An exciting day for victims of gas extraction in . A number will travel by bus to The Hague on Tuesday to follow the debate on the ‘gas report’ of the parliamentary committee of inquiry.
The tension is palpable as the bus enters the highway. Many people have lived here. The bus is nevertheless only half full. About 25 travelers will come along. The prospect of a parliamentary debate until midnight is a bridge too far for many victims of gas extraction in our province. Others travel with their own transport. But the passengers want to experience the debate anyway.
Including Nicole van Eijkern (57) from Appingedam. Due to procrastination with the government, her hundred-year-old farm had to be demolished. “Even after reinforcement, only two walls would remain. With a lot of pain in our hearts we said goodbye to our house. We wanted to grow old in it.”
‘I hope that the cabinet will fall because of the debate’
She got a new house, but it didn’t feel like her home. The relationship with loved ones and friends, her health, her hobbies, everything suffers from the daily stress. Van Eijkern becomes emotional. “It’s complicated to explain. It takes years, your life is marked by it.”
She is silent for a moment. “I think the most difficult thing is that others have become rich from this and that people with difficult files were not listened to. It’s not happening to you, it’s done to you.”
A bag of money is not enough as far as she is concerned, she wants political consequences. “I hope the government falls. Surely you can’t cause so much suffering in this country and then get away with it? What kind of message does that convey? You just have to be held accountable.”
The prime minister really can’t stay on, she thinks. “I find it incomprehensible that Rutte has been there for ten years. In a large BV, the man had long since been kicked out. The parties in the coalition cling to each other with their nails.”
“The more I dive into it, the more depressed I get”
Chris Garrit, entrepreneur and former night mayor of Groningen, is ‘just like the tough guys back in the day’. Sunglasses on the face, a black jacket over ironed black shirt. He looks relaxed, but looks can be deceiving. “I try to distance myself from the file every now and then. The more I dive into it, the more depressed I get.”
He organized the bus trip together with others. “My girlfriend said this morning: the weather is nice, we could have sat on the terrace. But now you’re going to save the world again,” says Garrit with a grin. “But someone has to stand up for Groningen.”
“It’s all over or under in the next few days”
Yet Garrit also has little confidence. ,,Measures such as 250 million euros annually and the scheme for 40,000 euros, I call those weak messengers. The damage to houses is much greater, and then we are not even talking about the immaterial damage. In the next few days it’s make or break.”
Masja Zwart (52) lives with her parents in a semi-detached house in Engelbert. The foundation on her parents’ side is badly damaged. After four years of litigation, they won a lawsuit against the IMG. “But it has a big impact on my parents. You can see it’s hopeless.”
‘You have to listen to the residents themselves first’
Reason enough to be in The Hague to attend the debate. “Drivers went to The Hague with a shopping list, but you first have to listen to residents themselves. I’m here because I want to show that it’s really about people.”
Like Van Eijkern and Garrit, she expects little. “My faith in politics is completely gone that it will really work out. Not as long as this cabinet is there.”
Even the oils should not get away with an excuse, says Nienke Weijer (73). ,,Why are they not addressed?” She hopes for a more generous policy for people with serious damage.
The bus is approaching The Hague. Occasionally someone shuffles down the narrow aisle to have a chat elsewhere. Markers and cardboard are conjured up. A procession of journalists and microphones is waiting at the House of Representatives. SP Member of Parliament Sandra Beckerman hands out hugs. Together with the Groningen residents, she walks to the entrance, signs and banners high in the air.
,,Respect for Groningen, respect for Grunn!”, it sounds loud. The sun is shining, the enthusiasm is increasing. The Grunnens Laid is deployed.