Thousands of people attended an emotional memorial tour for nine-year-old Gino van der Straeten in Kerkrade on Wednesday evening.
The procession started at the Eurode Business Center, with an honorary hedge of countless cars and motorcycles for car enthusiast Gino. The tour then went via the Rodelandbaan and the Ailbertuslaan to the playing field on the Hertoglaan where Gino disappeared exactly a week ago.
Last honour
The participants came from far and wide. For example, car enthusiasts from Rosmalen in Brabant had come to the commemoration. Many people who attended had no personal connection with Gino, but still felt compelled to pay him a final tribute in public.
Sister Naomi
Gino’s sister, Naomi, gave a speech right after the memorial tour. She spoke, visibly emotional. “The attention we receive does us good, and we would like to thank everyone for that. It is great and good that this tour was held today. It is a wonderful farewell. If Gino had been there, he would have looked with wide eyes at all the interest, especially for him. That’s how we want to remember him: as a sweet, cheerful brother. We want to thank everyone.” Singer Wendy Rivers then sang Dolly Parton’s song “I will always love you.”
“Why is a judge punishing him so low?”
Organizer Ramona Nyqvist also gave a speech. She turned to politicians: “How can a judge punish the perpetrator so low? The only reason he wanders around here is why it always has to go so terribly wrong before politics wakes up in the Netherlands. I then wonder: are they awake? Why? is it so hard to increase penalties and change laws? Why aren’t there cameras at neighborhood playgrounds?” At the end of her speech, she announced that she had lost confidence in Prime Minister Rutte.
Mayor
Mayor of Kerkrade, Petra Dassen-Housen, gave the last speech and thus ended the commemoration for Gino in Kerkrade. “From Saturday we know that Gino will never come home again. Never again will play a game of football and never go around the neighborhood with his scooter, never again to cuddle with you. What was a nice pitch for Gino, is a place of final goodbye for you. That is hard and makes us heartless and distraught. We, you, are left with questions. To which we no longer get an answer and which we cannot get an answer to. What possesses someone to do this to a child, his family and the environment ?What kind of a person are you then?” said the mayor.
barbaric
She continues: “This act is incomprehensible and will remain barbaric forever. Here we as humans have touched the very core of our being. An innocent boy has been ripped from our lives. It is a hard blow to the community that will keep on thumping. We must show our humanity and support each other through thick and thin. Support gives us something to hold on to and makes the family feel that they are not alone. Kelly, Naomi, your mother and your family. We wish you all the best Your Gino will forever hold a place in our hearts.”
During the trip, the family announced that they would soon say goodbye to Gino in a small circle.
missing
Soon after the disappearance, the police announced that it was a worrying missing person. Extensive searches showed no sign of life for Gino from Maastricht, who was staying with his older sister in Kerkrade. In the night from Friday to Saturday, the police arrested a suspect. That same night, he pointed to the spot where Gino’s body was found on Saturday morning.
On Sunday it became clear that the 22-year-old suspect in the case had already been convicted as a minor for child abuse.