Just under a week and then the asylum seekers center between Overloon and Stevensbeek will close. The nuisance of single men in particular was so great that the villages were done with it. Yet there is not only relief. In the villages it is also considered a pity that there is now one less shelter for people who need it.
“You want to ask something about the asylum seekers’ center? No, I’m not going to go into that,” says a passer-by. It is a difficult subject, that much is clear. Many residents prefer not to talk about it.
The bullet has been through the church for a while now. After years of nuisance, the then municipality of Boxmeer decided last year that the contract with the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) will not be extended. The nuisance in the villages was too great. On May 19, the doors of the center will close and all rooms will be empty.
A woman is cutting the hedge in Overloon. “It hasn’t been an easy choice,” she says. “Relief for people in need is very much needed.” Pointing to the supermarket, she says: “A lot was taken there. Very often I saw the police at the door again. A small group has ruined it.”
“In the beginning it all went well. Then there were still families living there.”
An elderly man has just come out of the supermarket. He puts his shopping bag on the back of the bicycle. He prefers not to mention his name. He says: “In the beginning everything went well. Back then it was still a family shelter,” he says. “It was absolutely fine,” he continues. “The children were well taken care of at primary school. There were many volunteers.”
Things changed with the arrival of more and more single men, so-called safelanders. Then the nuisance in Overloon and Stevensbeek increased. It was broken into and stolen. Many people no longer felt safe. In 2020, figures showed that Overloon had by far the largest number of incidents of all reception centers in Brabant.
“Last month my bicycle was stolen in front of the supermarket. I just went inside. It was gone within a minute,” says the man with the shopping bag. “But it is a pity that it is closing. Because in the beginning it went really well.”
“We had no other option, there was no other option. While you want to help people.
You will notice that it is difficult for the asylum seekers center to close when you speak to Hannie van Hees of the village council. “We had no choice. It was a very difficult decision. But the inconvenience was so great that there was no other option. And that while you want to be hospitable and want to help people.
Because they really want to receive people in Overloon and Stevensbeek. A survey at the time shows that the vast majority of residents wanted the composition of the AZC to change. Not that it had to close. But because the COA could not promise that, the village council had no other choice. “We had to choose for the safety of our own residents.”
You don’t hear real relief when you talk to people. It is especially very unfortunate. “It’s a shame that COA never really cooperated on a solution,” says the man with the shopping bag. “You want to give people a safe haven,” says the woman who trims the hedge.
Also read: Azc Overloon closed in a week, no new place for 300 asylum seekers