Beachcomber more frequently finding migrants' belongings washed ashore in Texel

For years, local beachcomber Maarten Brugge has collected items washed up on the beach in Texel, the largest of the five Dutch Wadden Islands that band the northern coast of the Netherlands. However, recently he has increasingly come across items that seem to belong to refugees.

Over time, Brugge has accumulated a small collection of such items. "It's a bit weird," he told NL Times. While he currently stores these items at home, some will soon be showcased at the Shipwreck and Beachcombing Museum Flora in Texel for an upcoming exhibition.

He said he found one life jacket and several backpacks just on Thursday morning. "I've been collecting items on the beach my whole life, but over the past four years, these kinds of discoveries have become more frequent," he told NL Times. "That’s sad but it seems it's now part of the hobby."

Brugge believes that these items likely belong to people who attempted to cross the English Channel from France to England on small boats. "We can't be sure of course, but it's most likely," he remarked. British government figures show that more than 100,000 migrants have been detected crossing the Channel on small boats in the past five years. Roughly 25,000 migrants were detected in 2023 as of 3 October.

When these boats capsize or leak, they are carried northward by currents and, with westerly winds, towards the Dutch coast, often ending up on the Wadden Islands. "Whenever the wind is from the west, I can expect to find belongings from refugees on the shores," he said.

Brugge stumbled upon a far more distressing find on Friday morning. "I found trousers with bone remains inside," he shared with NL Times. "It's not the kind of thing you want to see early in the morning."

So far, there has been no reason to think they are the human remains of a migrant. The police took them for further examination. "The investigation will help determine to whom they belong," a police spokesperson told NL Times.