Ahmed Marcouch raises the alarm at Minister Faber about minor refugees: ‘They have nothing to lose and slide off’

Suppose you offer a sixteen -year -old boy who has experienced a lot of guidance and you let such a teenager wait for some perspective for two years. Well, then it is quite conceivable, says Ahmed Marcouch, mayor of Arnhem, father of four, that such a boy slips. « I don’t know if you have children yourself? »

Marcouch is worried about the group of unaccompanied minor refugees who, in the big cities, is also increasingly involved in nuisance and crime. Earlier this month, the mayors of Utrecht and Groningen also attracted in NRC The bell about this. They charged their worries at the ministry, now Marcouch is doing the same. He asks Minister Marjolein Faber (asylum and migration, PVV) for more support and a reconsideration of asylum policy.

What problems do you see in Arnhem?

« Vechts in the shopping center, the entertainment center, the station area. More and more. And we also see theft, violent crimes. The group consists mainly of Syrian young people who have been in uncertainty about their residence status for a long time, sometimes for two years. And in addition young asylum seekers from safe countries who have heard from the minister: you don’t have nothing to leave.” ””

How many nuisance people are involved?

« In Arnhem a few dozen. But we don’t have a good picture of the group. These guys don’t have a connection with our municipality. They come from all over the country and Arnhem is easy to travel by train. And as long as we don’t know them, we can’t help them either.

« So that is point one: Help us, minister, to get to know this group. Name and by name, so that we can use a person -oriented approach. »

« That constantly pumping around in the asylum chain is one of the reasons why things go wrong »

Do they have a conflict with each other?

« I don’t have the idea that groups are fighting against each other. Or that something like a twist is playing. But these guys often know each other, precisely because they have been in so many different asylum seekers’ centers because of the policy. Often a different place every three months, with that they have built up a network throughout the country. »

And what do you expect from the minister?

« That constantly pumping around the asylum chain is one of the reasons why things go wrong. These guys have no bond with their environment, are constantly on the street and miss the guidance of a community. And if you then live in uncertainty and you can go ahead in all anonymity, then you are vulnerable.

« The following applies to the Safetylanders: they may not be here. Well, as a minister, make sure they are deported. That is not happening now. And for the other group the following applies: make sure they become part of a community, so that they also get some perspective.

« As it is now, as a municipality, we do not get a grip on them. They don’t know them. You don’t know the youth work, not education, the police do not win time and once you have made a little connection, they are gone again. While you link these young people to a municipality where they can stay longer, then you can focus on pedagogical policy. And then they can also make other types of friends. »

That is precisely the idea of ​​this sober policy: let asylum seekers feel as little part of a community as possible?

« We don’t have a good picture of the group. These guys have no connection with our municipality, they come from all over the country »

« Yes, but as a minister, take responsibility for the side effects of that policy. Because if you say: as sober as possible, so that these boys cannot attach themselves to anything, then you also have to ensure that the asylum procedures go faster. These young people come here for one reason: a better life. And if that is not in the minister, but the minister is not constantly heard. »

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