The municipality says it has informed local residents by letter, but according to some of the residents who were present tonight, that is not the case. “I live around the corner, why haven’t I heard anything,” a local resident wonders. A neighbor joins her. “You have forgotten Krakeel, it is so many hundred meters away. Then of course they will also come to our district.”
Loohuis had to ask for a defense against a barrage. The mayor says that it has been carefully checked who was informed first. “You have to look at who is a direct resident or who has a company in the area, for example. We focused on that. It must also first be clear to us that we can use the place. Then we communicate with the council, local residents and then the press.”
The municipality does not want people to have to read through the media first. But according to a large part of the residents, the information came too late.
Stakeholders were particularly curious as to which asylum seekers are coming to the location. “Are they safelanders? Aren’t problem makers heading this way?” The municipality says that this group will not come to Hoogeveen. It becomes a mix of families, women and men. Clear agreements have been made about this, the mayor said.
“Can my children still cycle safely here?” another shouted. “It is being pushed down our throats,” a neighbor added. The evening stirred up a lot of emotions among people. Loohuis understood the concerns of the neighborhood. According to him, the intention is to have 24/7 security in and around the building. building.” That will be two or three people a day. There are also location managers. If there are any problems, people can report there, we take that very seriously.”
The refugees are free to do what they want. It has been agreed that no one will come in after 11 p.m.
So far it does not appear that the neighborhood is satisfied with the explanation from the municipality. Above all, they want clarity about what to expect. “That has to be put on paper. We want to know what guarantees we get”, was the sound from the hall. Loohuis understood the questions and said that more will become clear in the coming weeks.
Much remains to be done on the property. We will be working hard on this in the coming weeks. All costs for furnishing and additional matters are covered by the government.