Dozens of Best residents demonstrated on Monday evening at the town hall during a council meeting. They demand that there will be no asylum seekers center (AZC). Local residents are afraid that this has an impact on the liveability and safety of the village.
About a hundred fellow villagers were present at the demonstration. They have also hung a few signs at the town hall. On one of the signs is the text ‘Best says no, to an AZC’.
The demonstration went without incidents. “We wanted it to stay tidy. No fireworks or racist statements. Just peaceful, that was our approach,” says Niels Staal of the AZC action group Best No.
After a short speech on the Dorpsplein, a small group, including Niels, was given permission to enter the town hall to enter into a conversation with the municipality. There they spoke with aldermen, among others. “We listened to us, but we did not get answers to all questions. We are not ready here yet.”
The protesters are frustrated that the municipality has made the decision in silence. “This lack of consultation has led to a lot of unrest and resistance within the community.”
“The municipality wants to take care of 192 people here, but for us it is totally unclear where they are being taken care of,” he adds. “There are families coming and young men. The latter is the problem. We don’t want a repeat of other places such as in Maarheeze and Budel.”
The municipality has deliberately chosen not to announce the location, it writes Brabants Dagblad. ‘We have seen in surrounding municipalities that the early announcement of a possible location resulted in a lot of speculation and unrest. We had hoped that this would yield less speculation. ”
AZC action group Best No leaves it with this demonstration. “Our next plan is a petition. We will not exclude further demonstrations either.”
The municipality did not want to respond on Monday evening.
