Unprecedented amount of asylum seekers' belongings washing up on Dutch shores

Beachcombers are finding an unprecedented amount of shoes, clothing, children’s and baby items, and leaflets from aid organizations in France washed ashore on Dutch beaches. These are the belongings of asylum seekers trying to cross the North Sea to Great Britain, NH Nieuws reports after speaking to beachcombers in Castricum, Petten, and Texel.

Beachcomber Marco Snijders found bags containing a baby carrier, children’s clothing, a small plastic spoon, and a colored bottle on the beach between Castricum and Egmond. Beach explorer Willem de Rover picked up eight bags between Camperduin and Petten, something he has “not yet experienced” in his 40 years of beach exploration. Texel beachcomber Maarten Brugge also finds many items, including children’s and baby’s clothing.

Many of the bags found contain leaflets distributed to asylum seekers by aid organizations in France. In Arabic, the forms warn that crossing the North Sea is life-threatening. “This information can save your life.”

The lower body and foot of one or more people also recently washed up on Texel. The police are trying to identify the remains. Witnesses told NH Nieuws that the person was wearing “several layers of clothing.” Refugee boats are also often found on the Dutch North Sea.

“The fact that so much has been found by me, but also by Willem, is extraordinary and unique. Different from normal,” Snijders from Egmond told NH Nieuws. Bruges described the discovery of these items as “confronting and sad.” Snijders agrees with that, especially because the fate of the people involved is unclear.

The items float to the Dutch beaches from the Channel between France and England, where many asylum seekers try to cross the North Sea in rubber or hand-made boats. Between August and October 2023, that involved at least 10,000 people, according to figures from the British government. These figures only include people who survived the crossing and registered in England.