It is written in large letters on the facade of synthetic turf company J&E Sports in Oss: ‘Putin Fuck Off’. Owner Ed Korstanje made the banner together with some colleagues. “I won’t say what we wanted to put on it first.”
At J&E Sports they are busy with the war in Ukraine, says Korstanje. “Three colleagues asked earlier this week whether they are not allowed to drive that way to bring things. Sure guys, especially do it. Friday evening they leave with a few full cars that way.”
But the company also wanted to share how they view Russia’s attack in a different way. “We made a gigantic Ukrainian flag. Still handy if you have blue and yellow artificial grass.”
And it didn’t stop there. “We also wanted a banner. I won’t say what we wanted to put on there first.” Yet the final text is also crystal clear. “It’s a reference to what those Ukrainians were shouting on that island before the warship bombed the place.”
It does not matter to him that his daughter asked whether the banner was a bit too much. “If you don’t agree with something, you should never shut up. We live in 2022, certainly not in 1800. And every story may have two sides, but war is not the solution. Never.”
By the way, Korstanje himself is busy on Thursday to get his mobile home at the campsite in order. “A mother, grandmother and daughter of 6 years old from Ukraine come in. That mother is the girlfriend of a former employee of ours. She told us how they had to walk for hours in the cold to the Polish border. Bizarre. Being happy brought them here as soon as possible.”