The emotions in Tuindorp are still palpable, even now that the municipality of Coevorden acknowledges in documents requested by RTV Drenthe that mistakes were made regarding the planned reception of fourteen unaccompanied minor girls.
Local resident Eiko de Blaauw, who spoke on behalf of several residents last summer, looks back on a troubled period that ultimately led to an improved relationship with the municipality.
According to De Blaauw, there is now good contact. He says that the mayor already indicated before the summer that he would invite the residents again. “We still had doubts about whether that would happen, but he did. We went over the past again. Then it became clear to me that things had gone wrong. If we had been included from the start, this would never have escalated to this extent.”
The greatest anger among residents arose because the neighborhood was not given a role in the decision-making process for a long time. “We were kept outside the entire process. Only at the very last minute, after rumors arose in the neighborhood, were we allowed to join. That was much too late.”
According to De Blaauw, the communication from government agencies was particularly problematic. “It was really at zero. That was the biggest stumbling block. I largely had to find out from the media what the plans were.”
According to him, the information that was subsequently provided did not bring peace. Residents received too few guarantees about safety, both in and around the reception location. “The supervising organization said it was only responsible for what happened inside the building, not outside.”
De Blaauw speaks with mixed feelings about the burning of trailers and pallets and the associated unrest. “I understand the emotions, but I don’t condone it.”
He emphasizes that, in his opinion, the biggest rioters did not come from Tuindorp itself. “But from surrounding villages and even from the west of the Netherlands. Many local residents were shocked by what happened.”
De Blaauw says that residents have now distanced themselves from the events of last summer. There is a residents’ delegation, of which he is a member, that regularly consults with the municipality.
Topics such as quality of life, landscaping, litter, spatial planning and especially the housing shortage are on the table. Residents are pushing for the addition of new homes and for a new purpose for the five buildings that were actually intended for minors. But according to De Blaauw, the possibility of living in the buildings has also been discussed.
“As far as we are concerned, the previous care project can also return, i.e. housing for people with intellectual disabilities. There is support for this. Housing association Domesta owns the buildings and the land, so this still needs to be discussed further.”
Other local residents only want to respond anonymously, but confirm the impression that communication went wrong from the start. One of them points to the first letter that was distributed in just two blocks: “Tuindorp is a working-class neighborhood. Then you have to go to the people, not just send a letter saying that new residents are coming and that they can help with park maintenance or paper cutting. No one will fall for that. That immediately caused bad blood.”
The first letter, which only went to those living directly around the shelter, also stated that the victims involved were young men. Several residents confirm this. Which later changed to girls to ‘keep things calm’. “That’s just not right. Then you lose confidence.”
But it shows that unrest arises when people do not know who will live opposite them. “They should have held an information evening immediately.”
A local resident says that the distrust has nothing to do with origins. “It now seems as if we are racist, but that is simply not the case. A Syrian family also lives here; no one has a problem with that. What matters is: these are young people with trauma. And no 100 percent guarantee could be given about safety. Then it does not matter whether they are boys or girls or what their origin is.”