The soap opera surrounding the Frisian place name signs in Moerdijk is not over yet. Previously, two signs from Haskerhorne in Friesland were stolen, and now it has happened again: one place name sign and three banners have disappeared. As a result, the planned exchange with the Frisian village on Saturday afternoon is once again in doubt.
Moerdijk resident Bianca is sick of it. ”I only noticed this afternoon that the sign was gone. It’s just a shitty area,” says Bianca. She didn’t like anything the first time signs were stolen either, but the thief returned the stolen ones and hung them again. ”But now it really doesn’t make sense. The local residents think the same as me: why now again?”
Sign removed as a precaution
To prevent further theft, Bianca removed the remaining place name sign herself as a precaution. She did this in consultation with the Frisians. “I thought I had to unscrew the sign, but you could easily take it off. The thieves who put them back earlier didn’t attach them properly.”
She understands little about the theft. “I just can’t believe that someone is doing this. A New Year’s stunt is fun, you should stay away from that.” Bianca has again placed an appeal on Facebook asking if the missing items can be returned. She hopes they come back, because having a new sign made can easily cost 600 euros.
What came before
The stunt to exchange the Frisian place name signs with those of Moederdijk was a New Year’s campaign by the Frisian New Year’s Eve association Geitefok De Wiite Sik, which wanted to draw attention to the plan to make Moerdijk disappear for industry.
The official exchange, in which the plates would be exchanged back, was planned for January 5, but two Frisian plates were stolen before then. After a call from Bianca on Facebook, they hung back.
Due to snowfall, the exchange on January 5 was canceled and was rescheduled for next Saturday afternoon. Items have now disappeared again.