Arrival of crisis relief center causes mixed reactions
George Carels lives near the building where the shelter would be located. “I don’t think it’s a good location, this is a residential area,” he says. “It’s not that they are bad people. There are plenty of locations where they can do that. In September it was declared uninhabitable here and now suddenly everything is in accordance with the law?”
Marnix Somers will soon no longer feel safe, and Sofie Landuyt also has her reservations. “I understand that there must be shelter for those families. Suppose we were on the run ourselves. On the other hand, the question is also: is it responsible to house so many people in those circumstances? And then I am more concerned about the fact that the mayor indicates that there would be a youth or cultural center here, of which we knew nothing at all. That may cause even more nuisance than vulnerable families.”
Vlaams Belang immediately announces actions against the asylum reception. “West Flanders and Jabbeke pay for the failed asylum policy,” says Flemish MP Stefaan Sintobin. “Last week the reopening of a reception center in Horizon Bredene was also announced.”
Political reactions
“As Vlaams Belang, we believe that this site, close to a residential area, is not at all suitable for an open asylum reception,” says Wouter Vermeersch.
Green Jabbeke particularly regrets the reaction of mayor Frank Casteleyn. “It is certainly not a warm welcome,” says Peter-Jan Hallemeersch. By the way, the municipality would better prepare for what is to come: more capacity in the schools, more frequent emptying of garbage cans at bus stops, extra police capacity in the municipality and the population service at the town hall is also preparing itself for some new tasks.”
Secretary of State Nicole De Moor understands that a first reaction – like the mayor’s yesterday – is always a bit fiercer, but she has been in contact with the mayor in the meantime. He is now sounding a bit more moderate, and is now talking about an “inhumane solution”.
“Jabbeke is a bad idea,” says Maaike De Vreese of N-VA. An open asylum center in Jabbeke is not a good idea. Jabbeke already suffers enough from illegal transmigration and will also have a closed center on his territory. There is no support for this, Jabbeke is doing his part.”