Asylum-Seeker Centres in the Netherlands’ Total Institution Characteristics and their Effect on Refugees’ Sense of Belonging

Abstract Based on in-depth qualitative interviews, we investigate how asylum-seekers in the Netherlands have experienced the shelters where they first arrived. We connect this experience to what Goffman calls “total institutions”: just like hospitals and prisons, residents are isolated, restricted, and supervised in the asylum shelters (AZCs). The results show that asylum-seekers feel marginalised, are often treated disrespectfully and with prejudice, and lose their sense of dignity in the overcrowded and isolated housing units. They experience the control element as most disturbing. We also ask about the long-term effect of this experience. Our interviews show that this first experience in the Netherlands causes problems later on in the integration journey. Refugees find it difficult to feel a sense of belonging in the Netherlands. We show how the initial reception in AZCs leads to a lack of belonging later, which can even translate to distrust of Dutch people in general.