Emotional scenes on Friday at the emergency shelter in Dongen after the city council decided on Thursday to keep the temporary emergency shelter for asylum seekers open. This happened after a petition was signed about two thousand times. Residents of the shelter and people from Dongen celebrated the decision of the municipal council together with a traditional Dutch delicacy: oliebollen.
While in some places in the Netherlands there are protests against the arrival of asylum seekers, the opposite is the case in Dongen: they want them to stay. The city council changed tack on Thursday evening, partly thanks to the petition.
READ ALSO: In this village, residents are fighting to let the asylum seekers stay
The emergency shelter at Nestel was opened in February this year, initially for six months. In June, that period was extended by another six months. 150 asylum seekers live there, including families with children. The initiators of the petition write that the residents ‘feel at home in Dongen: children go to school and residents of the emergency shelter are at work’.
“I found the idea that they would suddenly be gone very difficult.”
Teachers from De Westerkim primary school celebrated the extension of emergency care on Friday with several children from the shelter who attend school. “I found the idea that they would suddenly be gone very difficult. I am glad that they decided differently,” says teacher Claudia Smits.
The children had their last day of school on Thursday and did not know whether they would go back to the same school after the Christmas holidays. “We said until after the holidays, but very carefully.”
“It was very exciting until the end,” says Bea van Beers, an initiator of the signature campaign. Due to the decision of the municipal council, the emergency shelter will remain in Dongen at least until August 2026. After that there should be a permanent solution.
“My message to Minister Faber: there is also a different voice in the Netherlands.”
According to Van Beers, it was time for a counter-narrative. She does not dare to say whether Minister Marjolein Faber of Asylum and Migration is happy with this decision. “I am glad that I am not in her shoes, but I am happy that we have been able to voice a counterpoint. That is my message to Minister Faber: there is also a different voice in the Netherlands.”
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Emergency shelter for asylum seekers remains open after a petition