Over 400-thousand asylum-seekers have come to Holland over the past decades from countries such as Iraq, Bosnia, Somalia, Afghanistan and Angola. Many of them were fleeing war, torture, or political or ethnic persecution. Large numbers of them were traumatized by their experiences. These would-be immigrants often have to wait for months of even years for their asylum requests to be examined by the Dutch authorities. This long waiting period and the uncertainty about whether they will actually be granted refugee status only exacerbate the asylum-seekers’ traumas. Now the Dutch government wants to deport 26,000 asylum-seekers who have exhausted the appeals procedures, including those who are traumatized, a move experts say will exacerbate these people's traumas.

Over 400-thousand asylum-seekers have come to Holland over the past decades from countries such as Iraq, Bosnia, Somalia, Afghanistan and Angola. Many of them were fleeing war, torture, or political or ethnic persecution. Large numbers of them were traumatized by their experiences. These would-be immigrants often have to wait for months of even years for their asylum requests to be examined by the Dutch authorities. This long waiting period and the uncertainty about whether they will actually be granted refugee status only exacerbate the asylum-seekers’ traumas. Now the Dutch government wants to deport 26,000 asylum-seekers who have exhausted the appeals procedures, including those who are traumatized, a move experts say will exacerbate these people's traumas.