Vigil planned in Amsterdam for dead refugees

A vigil for for the thousands of refugees who have died trying to reach the safety of Europe, will be held on the Dam in Amsterdam at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. According to the Facebook event "Vigil for the victims of Fortress Europe", more than 1,300 people will be attending. The organizers hope that this event will put pressure on politicians to take in more refugees. Ewout van den Berg of the International Socialists described the event as a "subdued moment with room to commemorate fallen refugees" to Het Parool. The Facebook event states that "the media have stripped refugees of their humanity and presented them as a natural disaster". Van den Berg explains this statement: "NOS, for example, wrote about asylum centers that 'clog'. There is talk about a "big flood" and a "tsunami of refugees'. People are described as natural phenomena, which is something we do not participate in." he said to the newspaper. "I hope that we can show that politicians like Wilders and ZIjlstra do not speak for us." The program for the event is currently being prepared. "We are taking candles along, and there will be a limited number of speeches. We hope for a Greek speaker, who can tell about the situation there. We also want to give refugees a chance to speak." An increasing number of Netherlands residents have been speaking up for refugees and offering help where they can. Refugee agencies COA and Vluchtelingenwerk currently have more volunteers than they know what to do with. In the Facebook initiative "I am a host family for a refugee" people assist asylum seekers with their asylum application process and help them get acquainted with Dutch society. Another Facebook initiative, "Because We Carry", is collecting baby slings to distribute among refugees with young children. A large group of Dutch people also took out a full-page advertisement in the Telegraaf on Thursday, in which they call on society and politics to work together on the European refugee crisis. "The reality is beyond our imagination", the ad reads. "But we will not lie down at passivity. Let us from society and politics work together." The add is signed by, among others, Linda and Johnny de Mol, Wendy van Dijk, Carice van Houten and Claudia de Breij.