It is the talk of the day in Volendam on the Saturday market. Once again the village is startled by a young dead person. This time it is about 20-year-old Sarah with Volendam roots, who lived in Amsterdam. She died in an avalanche in Serfaus, Austria, on Friday. Her father now responds on Facebook: “Our moppie is no more.”
Sarah’s father writes with a photo of his daughter where she is smiling broadly with blonde long hair that she died on March 17. “She caught a small piece of deep snow and was surprised by an avalanche. She was happy and in love these past few months. That gives us some comfort. But we are so sad. Our baby is no more. Thank you for all your messages.”
The atmosphere at the Saturday market in the center of the village is depressing. “Another young person who is taken from life”, are the reactions. At the end of November, 15-year-old Jim arrived for life after being hit by a car in the village.
Funeral book
On the website of Groot-Waterland there is a page for deceased young people from the municipality of Edam-Volendam, where people can leave a comment. There also is a mourning book posted for Sarah, but the site is currently down. “The site is overloaded due to Sarah’s death,” says the administrator of the website. “We are working hard to get the site up and running again.”