Nationalists humiliate refugee supporter: “I hope your daughter gets raped”

Protestors in favor of refugee rights were met with angry vitriol from supporters of the anti-Islam, anti-refugee politician Geert Wilders on Saturday. The PVV party leader was in Almere handing out flyers against an expansion of a refugee center in the Flevoland city. Helena Zanting spoke out on behalf of asylum seekers, holding a sign that read in English, “I see humans, but no humanity.” She is stunned by the response she received from Wilders supporters, she told newspaper AD. “I hope your daughter gets raped,” shouted one Wilders supporter, while others said things like, “Don’t whine when your head gets chopped off by some terrorist!” Wilders has spent much of the last two months calling to close the boarders against all asylum seekers. The staunch anti-EU politician said it is scandalous that the Netherlands is abiding by, and even supporting European mandates for distribution of those claiming refugee status. Zanting, 51, found the rally at an Almere shopping center particularly disturbing. She works as a language coach at the asylum centre in Almere, and finds no problem with the proposed expansion of the shelter. She says she is ashamed that her city is always associated with xenophobia One supporter of Wilders, Petra Busgen, resented the asylum supporters, calling their demonstration “mad.” She agrees 100 percent with closing the borders, AD reports. Busgen feels that, “Everything is at stake: our safety, freedom and future.” Exuberant Wilders fans pushed, booed and shouted at protestors remarking that if they liked the refugees so much, they should set up centres for them in their homes. The refugee issue has propelled the PVV up to its highest level since October 2013, with support that would see them rise 21 seats to 33 if elections were held today. Emeritus Professor of immigration studies at Erasmus University Han Entzinger showed research results regarding the opposition of asylum seekers and immigration has remained constant for decades, with 30-40 percent of the population feeling it is neither needed nor wanted. Almere has a population of over 197,300, making it the eighth largest city in the country, according to Statistics Netherlands.