The meeting about the temporary asylum reception in Petten tonight has caused bad blood among residents. They hoped to get clarity from the mayor about safety, decision-making and communication. “It was terrifying: we were personally invited, but all the questions I asked were not answered.”
That is what Hans Vos, one of the residents who was present tonight in aan de Sportweg, together with, in his own words, four hundred people. Two weeks ago became known that Petten will receive 225 asylum seekers at the Zuiderhazedwarsdijk from mid-October.
In a letter from mayor Marjan van Kampen (van Schagen, which Petten falls under), residents were informed and invited to the walk-in evening. It didn’t go quite as well as at least three Pettemers had hoped.
“You expect the mayor to tell you something about the location and answer our questions about the safety of our village, but she was only at the entrance to give everyone a box and there were some tables with officials on them.”
Tons of taxpayer money wasted
First of all, residents wanted clarity about the location of the emergency shelter – the former site of Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier. According to resident and entrepreneur Roger Moonen, he was also present tonight, it is unsuitable and a waste of money to ‘set up’ everything there.
“It contains asbestos, there is oil and tar in the ground, adjacent to a Natura 2000 area, and that while 20 kilometers away a complete facility building is completely empty?” De Pettemer is referring to the former tax office on Robonbosweg in Alkmaar, which for unclear reasons still not equipped for asylum reception.
“Tons of taxpayers’ money are being thrown away again to build something new. Why? I read up on it, that is a building of the State, the State Secretary only has to sign it and it can happen. But our mayor waves that away And this is pushed down our throats Where is this wokeMayor busy?”
“This is for at least a year and a half, believe me. Nothing has been said tonight about a definitive end date”
He and resident Hans Vos have the feeling that Petten often loses out in the municipality of Schagen. “Only 1,600 people live here. Why aren’t these asylum seekers divided over several locations? No, they don’t put anything down in Callantsoog, it’s a beautiful tourist village. But this is a ghost town in the winter. It’s just a ghetto of the municipality of Schagen,” said Vos.
Another theme that, according to the men, still has many questions is guaranteeing the safety of residents. It has not become clear to them whether the asylum seekers are allowed to leave the site in the evening, for example.
“There are only two police cars in the region that patrol. How are they going to solve that? That causes unrest.” A third resident – who wishes to remain anonymous – puts things into perspective: “Of course it is not necessarily the case that the asylum seekers cause a nuisance or are criminals, but there is this feeling among the residents that there are potentially people who can do this. This has an impact on a village and how the municipality deals with it is really not good.”
End date
There is also skepticism about the end date of the emergency shelter. ‘For now’ this is the end of the year. The same resident describes: “If you see what is being put down? This is for at least a year and a half, believe me. Nothing has been said tonight about a definitive end date.”
According to all three residents, the officials were ‘ill-prepared’ tonight and referred the municipality, security region and COA to each other for answers. According to them, the concerns are among the great majority of the village. Moonen: “I went to the mayor and asked her something. But she didn’t answer. We feel like the drain. A bit like: if you keep people stupid, then you can rule.”
Mayor’s response
Mayor of the municipality of Schagen, of which Petten is part, Marjan van Kampen informed NH Nieuws that she had deliberately chosen to ‘greet the residents at the door in an accessible way’ tonight.
“But I think they had hoped that I would grab the microphone and have a chat,” she reflects. “They would rather have started a conversation earlier, and I understand that feeling, but it is difficult with crisis emergency care. You make that decision to solve a problem.”
According to her, the chosen location is ‘well available and easy to arrange’. “That’s where we’re going to do it. But now I have to talk to people again here,” she concludes.
At the moment, 225 asylum seekers are received in Noord-Holland Noord in the municipality of Bergen and 50 in ‘t Zand. Before that they stayed in Heiloo and Alkmaar. The 225 people who come to Petten is a new group. Every Security Region has an obligation from the government to arrange reception within municipalities.
Mayor Van Kampen already said about the reception – it was not yet clear where at the time: “The aim is in any case to find one location. That is also because you are dealing with logistics, supervisors and support. So it would be best if you can do that in one place.”
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