‘Humanishing’ or ‘Totally absurd’. In Heerle, a large number of residents are not displaced with the possible arrival of an asylum seekers’ center (AZC). The resistance does not focus on the asylum seekers, but on the place where the municipality wants to accommodate them. On Wednesday the residents can have their say in the city council.
“I have no idea how many people will come from the village to the consultation evening, but I expect it will be a hundred or more,” said Chantal Vervaart of the working group “No AZC Heerle!” The opponents want to make clear again why they don’t like an AZC in their village.
“I don’t expect an escalation either. We don’t achieve anything with that. “
The municipality takes extra safety measures to prevent the meeting from getting out of hand. Chantal Vervaart sees it as ‘throwing unnecessary oil on the fire’. “I wonder what it is all necessary for. So far everything has gone smoothly. There has been no untrue word and that is our strength. ”
She continues: “I don’t expect escalation. We don’t achieve anything with that. With our presence, we only want to feel that we do not let this go without a struggle. “
From 1 July, the municipality of Roosendaal and the COA (Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers) want to take care of three hundred refugees at a location on the Bergsebaan in the outskirts of Heerle. According to the municipality, this is a temporary daycare: “Four years is four years”, it resolutely sounded from the mouth of alderman René van Ginderen during the first presentation of the plan in April last year.
“You are not going to build a sewer system for such a short time?”
A large part of the more than 1800 inhabitants find a number of three hundred asylum seekers a much too large burden on the village. They are also not comfortable that the shelter will be temporary. “You are not going to install sewerage for such a short time? Everyone understands that this is not profitable. So what is the four -year commitment worth? ”, Asks Chantal Vervaart.
According to the working group, the location next to the highway and near a waste processing company is unsuitable for the reception of refugees. “There is really a lot of noise and the smell is often not to harden, really dirty. We are for decent reception for refugees. You will not let people stay here? ”
“You don’t put refugees away
In addition to ‘no AZC Heerle! Also opposes the ‘Leave Hele alone’ working group against a reception for refugees in the village. The action committees do not want to work together, but do share a number of objections to the intended location. “You don’t put refugees away In the middle of nowhere. This makes no sense at all, “said spokesman Ginger van den Oever of” leave Heerle alone. “
Nevertheless, the municipality holds foot. The mayor and aldermen foresee that she otherwise loses control of the reception of refugees. According to the Springing Act, the government can intervene from 1 July, despite all the commotion for the time being, when municipalities have not arranged anything themselves.
After tonight’s consultation round, another committee meeting will follow on 11 March. On April 2, the city council will make a final decision about the possible reception of asylum seekers in Heerle.