Twenty Haarlemmers and twenty refugees who stay on the reception boats in the Waarderpolder in Haarlem sat neatly around the table in neighborhood restaurant Turqoise on Wednesday evening. During the ‘Meet and Eat’ they got to know each other and enjoyed a delicious meal. Reporter Rob Wtenweerde had a bite to eat.
The evening is organized by the involved Haarlemmers Sofia Merrouni, Frank Richert and Dick Hagoort. “This is the sixth meeting we’ve had,” says Hagoort. “It’s great fun. I get to hear from the people of Haarlem and the refugees every time that they like such a meeting very much.”
All individuals
Hagoort continues: “You know: we all have an image of the term ‘asylum seeker’, but if you just sit around the table with people, then they are all individuals. Just like you and me. Each with their own history, character, personality and mood. It’s quite surprising when you find that out.”
“I thought it was quite exciting when I came here, but it has really been a huge success”
Jacqueline de Veer is one of twenty Haarlemmers who joined the restaurant on the Princess Beatrixplein, which is run by volunteers. “For me this is a very successful evening. I was a bit nervous when I went here. I thought it was quite exciting, but when I see these very cheerful and sweet people, it makes me really happy. It has been a great success. “
“You think you know the stories of refugees from documentaries and talk shows on television. But here you really speak to people and you hear why they came here. People from Iran who participated in the demonstrations and now had to flee here. “
Backgammon
De Veer laughs: “And it already results in long-term contacts. I was chatting here with a very friendly boy from Syria and a lady from Iran. It soon turned out that we all like games, backgammon for example. So we want quickly have a game night and have a bite to eat together at the Botermarkt.”
The reporter is sitting at a table with a couple from Iran: Hossein and Mahsa. They are young and highly educated and have been living on the shelter ship in the Waarderpolder for about six months now. Hossein is a professional photographer and shows off some of his impressive art on his phone. He wants nothing more than to be able to work as a photographer here in the Netherlands.
“Every day in Iran young people are killed by the government”
“I worked as a photographer in Iran, but I also made a documentary about the demonstrations against the regime. We took part in the demonstrations ourselves and that is why they are looking for us. If they arrest me in Iran, I will be dead,” Hossein says gloomily .
His wife Mahsa adds: “There is no freedom in Iran anymore. They are crazy. Every day young people are killed by the government. Schoolgirls are poisoned. We are lucky to be safe here.”
Herring
Hamsa and Hossein are invited by two Haarlemmers during the Meet and Eat to go to the beach together when the weather is warmer. “You are only a real Haarlemmer if you have let a herring slide into a fish cart”, beams one of them. “I don’t really like herring,” the other confesses.
Co-organizer Frank Richert is happy. “You notice that the refugees hear from each other that these are nice evenings. They also come much more easily now. The people on the boat are grateful that they are now being taken care of in safety, but it is a thorn in their side that the whole asylum procedure takes so long. They are only allowed to work after six months and until then life is very mind-numbing for them. I hope that during that time I can help them a bit with the Meet and Eat. The Haarlemmers we are now from putten, actually come mainly from our own circle of friends and acquaintances, but every Haarlemmer is more than welcome. The next meeting is at the end of May, again here in Turquoise.”
During the evening, John Balm provided the musical support and a delicious three-course menu was served by the volunteers of the neighborhood restaurant Turquoise. The people of Haarlem pay for this themselves: twenty euros per person, excluding drinks. The refugees are guests: their food is paid for through donations.