Voorst council members threatened before they voted against youth asylum center

There will be no shelter for 50 unaccompanied child asylum seekers in Ter Wolde. A majority of the Voorst municipal council, which covers the village, voted against the proposal on Monday. The vote had to happen behind closed doors because multiple civil servants and municipal council members were harassed, intimidated, and threatened in the run-up to the debate, Omroep Gelderland reports.

A group of locals waited outside the town hall while the councilors debated and voted. Now and then there were boos and the banging of pots and pans, but the mood remained relatively calm. “We have to show our faces, we are allowed to demonstrate,” a local told the broadcaster. According to her, the group isn’t against taking in asylum seekers. “But in this way, we do not support it.”

The proposal was to house 50 unaccompanied children at Kadijk 7A in the village. The SGP and VoortvArent Voorst proposed dropping the number of children to 40, but that was not enough to get majority support. There were 11 votes against and eight votes in favor.

Alderman Peter Wormskamp said he was disappointed that the reception center for unaccompanied children failed. “We implemented a step-by-step plan that was drawn up together with the council,” he said “Then you’d think you have moral support.” He added that the proposal’s failure doesn’t mean Voorst won’t take in any asylum seekers. “We will look later at what is possible,” he said. “Ultimately, we do have a task - a legal task - to shelter people.”