After consultation with residents and entrepreneurs, the municipality of Het Hogeland is taking measures against the nuisance caused by a small group of asylum seekers from the emergency shelter De Marnewaard near Zoutkamp.
For example, after several incidents, enforcers will more often supervise the supermarket in Zoutkamp, which is part of the municipality of Het Hogeland.
The reception center in De Marnewaard was put into use in September and is specially intended as a ‘waiting room’ for asylum seekers who have yet to be registered, but for whom there is no room in the application center in Ter Apel. A municipal spokeswoman says that the nuisance caused by residents of De Marnewaard has recently increased, including in the supermarket in Zoutkamp. “That is why boas will supervise the store during peak hours. We are also looking at whether Arabic-speaking volunteers can be deployed. After all, there is a language barrier between asylum seekers and shop staff.”
Small group ruins it for the rest
Daan Oostindiën of Dorpsbelangen Zoutkamp states that there is a small group that causes ‘substantial nuisance’ and ruins it for the rest. “This includes people who do their business in public and hang out outside at night. It also concerns domestic burglaries and vandalism on a boat.”
The municipal spokeswoman says that it is being examined whether dixis can be placed for asylum seekers who are on the road from the emergency reception location. “We are also investigating whether we can use visual material to inform how we interact with each other in the Netherlands. For example, you can make it clear that it is not the intention to throw empty cans on the roadside.”
Oostindiën hopes that the nuisance will diminish soon. He is concerned that residents of Zoutkamp will take the law into their own hands. “That is bad for the village and bad for the people in De Marnewaard.”