“As residents, we are extremely happy with the fact that there will be no refugees in the form of youth in our neighborhood”, Eiko De Blaauw responds on behalf of the neighborhood residents to Coevorden’s decision not to house status holders in Tuindorp. Mayor Renze Bergsma said at a press conference that he cannot guarantee the safety of the refugees.
“In our opinion we got the right decision from the municipality. It is not wise to do this at the intended location,” says De Blaauw. The municipality wanted to accommodate fourteen minor female status holders in the neighborhood. Neighborhood residents do not believe that and say that there would also be “traumatized boys”.
The unrest resulted in severe protests; Brandjes were founded in the neighborhood throughout the week. Last night the Mobile Unit performed to maintain the emergency regulation issued.
According to De Blaauw, the municipality’s decision means that the peace returns in Coevorden and especially Tuindorp. “I expect it to stay with this. After the summer, we will go for a nice start to further develop the neighborhood together with new ideas. We agreed to continue to talk to the municipality about the further interpretation of the neighborhood in September.”
According to the residents, there is still room for new houses in the neighborhood. They would like to think about that. Refugees are not completely excluded in those plans, as long as they are not minors according to the local residents.
De Blaauw: “With a family – father, mother and children – we have no problems. This was purely about the group of young people who threatened to become a safety risk for us.”