city should no longer house any more asylum seekers, not even if they have   
   official refugee status:   
      
   "Already, Rotterdam has done 20 times as much as other major cities in the   
   Netherlands. We feel enough is enough, and that's why we're asking the   
   national government  to spare us."   
      
   Equal share   
   Dutch municipalities are obliged to take in a specific number of refugees   
   who've been granted residence permits according to a formula set by the   
   national government. Rotterdam should meet its obligations, stresses   
   Immigration and Integration Minister Rita Verdonk.   
      
   But a majority with the Lower House of Parliament feels the government also   
   has an obligation to ensure that the refugees are in fact spread across the   
   country as planned. In the present situation, refugees often reject   
   accommodation offered to them in the countryside. They prefer to live in   
   urban areas, where they have relatives and friends and more services at   
   hand.   
      
   Integration Minister Verdonk has suggested other ways to create more space:   
      
   "I would say: just look at the number of illegal migrants still in the city,   
   people whose asylum applications have been turned down, but are still   
   occupying homes where they no longer belong. Just start enforcing deporting   
   them and there'll be plenty of room."   
      
   Tougher policies   
   The Dutch Immigration Ministry recently reported that just over 4,300 people   
   requested asylum in the Netherlands between May and August of this year, a   
   decrease of 17 percent compared with the previous four months.   
      
   Owing to tougher legislation, the number of requests for asylum decreased by   
   50 percent last year. Many asylum centres have since closed their doors.   
      
      
      
   The statement sums up current government policy: taking in fewer asylum   
   seekers, offering proper accommodation to those already in the country and   
   sending back those whose asylum requests are rejected to the countries they   
   come from. But for the implementation of this policy, the integration   
   minister needs the cooperation of municipalities. And that's what has been   
   lacking, much to Mrs Verdonk's frustration.   
      
   Late 2002, the Justice Minister and the Association of Netherlands   
   Municipalities agreed that the municipalities would no longer have to   
   accommodate rejected asylum seekers. As of June this year, that would be the   
   national government's responsibility. Two large deportation centres were set   
   up: at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport and at Zestienhoven Airport in   
   Rotterdam, offering a total of 600 cells. But not nearly that number have   
   been finished yet and this had prompted the municipal governments to take   
   the accommodation issue into their own hands.   
      
   Passing the buck   
   They fear that asylum seekers who have exhausted their appeals will   
   otherwise end up with entrenched illegal status. For that reason, the   
   western town of Noordwijk is spending 200,000 euros on food and housing each   
   year. Likewise, the southern city of 's-Hertogenbosch has started handing   
   out special identity cards that give illegal immigrants the right to a free   
   bed and meal. But Rotterdam will not copy their example. In fact, the four   
   major cities in the Netherlands have agreed to stick to national policy   
   tasking the ministry in The Hague to provide accommodation. The flip side of   
   this decision for Rotterdam is that it's losing track of the number of   
   rejected asylum seekers.   
      
   Rotterdam is now drawing national attention to the problem, but the solution   
   it offers doesn't seem justified. How can you deny foreigners with residence   
   permits the right to live where they want? While trying to solve the   
   problem, Integration Minister Rita Verdonk merely touches on another: the   
   group of illegal immigrants who have no right to stay in urban areas, but   
   are not deported. Pointing the accusing finger at each may be the easy   
   option, but it will benefit no one in the end.   
      
   http://www.rnw.nl/hotspots/html/dut031112.html   
      
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