Rotterdam alderman attacked at meeting on refugees

Rotterdam alderman Ronald Schneider was insulted and attacked by residents of the Hoogvliet neighborhood after a meeting about accommodating refugees in the area on Wednesday night, NU.nl reports

The municipality of Rotterdam wants to accommodate 12 refugees - asylum seekers with a residency permit - in Hoogvliet. These are men waiting for their families to arrive under the family reunification regulation. According to the plan, they will stay in the neighborhood for up to two years.

But this decision did not go down well with those who attended the information evening on Wednesday. The residents are particularly upset that they were not involved in the decision making, according to RTV Rijnmond.

Schneider had to cut the meeting short. He was constantly interrupted, insulted and shouted at. Police officers escorted him to his car, which residents punched and kicked as he slowly drove away.

According to a spokesperson for the alderman, emotions were indeed running high. But that is "part of the job as alderman", he said to NU.nl