Henri Dahlem has had a short but interesting night. Last night he set up his tent near the headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Emmen. A protest action against social exclusion.
“It was exciting, but I also loved sleeping outside at the same time,” says Dahlem, chairman of the Foundation Against Shunning Watchtower. In any case, it was not quiet, at night some people came to take a look. “Young people came by and unzipped the tent. They were surprised that I slept in it, which was funny.”
Dahlem wants to make a statement towards the Jehovah’s Witnesses by camping. “I’m here because of the Jehovah’s exclusion policy. If you leave voluntarily or are kicked out, you are then declared socially dead.” Thousands of ex-members in the Netherlands are affected, he says.
Dahlem himself has also experienced this. He wanted to do something with politics, but it was seen as something diabolical. He still feels the consequences. “You no longer exist for family and friends, as it were. That means that you have to start all over again. And then it’s not just about me, but also about many others who experience this.”