Lessons for New York from Rotterdam’s six-month experiment housing refugees on a cruise ship. wilfredchan reports
Refugees in a cabin onboard the Holland America Line cruise ship docked in the Merwehaven, Rotterdam.During New York City’s summer scramble to find beds for a surge of migrants, Mayor Eric Adams initially proposed housing people on cruise ships — an idea that local immigration advocates called. The city ended up creating three “emergency relief” centers instead, building a tent city on Randall’s Island and repurposing two midtown hotels.
Elma Jonas, Aboutaleb’s chief of staff, was put in charge of the frantic operation. “In one minute, I went from the manager of the mayor’s office to the manager of the,” she said. Jonas decided to bring 1,300 refugees onto the ship, fearing overcrowding if they filled it to capacity. That decision allowed them to allot each family its own room and avoid placing anyone with strangers.
But there was one factor above all that made ship living bearable: The refugees could legally stay and work in the Netherlands for up to three years under rules enacted across the E.U. this spring that applied to Ukrainian refugees only. Employment agencies helped many of the ship’s residents get jobs in local factories, restaurants, and bars. Others found work as street vendors. Thewas docked near the city center, and refugees bought bikes to ride into town.
So should more governments embrace the use of cruise ships as emergency shelters? Valerie Kierkels, a spokesperson for the nonprofit Dutch Council for Refugees, which has sued the government over its migrant policies, said using ships like theis preferable to putting people in tents. But she cautioned against placing ships in remote areas and said the nonprofit’s preference is for governments to “accommodate people sooner in more permanent shelters.