A meeting in the Vriezer town hall about a new asylum seeker center in the village was well attended last night. Attendees shared their concerns with Mayor Marcel Thijsen, who previously spoke of a ‘unique opportunity’.
He bases this on the way in which 250 asylum seekers should be accommodated on the Taarloseweg in Vries. A residential area has been chosen that also has room for forty social rental homes. “By targeting such a relatively large number, the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) can offer maximum guidance,” says Thijsen.
At the same time, he understands that it is precisely that number – 250 asylum seekers in a village of about four thousand inhabitants – that causes suspicion. “What was striking yesterday was that a majority is fine with the arrival of asylum seekers, but they think 250 are simply too many.”
Thijsen expresses his appreciation for the way in which Vriezen residents discussed with each other and with the municipality yesterday. “No swearing, but really exchanging ideas with each other.”
Still, the native of Brabander thinks it is too quick to draw conclusions from the evening. “Many different insights have been given and I don’t know what to do with them yet,” he admits. “It really needs to sink in now. Then we must try in all wisdom to ask for the best possible decision from the municipal council.”
A frequently heard accusation against the municipality is that local residents feel overwhelmed by the plans, while Thijsen advocates that residents be involved in the plans at an early stage. “There will be all kinds of evenings and a whole participation process,” he says. “We have agreed that we will follow an extensive procedure in this case, instead of coming up with a ready-made plan.”
There is still a lot to discuss, Thijsen wants to say. “If we had presented a plan that seemed to have already been set in stone, we would have been reproached for that. In asylum files, nothing is actually simple. And everything you do can be misinterpreted.”
The asylum seekers who are accommodated in Vries are currently being accommodated in the municipality of Tynaarlo. This is now happening in Eelde-Paterswolde, Zuidlaren and the center of Vries. “We already receive these people and they are not currently causing unrest,” says Thijsen. He also emphasizes that security will be present at the new reception location every hour of the day.
Thijsen expects to send a plan to the council before the summer holidays, which the factions can then decide on.