Amusement park trip for asylum youth canceled following Minister's criticism

A planned amusement park outing for young asylum seekers living in a reception center in the northern village of Sint Annaparochie has been canceled following public criticism from Dutch Asylum and Migration Minister Marjolein Faber, who called the trip “impossible to justify,” according to Noordhollands Dagblad.

The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) announced Friday that, “given the current attention,” it would organize an alternative activity for the group instead of the originally planned trip to the Efteling theme park. The visit was scheduled for May 17, the busiest day of the village’s annual fair, a period during which tensions between local youth and asylum seekers have previously led to violence.

Faber had earlier condemned the plan in a statement on social media platform X, describing the Efteling visit as a “pleasure trip at the taxpayer’s expense.” “This is not going to happen,” she wrote. “This is on-uit-leg-baar [impossible to justify]. I will be discussing this with COA.”

COA previously defended the decision, explaining that the outing was scheduled during the fair deliberately, as a preventive safety measure. “We’ve now planned it for the busiest day of the village fair,” COA spokesperson Jolanda Bolt told Leeuwarder Courant. “There was a lot of unrest last year, and we don’t want a repeat of that. See it as a preventive measure.”

The agency said the trip would have been paid from an activities budget specifically set aside for unaccompanied minors housed in the center. That same budget is used for cultural and recreational outings, such as museum visits. At the time of Faber’s initial criticism, COA stated it may respond at a later date.

COA clarified on Friday that it will now “give shape to the day in a different way” due to the current public scrutiny.

The visit’s original timing was no coincidence. On the same weekend in 2023, a violent clash erupted between local youths and asylum seekers during the village’s annual fair. On the night of the incident, groups of young men fought in the village center, resulting in three local men aged 18, 20, and 22 being hospitalized with stab wounds and injuries from a heavy chain lock.

Three residents of the local asylum center—a 27-year-old man and two minors—were arrested at the time. The adult suspect was later released, while the two minors remained in custody. A fourth minor suspect was arrested the following Tuesday.

Eyewitnesses described the incident as sudden and chaotic. “Suddenly there were ambulances, police, even a helicopter,” one local resident told broadcaster Omrop Fryslân. “We heard that some kids were causing trouble, that people were kicked off their bikes and chased down. Then there was stabbing, and someone got hit with a chain.” Bloodstains remained visible on the street days later. One of the victims was still hospitalized the following Tuesday; the other two had been released.

Local officials said the violence may not have been spontaneous. “We had already heard that something was brewing,” said Mayor Marga Waanders of Waadhoeke municipality. “I won’t speculate, but it didn’t come completely out of the blue.”

Although relations between the village and the asylum center are generally stable, Waanders emphasized that the government takes such violent incidents extremely seriously. “This kind of serious public incident between local youth and asylum seekers is something I’ve never seen here,” she said. “I don’t expect that those involved will be allowed to return to the reception center if they’re found guilty.”

In addition to the now-canceled trip, COA had announced that the young asylum seekers would receive increased supervision during the rest of the fair, which runs from May 16 to May 20. The agency said it is working closely with local police and municipal authorities to monitor the situation and ensure public safety.

The Efteling amusement park had not been officially informed of the visit but confirmed that large groups regularly attend the park. “We’ve learned through the media that this group may be visiting the park,” a spokesperson said. “Everyone is welcome here.” The park clarified that the visit was not classified as an organized event and did not require advance registration. “We assume everyone comes to have a good day,” the spokesperson said, adding that Efteling prefers not to get involved in political debates.

The controversy over the Efteling trip comes amid growing political scrutiny of expenses related to asylum reception in the Netherlands, with the far-right PVV party—of which Faber is a member—pushing for stricter policies and fewer government-funded services for asylum seekers.