Anti-asylum protesters in Uden harassing, threatening aldermen at home
People protesting against plans to open a shelter for asylum seekers in Uden, Noord-Brabant, have escalated to threatening and harassing local politicians at their homes. Deputy mayor Gijs van Heeswijk of Maashorst, the municipality that covers Uden, revealed this during the city council meeting about the center on Monday, Omroep Brabant reported.
Several Maashorst aldermen had angry protesters show up at their homes in recent days. The mayor was also targeted and subjected to floods of hateful posts on social media, the deputy mayor said. “He has become the scapegoat.”
Van Heeswijk called the concerns about the shelter understandable. “We fully understand the impact on our community. We understand that those concerns exist,” the deputy mayor said. “But when we consider what it’s doing to us. Online hate and, as a low point, protesters at the mayor's and aldermen’s doorstep. That’s really affecting us.”
“This means that some members of the municipal office of mayor and aldermen feel obstacles in properly carrying out their duties and would rather not be here,” he continued. This mayor has acted with honor and conscience. We support this mayor, and we hope that the council will also support him.”
In addition to the mayor and aldermen, the vehement protests against the shelter for asylum seekers had a profound impact on several city councilors. Bas Keijzer, among others, spoke out about it at the meeting. “Disagreeing with each other is fine. But it must remain respectful. I haven’t felt comfortable these past few days. When you go around with your full name on social media, that’s not nice. I found this very intimidating.”
Despite the threats and intimidation, and after a lengthy discussion, the city council gave the green light to shelter 300 asylum seekers on Boekselsedijk in Uden. The shelter will be open for 10 years.
The Maashorst politicians are far from the first Dutch officials to face aggression and intimidation from locals who do not want to allow asylum seekers to shelter in their towns. In November, it was revealed that the mayor of Venlo needed extra security due to threats from locals. That same month, the mayor of Terneuzen resigned. According to him, the municipal council was threatened into voting against the arrival of an asylum shelter, and he could not continue working in such conditions.
