“They Come Out with Grey Hair”: How the Netherlands Is Failing LGBTQ+ Refugees from Russia
The Netherlands is facing a deepening crisis in the humanitarian reception of LGBTQ+ refugees from Russia. Following several suicides in refugee camps, human rights organizations—including Russia’s “Sphere” and the “Movement of Conscientious Objectors”—have called on the Dutch Ministry of Justice to launch an investigation. According to their data, at least four Russian-speaking LGBTQ+ asylum seekers have taken their lives, including transgender woman Antonina Babkina, who waited a year for a decision on her case without receiving essential support.
Chronic stress is widespread among queer refugees due to long processing times, prison-like conditions, lack of specialized medical and psychiatric care, and discrimination from both staff and fellow residents. Detention centers like Schiphol and the Echt camp are not equipped to meet the needs of transgender and nonbinary people. According to testimonies collected by Meduza, guards often ignore complaints, deny assistance, or openly exhibit homophobic and transphobic behavior.
Sergey, a 32-year-old former schoolteacher from Moscow, recounts his persistent trauma and inability to envision a future. His psychotherapy is funded from his dwindling savings, and accessing medication is an uphill battle. Others, like Markus and his partner, describe daily humiliations, dirty showers, unsafe facilities, and mocking treatment from camp staff. Even with a clinical diagnosis, psychological care is nearly impossible to obtain without the direct intervention of human rights organizations.
Transgender women like Melody and Polina face systemic discrimination: they are housed in inappropriate facilities, denied hormone therapy without full Russian medical documentation, and exposed to outing and abuse. “I meet girls who can’t even take hormones. It destroys their identity and their lives,” says Polina, a programmer from Moscow.
Yet amid this, many continue to try to rebuild their lives. They study the language, attend courses, fall in love, and dream of new careers. But as one woman puts it, “the emotional cost of surviving in Dutch camps will take years of therapy to undo.”
This account is based on reporting from Meduza on the situation in the Netherlands.
Chronic stress is widespread among queer refugees due to long processing times, prison-like conditions, lack of specialized medical and psychiatric care, and discrimination from both staff and fellow residents. Detention centers like Schiphol and the Echt camp are not equipped to meet the needs of transgender and nonbinary people. According to testimonies collected by Meduza, guards often ignore complaints, deny assistance, or openly exhibit homophobic and transphobic behavior.
Sergey, a 32-year-old former schoolteacher from Moscow, recounts his persistent trauma and inability to envision a future. His psychotherapy is funded from his dwindling savings, and accessing medication is an uphill battle. Others, like Markus and his partner, describe daily humiliations, dirty showers, unsafe facilities, and mocking treatment from camp staff. Even with a clinical diagnosis, psychological care is nearly impossible to obtain without the direct intervention of human rights organizations.
Transgender women like Melody and Polina face systemic discrimination: they are housed in inappropriate facilities, denied hormone therapy without full Russian medical documentation, and exposed to outing and abuse. “I meet girls who can’t even take hormones. It destroys their identity and their lives,” says Polina, a programmer from Moscow.
Yet amid this, many continue to try to rebuild their lives. They study the language, attend courses, fall in love, and dream of new careers. But as one woman puts it, “the emotional cost of surviving in Dutch camps will take years of therapy to undo.”
This account is based on reporting from Meduza on the situation in the Netherlands.