Curious about what life is like in the closed centres…

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Johan Leman, 30 January 2026

In the 1990s, the then Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism (CEOOR) was granted by the government the right to appoint three staff members who were given access to the closed centres where undocumented migrants awaiting deportation were detained. This permission was granted because some doctors who had access at the time had complained to the CEOOR’s management that, in certain places, living conditions had become inhumane.

What strikes me is that for years now, we no longer hear anything about possible conditions in these centres. Is this because everything there is indeed handled in a very humane way? Is it because no one from outside has access anymore? Or is it because those who do have outside access prefer not to speak out for fear that their access might be revoked?

I don’t know, but I simply observe this great silence. Does anyone know more? But then in a very concrete way, based on direct experience or transparent reporting, not on assumptions.

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