It is a great annoyance for many residents of Nieuw-Weerdinge: the nuisance caused by asylum seekers passing through the village to and from the AZC in Ter Apel. After the village council sounded the alarm, the municipality took additional measures. In addition to more police, street coaches have been running in the area since December. One of them is Rachid el Ghoul.
As a street coach, he has to keep order in the neighbourhood. “And of course we respond to reports when local residents indicate that they are experiencing nuisance or see a suspicious situation,” says El Ghoul. “For example, people who look in the garden or stand in front of a door for too long. There are all kinds of reports that cause a gut feeling among local residents.”
El Ghoul is clear about his approach: “You definitely have to do it with words. And I often go into it with a straight leg. “Like: ‘we both know that you have no business here. If you want to go to Emmen, that’s a completely different direction. This is not the correct route’. And the moment someone really doesn’t want to leave, then we have to force someone. And we can call the emergency services.”
El Ghoul has been active as a street coach in Nieuw-Weerdinge for two months now. “We are there every day and at irregular times. In the coming period we will look at which times the nuisance is the worst. We think that this is mainly in the evenings.”
Rachid el Ghoul runs a round in Nieuw-Weerdinge: