Bomb-belt barbie shocks child asylum seekers in Dutch language lesson

By Janene Pieters on May 31, 2018 - 16:00
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Child asylum seekers receiving Dutch language lessons in Emmen were face with some horrible pictures during their lessons over the past weeks. Pictures like a Barbie wearing a bomb-belt, and traffic signs changed to show sexual texts were shown during a powerpoint presentation for the Verbal Dutch course by the CED-Groep, Dagblad van het Noorden reports.

"We do not know how this is possible, but it is absurd", a teacher from the Expertise Center for Foreign Speakers in Emmen said to the newspaper. "I myself have a tendency to keep clicking because it did not immediately register. But especially older children are very shocked." Many of the kids getting Dutch lessons at the center are asylum seekers from war torn countries like Syria and Eritrea.

Maja Zuiderveld, location manager at the Expertise Center, does not believe that CED-Groep is responsible for the slides, but that someone manipulated them. The center contacted other schools who use the course, as well as CED themselves. 

CED-Groep is taking the matter seriously, director Jos van Kessel said to the newspaper. "We have of course never given permission for the adjustment of our material, certainly not in the manner that now happened, and we also expressly distance ourselves from it." The company will investigate. "Because we are also curious about how this could have happened."

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