In this way, she thinks the story in the podcast has been made very tangible. “A subject that may initially have felt far away, but Marco’s authenticity and humor resonated with many people.”
The journalist followed the things that were on the boat. “I suddenly found myself standing among the soaking wet tents in a refugee camp in northern France. It made a big impression on me,” she says. “I have seen up close how people on the run live and what problems there are.”
Ayman from Sudan
One boy in particular has stayed with Maaike, 16-year-old Ayman from Sudan. “He had already been through a lot as a teenager in his home country, Libya and Spain. And he had already made several attempts to reach the other side.”
You hear him say in the podcast that he keeps trying, every day. “We kept in touch via WhatsApp for a while when I returned to the Netherlands. And I know that he made it to England alive.”
But since then, the messages Maaike no longer reach the boy. “There is a lot going on in England. Not all people there get a fair trial and are treated well. I still regularly wonder how he is doing now.”
Maaike also thinks back to the body parts that washed ashore late last year, just after the publication of the podcast on Texel. The men were probably on the run and on their way to England when things went wrong.
“The foot and lower body have not yet been identified, but they are buried on Texel. I have visited the grave and am in contact with aid organizations about drowned refugees. I imagine that there are all kinds of families who do not know that the body of their loved ones are in North Holland.”
Presentation
The Listening Finch goes to the best audio production of 2023. On April 11, the Regiohelden Awards will be presented at the De Neushoorn pop venue in Leeuwarden, during the Regiohelden Festival. Does Maaike hope she can receive a prize? “It would be an incredible reward for the work of our team, and also for NH’s first major podcast project. So yes, of course I hope we win, also for all the washed-up stories that have not yet been told.”