Around 60 angry residents of Bussum came to the town hall tonight to express their dissatisfaction with the decision to compensate for asylum seekers. Mayor Han ter Heegde van Gooise Meren has now promised to start a conversation with the group about the future emergency shelter in Bussum.
“We just want to talk to you, because you don’t listen to us,” a woman tells the mayor. She turns out not to be the only one with this feeling. Most of the residents who came to the town hall of Gooise Meren tonight do not feel heard by the mayor and aldermen.
They decided in February to agree to the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) for a new asylum shelter in Bussum. The municipality hopes to open a shelter for the next two years around the summer.
And that has led to anger with a group of residents. When the mayor has parked his bike and walks towards the town hall, a tough conversation arises. “There has been zero participation,” a man on a bicycle tells him. His neighbor shouts, “You put us offside.”
While the group around him gets bigger, he gives a neat and patient answer. His response is that there is no participation in this subject. Such a decision is up to the mayor and aldermen. “You could do a say, but the question is whether that is wise,” he adds.
Safety
There are a lot of worries about safety for the protesters present. The vast majority of the 300 asylum seekers would only be traveling men between the ages of 18 and 34. The COA and the municipality have not yet announced anything about this.
But a number of attendees claim that this was indeed said during one of the meeting moments that the municipality took care of after the creation of the commotion.
If the mayor tries to explain that the municipality is busy making a safety plan, so that the safety of everything and everyone is guaranteed as well as possible, it is “this location, close to two nature reserves, cannot be secured”, he will hear from all sides.
After about twenty minutes, Ter Heegde decides to enter. The council meeting is about to start.