The Ukrainian flag is displayed at all houses in Burgemeester Suijsstraat in Tilburg. A welcome for the 150 refugees who will be received in their neighborhood from next week. The residents are proud of it: “Isn’t this a beautiful image?”
Wendy Powell was almost in tears, she admits, when she first saw her street lined with Ukrainian flags: “We want the refugees to feel welcome here.”
Femke Bossers is also moved by the solidarity in her street. Ukrainian refugees will soon be taken care of in the GGD building nearby: “When it became known that Ukrainians were coming here, people quickly threw in the group app: ‘Can we do something with this?’ and then the idea of the flags was immediately suggested.”
One of the residents knew a group of students, put them to work for two days and then there were enough flags for the whole neighborhood. But it’s not just about flags. Local residents also do voluntary work in the future shelter. Femke also went cleaning for a few hours: “We send each other text messages: ‘Who can assemble a cupboard with it? Who’s got stuff left?’ Every little bit helps.”
Jop Verweel of the municipality of Tilburg is delighted with all that help: “I think it’s great to see that the local residents are also in contact with each other. So I only have to send one person from the area a message and they forward it in the group apps. And then the next morning there are just ten men ready. That’s great, it makes me very happy.”
Why is the neighborhood joining forces so much now? Femke knows: “The children were, so to speak, on the Playstation on Monday and on Wednesday they had to flee their country. People react differently here than to Syrian refugees. Because the mothers come here with their children, the men stay there for their country. It’s so close, they’re families just like you and me.”