On the afternoon of Wednesday, August 17, several refugees came to the general office of the municipality of Zuidplas in southern Holland. To the amazement of the great municipality, they have been placed by the COA at the local Van der Valk Hotel since July 18. It is a ‘temporary solution’. A total of 42 refugees come from different countries.

Newer dungeons are not happy with this situation. They assert that they have nothing against the refugees, but are concerned about the lack of communication.

“There is something very secretive about this,” Krista says. “As if it had to be paid. Why was this simply not discussed beforehand with the residents and the municipality? Perhaps they were afraid that there would be protests.”

Her partner Jupp is also angry at the news. “Don’t get me wrong: if people are really refugees, I don’t mind. But I think this needs to be looked at critically. You can’t keep taking care of everyone and offering them housing, while the Dutch themselves are really looking for it.”

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Resident Ed thinks the COA is “dirty”. “It is important to have good communication in these kinds of difficult matters. I don’t have a lot of problems with myself. In the end, they are also human beings and of course deserve a roof over their heads.”

The refugees were also temporarily housed in a gym nearby. Ed: “So you can’t exercise for a month. People sometimes worry about that, but I really wonder what’s more important: Can’t you exercise for a while or that these people find a good temporary home. That last one of course.”

Another resident man, who, due to the sensitivity of the subject does not wish to have his name published in the newspaper, also reacts to the news with pity. “It’s really hard to say this. You should always inform the residents about such matters. Now I don’t feel well, when in fact I have nothing against these refugees. They can definitely stay here from me.”

Deputy Mayor Jan Willem Schurmann (CU/SGP) previously told local media: “In receiving refugees, as a municipality we find it important to provide them with adequate care and to have open and transparent communication with residents. Unfortunately, I find that things have gone wrong. On those points. We also had very clear discussions with the COA about this today. It should be clear that they are also responsible for looking after these people and providing appropriate follow-up to their actions.”

Since then, the Municipal Agriculture Committee has apologized and the municipality has taken measures to provide for basic needs.