Whereas in various municipalities hard action is being conducted against the arrival of asylum seekers’ centers, local residents in Dongen have just fought to maintain the emergency shelter. After a petition, money came from The Hague and the shelter can remain open for a year longer. “Good that we offer people help,” says a local resident.
The emergency shelter at the Nestel on the Tichelrijt industrial estate is located on the Wilhelminakanaal in Dongen. The main access from the shelter to the center is a bicycle and pedestrian bridge, where many local residents make their daily round with the dog or just walk. If you have a chat about the asylum seekers’ care, the majority of people are positive about it.
“Why should it go?” A walker wonders. “I think it’s great that they stay here, especially for the children who have been sitting here for a year and are rooted in Dongen. It brings peace for the 150 people who stay there,” he says. “When the center just came, there was a lot of commotion, but now, a while later, no one has difficulty with it here. And it would only cost more money to build something like that somewhere else.”
“I would also go if I had to worry every day if I had something to eat in the evening.”
A woman who walks her dog in the neighborhood on Tuesday is also not bothered by it. “They don’t get anyone in the way. I think it’s good that we offer those people help.” Why there is negative response in certain places in certain places to take care of the asylum seekers, she does not know. “I don’t go outside of Dongen and I just like it. Great that they are there.”
A man who walks along the canal with his gray Shih Tzu thinks something else about it. “These are status holders, you have little problems with that. But too many people in the Netherlands are allowed,” he says.
When asked if he once had an asylum seeker during his daily walk, he answers loudly: “No! Those status holders are looking out, because if they do something wrong, they might be deported to the country. I would also flee if I was in Africa and had to worry every day if I had something to eat in the evening.”
“I think it’s great that they stay.”
More than two thousand inhabitants signed the petition in December to keep the emergency shelter open longer, because according to them there is no nuisance. Moreover, many Dongenaren think that the residents of the daycare feel at home in Dongen: children go to school and many work in the area. Moreover, the shelter is going very well.
At the time, the authors of the petition stated that closing of the emergency shelter would mean that the residents are once again facing an uncertain time. After a difficult and long -term process, the municipality of Dongen still receives money from the Ministry of Asylum and Migration, so that the emergency shelter for asylum seekers at the Nestel can remain open.
“I think it’s great that they stay. Why would you remove it if things go well?” Says a woman with a dark brown Labrador. “They are all very friendly, they always say goodbye – in their own way – and they do their best. I am happy that things are going better here than in Oosterhout, because there I hear other stories. There are many young people who apparently get up a bit. I am not waiting for that. The experience here is good, so I don’t mind.”
