An anonymous letter of complaint about the reception location for refugees has been received by the municipality of Dongen. An unknown sender writes that residents of the shelter in the former Glorieux brotherhouse feel intimidated by the managers of the location. The director of the shelter does not understand it, but according to councilor Schouten, these sounds occur worryingly often.
At the end of 2024, just before the Christmas holidays, councilor Marieke Schouten (D66) received an email. Sender unknown, including the municipal executive and one councilor as other recipients.
She prefers not to make it too specific what exactly it says. “But it is consistent with several sources I have spoken to about this,” says the councilor. They say that the atmosphere is not pleasant, that no group feeling is created, the supervisors do not want to be bothered and there is a lot of unrest.
“You are only Ukrainians, not Dutch,” it was said. “And that they can be grateful that they receive shelter, while some students cannot yet find a place to live,” Schouten paraphrases.
“I have spoken to many people now and I am concerned.”
She responded to the email, but has not yet received a response. “It was also an anonymous email address,” she says. “It came as a bolt from the blue, but it ties in with stories I heard earlier about the shelter. I am concerned.”
Schouten submitted a motion in October calling for discussions with residents. The municipality went along with that. They have prepared a survey for Glorieux residents to open the conversation. “Only it is there in an open box, so that in principle everyone can read their answers. We immediately receive signals that people do not dare to do that,” says the councilor.
As an alternative, the councilor submits more questions to the mayor and aldermen. She wants an independent investigation into the sounds coming from the shelter. “I understand that this is also very difficult for the municipality. But I can’t do more than ask questions, make observations and submit motions.”
Then the other side of the story. The director of Glorieux, Willem Hijdra, is devastated by the commotion. “We absolutely do not recognize ourselves in that image, it means a lot to us. This also affects my manager personally, we do not do this work for nothing,” he says.
“We chose this work out of passion and want to make them feel safe.”
He says he has had quite a bit of trouble since the email was sent. “It says quite a bit,” he responds. “That residents would be afraid, feel intimidated. While we chose this work out of passion and because we want to make them feel safe. We really see them as our residents.”
According to Hijdra, the anonymous letter writer did not first report to the management or administrators of Glorieux. He’s upset about that. “We really want to talk to these people and are open to all conversations,” he says. “We are there to protect them.”
Since the rules for Ukrainian refugees from the government have become stricter, this has caused unrest among its residents, according to the director. “The personal contribution has been introduced and they now have to drive with a Dutch license plate,” he mentions two examples from practice. “These are all rules that have been added and that we have to tell them.” And according to the director, the ones who have to deliver the bad news are the bitten dog in this case.
YOU MAY ALSO FIND THIS INTERESTING:
‘Grandpa and grandma’ have been sheltering Ukrainians for 2 years: the municipality has to close its doors