Diana from Etten-Leur and her family have been living in fear for months. Since her son Jerrel ended his friendship with a former colleague, he has been threatened, chased and beaten up several times in the street. When dozens of bricks fly through the windows in August, the family is completely at their wits’ end.
“We have 13,000 euros in damage,” Diana sobs. “I can’t sit on the couch, because it is still strewn with shards and watching TV is no longer possible, because a stone has gone through it.”
The smashed windows are the culmination of a long series of incidents. According to Diana, it all started when her son befriended a new colleague. “That boy was from Syria and didn’t have much. His parents were still in the homeland and he didn’t speak to his brother and sister-in-law very often,” says Diana. “Jerrel offered to help him with school. I also thought it was pathetic and offered to stay for dinner. I had a plate ready for him almost every day.”
“I was so angry. Someone is beating up my child, but he is not being punished.”
When it turned out that the boy had friends in the criminal circuit, Jerrel decided to end the friendship. “That boy had friends who were in the drug trade and I’ve always taught my kids that if you see someone going astray, you have to stop. He did and from that moment it went wrong.”
One day in September last year, when Jerrel was on his way to the fair, he was attacked by two boys out of the blue. While he was still behind the wheel, they beat him up. He ended up in hospital with a broken nose. “We filed a report with the police, but the first time it was dismissed by the Public Prosecution Service. They had other priorities,” says Diana. “You don’t want to know how I felt when that letter was on the mat. I was so angry. Someone is beating up my child, but he is not being punished.”
“That boy hit my husband in the head with a stick and then came to Jerrel.”
It didn’t stop with that one fight. From that moment on, Jerrel was chased when he cycled home from work. When his father drove to the center one day, because his son felt unsafe again, he also had to endure it. Diana says: “That boy hit my husband in the head with a stick and then came to Jerrel. They got into a struggle and eventually Jerrel was able to call the police.”
“In the end they broke everything, everything down to my toilet window.”
The family made several reports of assault. After that it was quiet for a while. Until it went wrong again two months ago. “We were sitting outside on the porch and I suddenly heard a loud noise. Like someone drove into our house. Everything started to ring and then my youngest son suddenly shouted: Mommy they are throwing stones!”
A group of fifteen boys stood in front of Diana’s house. They threw rocks through the windows and smashed the windows of their two cars with clubs. “I was completely panicked, ran in and screamed, why are you doing this?!” Diana lets out a deep sigh. “In the end they broke everything, everything down to my toilet window.”
“They roam free and we have to shut ourselves up in our house for fear.”
Diana does not know how it could have come to this. “Jerrel wouldn’t know what he did wrong,” she says. The damage runs into tens of thousands of euros, which the family has to cough up themselves. “They have indicated that they will not reimburse it because we are not insured against vandalism. Another setback after everything we have already experienced. We had just renovated our entire house. We do not deserve this.”
There are now four charges against the boy and another suspect. According to the police, they have been banned from contact and released under suspensive conditions because the investigation is still ongoing. That makes Diana angry. “Do you know how worried I am when Jerrel goes out? I don’t sleep all evenings. It’s not fair. They roam free and we have to lock ourselves in our house for fear.”
“We try to think along and look for a solution together.”
It is unclear if and when the suspects will appear in court. The Public Prosecution Service is not making any statements about the case because the investigation is still ongoing. The municipality says it is aware of the incidents, but is not allowed to comment further. “We try to think along and find a solution together,” said Mayor Miranda de Vries.