“I want to go back to Beerta.” These were the last words of Jeffrey, mayor of Eemsdelta on Wednesday evening when he took the word during the commemoration meeting for Jeffrey (8). Rubertus Hake, who expressed the feeling of the family: “Normally the time heals all the wounds, but this wound cannot be healed.”
The flags hung half -mast in front of the houses and the church bells sounded long during the silent journey. The grief was felt and visible in the streets of Beerta. The disbelief about what happened was also mentioned several times in the speeches that were held for the church, where hundreds of people had gathered around the funeral car in which the two boxes – a pink and a blue – were transported next to each other. “The heart is broken and we are left with thousands of questions,” Visser summarized the feeling of the residents from surrounding villages.
That was also what Cora-Yfke Sikkema, mayor of Oldambt, emphasized when she addressed the family and the residents of Beerta during her speech: “We sympathize, we were looking along and we cry”. She was happy with the big turnout that the family gave support, but she also hoped that it was not only with this evening.
Vulnerable
Josselino, the “proud” cousin, thanked the two children that he could have been part of their lives, of the intelligent Jeffrey who was always ready as a true gentleman. “It was clear to us that you had experienced a lot early in your life, you remained caring for your sister.” He described Emma as a real Hartendief, who once asked him if they would get married later. She had always been open, “but also very vulnerable.” Just before that, classmates had put roses in rainbow colors in the vases for a large photo with Jeffrey and Emma, both of whom were in a field with tulips.
During the trip, residents had laid flowers on the roof of the car, which was followed by a van in which the family was. Arno Strien is waiting with his three -year -old son, while his wife walks with their daughter in the procession. “Yes, how do you explain to children what happened? Our youngest doesn’t get it, but Lilou-Mae (5) told at the table that the father of Jeffrey and Emma had been very mean. I can’t explain it exactly, but that came in hard.”
His wife and then he spoke to her for a long time about what had happened: “We especially let her tell her to hear what she felt, thought and had been given. That was a lot, she understood that the children were dead by their father. In the evening when they go to sleep, she said: shall I dream about it? My wife said that she could still dream of what happened.
Old -timers
André Buiten (38) was a good acquaintance of the father of the children, he had not found it logical to look. “I was sure he had left for Germany, so I said to everyone in my area: I know it well enough to know that he is going over the border and commits suicide on his own. Then came the photo of the car, and I could only think: oh no, oh no.”
He and his stepdaughter, each with a rose and a hug in the Hoofdstraat, are excited until the procession will ride the corner. “We knew each other from child, and went to shows from old -timers together. I knew the children a bit. I am so angry, that is why I did not put a hug in Winschoten, then it seemed as if I also commemorated him a little. I never want to hear anything about him again, not even thinking about him anymore.”
Chen has her snack bar ‘t Centrum Beerta where the procession drives along for a moment. Yes, she knew the children a little, they sometimes came to get something. Her daughter knows that her neighboring girl often played with she, but she wasn’t really. “Soon I will open again, because we can’t do much more than be a good neighbor and then the people can sit here for a while.” She is right: after the memorial service the seats for her snack bar are occupied and people are also talking about the service. “This was a great service and great that everyone could be there.”
