Refugee advocates: Emergency asylum shelters fail to meet standards Pages 56 & 57 – Mindbeautysphere by Caroline Omondi

Refugee advocates: Emergency asylum shelters fail to meet standards

The way in which refugees and asylum seekers are housed by the Netherlands in emergency reception locations is seriously lacking, according to VluchtelingenWerk, known in English as the Dutch Council for Refugees. In many places there is a lack of privacy, safety, and heating, and there is great concern about access to healthcare, education for children and repeated relocations in a short period of time. The conclusions are the result of a study into the living conditions of 5,000 asylum seekers at 21 emergency reception locations, the Council says. The conditions under which refugees stay in temporary shelters, such as sports halls, event halls, on boats, and in care centers, hotels, barracks and tents “are falling below the humanitarian lower limit,” the organization points out. “Many then end up in massive halls and tents where privacy does not exist and it is never quiet - even at night. The lack of sleep and living so close to strangers is very taxing mentally. This causes irritation and tension. In tents in particular, it is often too cold or too warm, and winter has yet to begin,” says the Council. The emergency placements are “particularly unsuitable” for children, according to the refugee organization. “The option to cook your own food is an important part of controlling your own life. But this is only possible in two locations. Parents are concerned about the eating habits of children who do not like the food, and therefore do not receive enough nutrition.” In a critical letter, the Council for Refugees makes an urgent appeal to Ankie Broekers-Knol, the State Secretary for Justice and Security. They want more suitable locations for the reception of refugees, and for provinces and municipalities to close the unsuitable emergency facilities as soon as possible. Their concerns were also echoed by the Dutch Red Cross, which has been assisting the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) for several months as they worked to place Afghans and other asylum seekers. The emergency aid organization “urgently” calls on parties involved in the reception to “break the current impasse”. “A solution must be found now,” said Marieke van Schaik, director of Red Cross Netherlands. “All parties point the finger at each other, and it is not possible to designate a number of large locations to realize humane sheltering. We would like to help, but then there must be clarity. Otherwise it will be a very cold Christmas for people who are without home and hearth.” The COA currently offers shelter to approximately 35,000 people, partly at temporary locations. The demand for reception spots will only increase next year, COA said last week. In 2022, a total of 42,000 reception places will be needed. A major problem is the transfer of those granted refugee status to a permanent home, because of the large housing shortage in the Netherlands. Unlike the Dutch Council for Refugees, the Red Cross thinks municipalities and the Ministry of Defense should extend the use of current reception facilities in addition to focusing on new locations. That is the way to prevent “ending up in am emergency crisis situation where people are transferred every 72 hours,” Van Schalk says. The national government and the municipalities are responsible for ensuring stability and security for these people, she adds. Last October, the Red Cross issued a warning that reception

Emergency construction of new aslyum center

centers in the Netherlands are in danger of falling below a “humane lower limit,” similar to what the Council for Refugees said on Wednesday. They noted that access to medical and mental care is under pressure and there are concerns about the continuity of care, especially if people are relocated. The Red Cross supports the COA at various locations with several projects, including the distribution of food and clothing, investigating missing relatives, and providing cots and camp beds. Reporting by ANP.

Mindbeautysphere

By Caroline Omondi

Caroline Omondi would be writing for us in the coming time on mental health. She started working with some women on her platform, which she initiated, that bring women from the African Diaspora in the Netherlands together to share, listen, laugh, and be there for one another. The experience she agrees to share with our readers in this special column. We are grateful to Caroline Omondi for this kind gesture and we wish her success with her writings. I pray you would enjoy her writings and if you have any questions, kindly email her directly at the email below or write to the Voice magazine via info@thevoicenewsmagazine.com She would like to read from you. Thank you.

It all started in 2018. That was a time that I was approached by many ladies going through stuff in their lives, just as I was myself at the same time. And being here, I needed a community that is familiar, in terms of how I felt. So, in listening to these ladies, and being there for them, I learned more about

myself. I realized that maintaining and boosting one’s mental health is an ongoing challenge for many people, men, and women alike in modern societies, but that women living in the African Diaspora in Europe share a lot of similar problems that impact their mental well-being. There are many similarities: born in poverty, loss of a parent or family connections, betrayal, having to find your way in a society that you are not born and grown up in, re-defining who you are as a human being, as a woman, how to value and be valued for what you culturally and personally bring. None of these issues are easy to deal with, not by oneself, alone. In a way it all emerges from a place of pain, questioning, you know, like gasping for air. I have faced defeat, death, loss, you name it, but when I look back and go to sleep today, I will say thank you, because I had the chance to share my challenges, and feel empowered in the knowledge that I am not alone in facing these demons – and like many of my sisters, am grateful that I am still here, stronger, wiser and in many ways happier than before. Women were reaching out to me, in person, by phone, or in sending text messages. I started spontaneously as one sister talking to another, by listening and responding. At one time it felt I was carrying everyone’s secrets and emotional weight and that started weighing in on me. Back in my Kenyan days, I had a few courses in counseling and I always wanted to get deeper into counseling. What I realized is that instead of responding to each woman individually, we could all benefit from opening up, sharing our stories with each other, as a group. Like this, we hear different perspectives, and by sharing in the mix of sisterhood, trust, and mutual support – we can shift vulnerability into (self) empowerment. With my social enterprise, Fashion High Tea, fashion with a cause that I had started in 2017 and about which I was able to share in Voice Magazine in 2019, I had established already quite a social network of mostly African women in the Netherlands that knew about me and honored me with their trust and friendship. The shared concern of how to discuss among each other important matters of mental resilience and health let me branch off the MindBeautySphere initiative. Here, I organized meetings of (mostly) African women of the Diaspora living in the Netherlands, satisfying our need to booster our psychological well-being. I wanted these meetings to be easy, the conversation to come naturally, flowing from a willingness to share. At the first meeting that I organized in 2018 at a local hotel and conference center in Apeldoorn, 28 ladies attended, many more sessions followed. Not only does this indicate that there is a clear need for them, but I believe that key success elements that make these gatherings so wholesome and receive so much appreciation of the participating women are that they thrive on the power of sisterhood, which is deeply cultured. All women that take part in the meetings have a voice, encounter a safe space to speak, share experiences, and are heard. Doing so in

a benevolent group of sisters generates different perspectives on the issues discussed. Needless to add, that the meetings take several hours, and balance serious conversation with food, light drinks, music, dance, and lots of laughter. What many of these women face is not unique to Africans that have migrated but what is African is the signature way of addressing these issues communally, building on a unique cultural heritage and practices that are based on the collective strength of women, of sisterhood, that has such a strong base in African communities. It is this strength that proves so powerful and beneficial for African women living in Diaspora. When asked why me? What it is that makes me so passionate about the mental health and resilience of African women living in Diaspora, the answer is that life taught me, already at an early age that there is always more than just the person. Circumstances affect people’s sense of well-being, their mental health. I have encountered this in the lives of people close and dear to me, as well as in my personal life. I remember vividly that as a young girl I loved listening to Gospels, I still do. One gospel, I can still feel the rhythm, hear the words, but do not recall its name, made me pray to God to use me, to make me an instrument for the good of people, to help me break the power of what makes people suffer. I cannot make much of a difference to the various life events that hurt people, but I can try helping people deal mentally with hardship that they have encountered. Experience taught me that doing so communally, as a bond of sisters, does make a meaningful difference to many. Standing at the dawn of 2022 my dream is to extend the signature approach that I developed in the MindBeautySphere

over the last years in the Netherlands, into more thematically varied seminars, workshops, and furthermore, to pilot groups in other European countries. Fostering mental health is a topic that will only increase in importance the next decade(s) to come since more and more people are living highly individualized lives and more and more so outside the familiar bonds of culture, family, and friends that they grew up in. To live wholesome and mentally healthy lives under such challenging conditions are feasible for all but presupposes conscious and regular maintenance and (self) care. I genuinely believe that mental health cannot be achieved by flying solo. Mental health, like happiness and love, requires one to be seen and to be appreciated by significant others. In essence, mental health is a community achievement. She could be reached or followed via @mindbeautysphere @fashionhightea E-mail: info@fashionhightea.eu

Princess Amalia delivers confident debut speech to Raad van State

Aconfident Princess Amalia has addressed the Raad van State for the first time in her capacity as the official heir to the throne. The princess was sworn in to the government’s most senior advisory group one day after her 18th birthday on 7th December 2021 marking the moment she can succeed her father, King Willem-Alexander, as monarch. The princess was led into the ballroom of the Kneuterdijk palace in The Hague on the arm of her father, the Raad’s ceremonial chairman, and accompanied by her mother queen Máxima who is also a member. The king, Queen Máxima and now Princess Amalia do not have a vote but can attend meetings. Amalia is not expected to come to the weekly gatherings because she is currently on her gap year. The meeting opened with a speech by the king welcoming his daughter to the Raad. Addressing her father as ‘chairman, if I may call you this’, the princess said she hoped the moment when she would take over as chair would be ‘a long way into the future, although I realise it could be as soon as tomorrow’. She went on to say she would endeavour to be ‘a good student’. ‘I have much to learn, about the tasks of the government, about the administrative processes,’ she said. Vice-chair and de facto leader of the Raad van State, Thom de Graaf, who has been known to support a purely ceremonial role for the head of state, and applauded the abolition in 2012 of royal involvement in the formation process, remarked on the changing nature of royalty. ‘This is the former residence of Willem II. It is now the seat of the Raad van State. This ballroom is where its members meet. That is how it goes,’ he said. De Graaf said he hoped princess Amalia would have the opportunity to explore ‘other worlds’ like any 18-year-olds and would only take her place as chairwoman after ‘a very long time’. The ceremony was concluded in the French garden of the Kneuterdijk palace, where the princess planted a royal lime tree.

Amalia (l) with Queen Maxima, King Willem-Alexander and Raad van State chair Thom de Graaf. Photo: ANP/HH/ Robin Utrecht

A birthday princess! Future Dutch queen Amalia at 18

She is regal in red in official portraits taken at The Hague’s Huis ten Bosch Palace to mark her 18th birthday. The Dutch royal family has released stunning photos of Princess Amalia, the heir to the throne, to mark her 18th birthday. Amalia, the eldest daughter of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, was photographed in two beautiful dresses at Huis ten Bosch Palace, in The Hague, this autumn. The milestone birthday is significant within the Dutch royal family because it marks the princess taking on a more public role. A biography has already been released to introduce the future queen to her public, and she will now be given a seat on The Council of State, an advisory body that advises on legislation and dispenses administrative justice. King Willem-Alexander has a seat on the council, although he does not take part in any of its activities. Queen Maxima also has a seat and acts in an advisory role. It comes after teenage Amalia said she would ask her Argentine-born mother, Queen Maxima, 50, to step in temporarily if her father, King Willem-Alexander, 54, were to die suddenly, in a new biography marking her birthday

The biography, simply titled ‘Amalia’, was written with the approval of the Royal Family. It offers a rare glimpse into the princess’s private life, which has been closely guarded by her parents since Willem-Alexander ascended the throne in 2013. Biographer Claudia de Breij reveals Amalia had a part-time job at a beachside cafe, feels self-conscious when she is recognised by members of the public and would pursue a career as a singer or equestrian if she was not destined to be queen. Along with her sisters Princess Alexia, 16, and Princess Ariane, 14, Catharina-Amalia spent the early years of her life at Eikenhorst Villa in Wassenaar, an affluent suburb of The Hague. ‘We do our best to be really with them – on holidays or weekends or even at breakfast in the mornings,’ WillemAlexander once said in an interview. The family enjoyed days out cycling and to the beach, and holidays to Maxima’s home country of Argentina. However life changed in 2013 when Amalia’s grandmother Queen Beatrix abdicated and Willem-Alexander ascended the throne. The new king and queen moved their daughters into Huis ten Bosch, the royal palace in The Hague. Nine-year-old Amalia became The Princess of Orange, the title given to the heir to the throne.

Speaking ahead of his investiture, Willem-Alexander said: ‘Amalia’s title will be made formal when she’s 18 and she enters the State Council. Until then, we will protect her as much as possible.

‘That means she won’t participate in official engagements, or as little as possible. Her environment right now should only include her parents, her sisters, and her friends.’

Now that time is less than a month away and the biography has been released as a way to introduce the princess to her future subjects.

It reveals Amalia, who excelled as a student at Christelijk

Gymnasium Sorghvliet, in The Hague, juggled her studies with a part-time job as a waitress at a beachside cafe where she was given the nickname ‘cocktail queen’.

She now hopes to spend a year working at a ‘multinational organisation’ before potentially pursuing a degree at the prestigious Leiden University. Amalia also said she feels self-conscious when she is recognised while out in public, adding: ‘Everyone looks at you like you have a goldfish on your head.’ While the House of Orange remains popular with the majority of Dutch people, the monarchy has come under increasing criticism in recent years. Of the possibility republicans could abolish it, Amalia said she could accept that. ‘They can do that of course, and then I’ll go on living too.’

Tax office fined €2.7m for discriminating against dual national families

The Dutch tax service has been fined €2.7 million by the privacy watchdog for discriminating against dual national families who were targeted in the childcare benefit scandal. The data protection authority AP said tax inspectors should not have kept records of people’s second nationality or used them in deciding whether to investigate families for benefit fraud. AP chairman Aleid Wolfsen said citizens needed to be sure that the government was not collecting more personal information than was legally necessary and that discrimination was not a factor in its decision making. ‘That went badly wrong with Toeslagen [the department handling allowances], with all the consequences that ensued,’ he said. ‘Obviously this fine cannot turn back all that, but it is an important step in a wider recovery process.’ Junior finance minister Alexandra van Huffelen said the fine was ‘very painful’ and the government would endeavour to pay it before the end of the year. ‘The AVG [privacy law] and the ban on discrimination should be respected,’ she said. ‘The rules should be applied equally in every case. I offer my sincere apologies once again.’ Cabinet resigned due to the childcare benefit scandal which prompted the resignation of Mark Rutte’s cabinet in January, two months before the general election, after a report by a parliamentary commission concluded the victims had been subjected to an ‘unprecedented injustice’. Between 2004 and 2019 thousands of families had their benefits stopped and were ordered to repay what they had

received, sometimes because of technical transgressions such as failing to sign a form. Some people were forced to sell their homes and possessions after they were denied access to debt restructuring. Some 15,000 people have received a €30,000 compensation payout promised in the wake of the commission report, but thousands more are still waiting for their cases to be assessed. The AP last month also criticised the Netherlands’ highest administrative court, the Council of State, for failing to notice that people with dual nationality were

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Amsterdam Airport Schiphol might have to reduce considerably the number of flights for environmental reasons

It may be necessary to take drastic measures to secure the future of Schiphol. Legal advisers to the government advise draconian measures because the airport does not comply with regulations on nitrogen and in the field of noise and nuisance, sources tell the Dutch State television NOS. The airport also does not have a nature permit. A nature permit is being worked on, but that is legally very complex. There is a chance that the number of flights per year will have to be reduced. Without drastic measures, according to lawyers, a licence could be issued for a maximum of 400,000 flight movements per year, a decrease of 20 percent. In order to keep the current annual number, for example, according to the lawyers, it is necessary to buy up farms in the wider area. The speed limit on nearby highways should also be reduced to 80 kilometres per hour and polluting companies in the area must be tackled more strictly. And even then, it remains to be seen whether the nature permit required by Schiphol will stand up to the courts. In the past, Schiphol had to ensure that nature is not damaged, but that has been arranged for years via the so-called Habitats and Birds Directive. For a long time, the airport thought that this was sufficient and that a separate nature permit was not necessary. In 2019, the cabinet said that Schiphol must apply for that nature permit. During the nitrogen crisis, it turned out that Schiphol’s nitrogen emissions have an effect on nature. The airport must also comply with all kinds of environmental, stench and noise standards in order to protect local residents in particular. Nature organisations have threatened to take legal action if there is no legally sound nature permit. The government fears a forced downsizing of Schiphol because the airport is seen as an important engine for the economy. Furthermore, many foreign travellers use Schiphol to transfer. The Council of Ministers will consider the Schiphol file on Friday, but there is no chance that it will find a solution to the complex legal problem on the same day. The case is likely to drag on for years. By André Orban

abuses Under Gambia’s ex-Ruler Should Be Prosecuted, Inquiry Says

A commission’s long-awaited investigation reported widespread human rights violations, but it is not clear if anyone will be charged with crimes.

Documenting wide ranging atrocities under the autocratic former president of Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, an investigative panel has recommended multiple prosecutions. But the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission did not make public either its report or the names of people it had recommended for prosecution, leaving it unclear whether Mr. Jammeh, who governed for 22 years before going into selfexile almost five years ago, is among those who could face criminal charges. In Gambia, a tiny sliver of a country on the Atlantic coast of West Africa, Mr. Jammeh’s fall from power in 2017 was greeted with jubilation. But that mood has largely given way to disappointment with the government Because Mr. Jammeh and members of his regime have not been held to account for the misrule experienced in the country for over two decades. “We expect the president to show some commitment, and have the political will to fully implement the recommendations,” said Sheriff Kijera, chairman of the

Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations. “Jammeh should face justice at all costs.” When asked if the government would prosecute those most responsible for the abuses, the information minister, Ebrima Sillah, said by phone: “I cannot commit to that,” saying it would depend on the merits of the report. The commission reported the deaths of 240 to 250 people in the custody of the state or its agents, as well as rape, torture,

disappearances and witch hunts, its chairman, Lamin Sise, said in a press briefing outlining the findings in Banjul, the Gambian capital. The panel held 871 days of hearings, streaming them live online in an unusually public airing of human rights abuses. Among the 393 witnesses who testified was a soldier who said he killed a prominent journalist on the president’s order, and a woman, Fatou Jallow, who accused Mr. Jammeh of raping her. The commission delivered its report to President Barrow, who is supposed to give copies within a month to the country’s National Assembly and to the United Nations secretary general. That means it is not likely to become public until after his second term swearing in as he, President Barrow won the Dec. 4 presidential election. Mr. Sillah, the information minister, said the president would have six months to review the report, after which the

government would publish a document giving its response. Mr. Jammeh first took power at age 29 in a military coup, and pushed through a new constitution concentrating power in the president’s hands. His rule was marked by corruption and the suppression of political opposition, the press and L.G.B.T. rights. He claimed to cure H.I.V. with herbs. But the government held a relatively free election in 2016, and Mr. Barrow defeated Mr. Jammeh, who refused to accept the results. Only after a military intervention by several neighboring countries in January 2017 did Mr. Jammeh relinquish power, moving to Equatorial Guinea. Mr. Barrow’s administration was supposed to be a transitional one, setting Gambia on the road to democracy. But the recommendations of a Commission of Inquiry into Mr. Jammeh’s finances were only partially implemented, and last year a newly proposed, more democratic constitution was defeated in the National Assembly. The proposed constitution would have curbed executive powers and limited a president to two five-year terms. The term limit would have applied retroactively to Mr. Barrow, so he would have been permitted just one more term. That left the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission as the only official path left for coming to terms with the Jammeh era. Its final report was originally scheduled to be delivered in July, but was delayed until September and then delayed again. “We have the truth,” said Baba Hydara, who has long campaigned for justice for the 2004 assassination of his father, the newspaper editor Deyda Hydara. “Now we need justice. Justice for my father, justice for all of Jammeh’s victims, and justice for Gambian society as a whole.”

By Saikou Jammeh reported from Banjul, Gambia, and Ruth Maclean from Dakar, Senegal.

Soccer legend Samuel eto’o elected President of Cameroon Fa

Samuel Eto’o has been elected president of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) after winning a vote in an election conducted by the football federation in the country. The former Cameroon international promised an array of reforms after receiving 43 votes from members of FECAFOOT’s general assembly. Eto’o enjoyed a glittering club career, playing for the likes of Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea, while also making over 50 appearances for the Cameroon national side. At his peak, Eto’o was considered one of the best strikers in the world and he inspired his country to win two African Cup of Nations titles and an Olympic gold medal. “I’ll be remembering today as one of the proudest moments of my life,” Eto’o tweeted after the results were announced. “Every vote represents the energy and ambition of our football family to take our beloved sport to a level we’ve never seen before.” He will now be in charge of the federation for when Cameroon hosts the African Cup of Nations this year, with games set to begin on January 9th 2022. The four-time African Footballer of the Year beat rival Seidou Mbombo Njoya in the voting. In a press statement received before press, Samuel Eto’o reportedly sent home a number of the Federation’s workers for reporting late for work on his resumption. The new Cameroonian FA president arrived at 7:30am and staff who came after 8am were sent back home. A signal that it would not be business as usual again in the football headquarters in Cameroon.