The other sound from the azc in Budel: ‘We want to make ourselves useful’

It is time for a different sound, thought a group of residents of the municipality of Cranendonck. A contradiction to all the negative stories about the nuisance of the azc in Budel. An attempt to really get to know the residents. To listen to their cello music, to watch their dancing skills or to listen to their escape stories. That is why the Residents’ Collective Cranendonck organized an evening on Monday, to which State Secretary Eric van der Burg of Justice was also invited.

He quickly came to the conclusion that he had failed miserably. That actually the whole of The Hague has fallen short when it comes to the azc in Budel. Reducing the number of reception places in 2015 and 2016 was a ‘stupid choice’. Van der Burg described how the Netherlands succeeded in three months in giving 100,000 Ukrainian refugees a safe place, because all municipalities helped. “We have failed to do that with all asylum seekers and your community has suffered as a result.”

“I have become a different person. We have suffered a lot.”

The State Secretary therefore put on the penitent and said that he had not succeeded in bringing the human element into the story. “These residents are really trying to build bridges, something I haven’t done. I have focused too much on the numbers and the legislation.”

Van der Burg promised improvement, the 5 percent of nuisance-causing ‘safe landers’ should be better spread. He is in talks with two municipalities that could also offer shelter for this group. “But it’s pulling and pushing.”

Then the other 95 percent. The group of people trying to find a safe haven. They were eager to show their humanity on Monday night. A Syrian refugee showed a flawless piece of paper on the stage of the Smeltkroes in Maarheeze. “Looks good, doesn’t it?” Then he crumpled it. “This is what the war has done to me. I have become a different person. We suffered a lot.”

“People say I’m an asylum hugger.”

The residents of the azc emphasized that many people are highly educated. The cellist played at the Damascus Opera House in Syria before fleeing. He cannot go down the street in Syria without being recognized. One is studying aeronautical engineering, the other is doing a PhD in the field of education. “They just need a chance,” says Adil Izemrane, a resident of the azc and member of Movement on the Ground, an organization that provides aid to refugees.

Bart Kraaijvanger is one of the initiators of the Resident Collective Cranendonck. “I can’t stand that we’re approaching this so coldly and coldly. These asylum seekers are people like you and me. People say I’m an asylum hugger. But I also want a different way of reception.”

“Recently someone was caught with a pizza in his underpants.”

Because everyone agrees that there is a lot of nuisance around the azc. Tamar Simonis of the supermarket in Budel says that people prefer to do their shopping in another village because they do not feel comfortable in her store. Residents of the azc steal alcohol. “And someone was recently caught with a pizza in his underpants.”

The residents of the azc do realize that there is a nuisance. “We experience this nuisance ourselves at the azc,” says Adil Izemrane. “If 1 Syrian makes a mistake, all Syrians will be blamed. But most people at the azc want to make themselves useful, they want to belong to something. If you shut them out, it will go wrong.”

The residents of the azc are very enthusiastic about the Dutch. “The people here are full of love,” says a Syrian refugee on stage. “Come stand next to me, I’ll give you my hand and hopefully I’ll get a hand back too.”

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