Now that the cruise ship with a thousand refugees will be moored at the VOB quay in Velsen-Noord, entrepreneur Melanie Maria Fokkens (28) has to leave. She was told that last week. Not neatly by letter, but with threatening words and Whatsapp messages, which NH Nieuws has seen. Melanie: “I think I should tell my story.”
Nothing seemed to stand in the way of Melanie, an entrepreneur for many years, to start her new event location De Artistique Fabrique in a shed on the Velsen-Noordse quay. After about three months of preparations, the lease, which would take effect on 1 July or 1 August, was ready.
The entrepreneur had ascertained all municipal and legal requirements for, for example, safety. The new company’s website has also been online for about a month and requests for product presentations, photo shoots and other events are already pouring in.
She could already see it for herself. “Velsen was the right place for my company,” says Melanie. “The highlight should have been a biannual event where business and private individuals in the Netherlands were introduced to electric driving. Close to IJmuiden and the surrounding area, it was a nice balance with a view to a green future for everyone.”
‘Nothing has ever been discussed with me’
But those beautiful plans suddenly went up in smoke last week when the municipality of Velsen announced that they will receive a thousand refugees on a cruise ship opposite the pilot† The municipality also wants to provide daytime activities for the refugees on and around the cruise ship, and therefore also around the warehouse.
For Melanie, the news came like a bolt from the blue. “I had to understand through the media that I was being sidelined. Before that, I was never informed about anything and I was never discussed with me about the plans.”
It became painfully clear in the course of the week that she is no longer welcome on the VOB quay. After Melanie heard the news about the refugee shelter, she shares her future concerns via WhatsApp with a member of the Velsense city council (known to the editors). She invites him for a cup of coffee on the quay to discuss objections and possible options.
“Never call again and never enter the field again”
That app to the councilor comes back to Melanie via the landlord like a boomerang. ‘Forwarded’, says the label above the WhatsApp message that Melanie herself wrote a few hours earlier. That message came through the councilor or through the landlord of the shed, and now appears again in the private app conversation between the landlord and Melanie.
The message: “Never call again and never enter terrain again”.
It comes across as menacing. Especially after conversations Melanie had with him before. In the period before, the landlord also made statements to her face that came across as intimidating to Melanie to say the least.
by feeling
She is understandably affected by all the events and Melanie no longer dares to return to the shed. But at the same time she doesn’t want to be known.
“Look, I want to be and stay positive, and I also firmly believe that if it’s not allowed to be here, there will be another opportunity elsewhere,” Melanie says, almost apologizing to herself. “But I would have loved to stay here.”
And the harassment isn’t the only thing that bothers her. It also bothers Melanie that the municipality has not previously entered into discussions with entrepreneurs on the VOB quay. “I think it’s important to involve everyone in my plans and to share them together.” In her opinion, the municipality has failed to do so.
“Connection and togetherness are more important to me than anything else, and everyone would be welcome. Success is made by everyone”, is Melanie’s conviction.
Response landlord
“The situation is a bit difficult: at the moment I am not yet the owner of the site. The current owner rents out the sheds on the quay, I am going to use them for storage and transhipment. At the moment there is no lease agreement with Mrs. Fokkens .”
“When there was talk that refugees would be received at the VOB quay, I said: just investigate whether it is possible. Whether I’m happy with it or not, I can’t go back out of decency. decide for yourself, of course.”
“I received the WhatsApp message from Mrs. Fokkens to the councilor via him. She invites him to drink coffee at the warehouse. But that warehouse is not hers at all. So I did tell her that she was not allowed to come there and I didn’t even have to call.”
Municipality: “It went too fast”
The municipality says through a spokesperson that ‘the whole process went too quickly to have been able to inform residents of Velsen and tenants in advance.’
“Last Tuesday we brought out the news, we were still talking the Friday before.”
Too bad for Velsen-North
Melanie: “The fact that these refugees must be helped is of course paramount, but it is very unfortunate that this is at the expense of my business operations. What I cannot understand and cannot accept is that with my good intentions and always taking everyone into account around me, I am no longer welcome there. While on the other side there are a thousand refugees, whose intentions have yet to be revealed.”
She thinks the situation is not only a pity for herself, but also for Velsen-Noord. “With the plans for the reception of refugees, not only is my company gone from Velsen-Noord, a place where everyone can come together and where the entire environment benefits is also gone.”
But despite that, the businesswoman remains determined. “I pack my things and experience and I continue. The Artistique Fabrique will be there anyway, albeit out of necessity in a different place in the country.”
Tonight there will be a walk-in evening between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. for residents of Velsen-Noord at the VOB quay where they can obtain information about the reception of refugees on the ship.