Coevorden town council said on Friday it had abandoned plans to provide accommodation for 14 teenage girls, all refugees with residency permits, because it could not guarantee their safety.
The Drenthe town, with a population of around 35,000, has been the scene of violent protests against the arrival of the girls, who were to have been housed in five terraced homes previously used for people with mental and physical disabilities.
Despite council assurances that only girls would be moving in, locals said they feared “traumatised young men” might be brought in as well. Protesters have since set cars on fire, smashed windows at the property, and put up anti-refugee placards around the town. Riot police were drafted in on Thursday night to restore order.
“I am doing this with extremely mixed feelings,” mayor Renze Bergsma said, announcing the decision to cancel the plan. “We cannot guarantee the girls’ safety. They deserve a safe home and a safe future, and we cannot offer that to them.
“It is unacceptable that we have had to call out the police and fire brigade for days on end to restore order,” he said. “I condemn those using arson and intimidation to stop the girls coming.”
Bergsma said he wanted to prevent tensions in the Tuindorp district from escalating further, acknowledging there was little trust in the authorities. “We need to remain in dialogue, but we need peace and calm to be able to talk,” he told reporters.
Nidos, the organisation responsible for the girls, said it was surprised by the speed of the decision. “It is deeply sad that violence and intimidation on the part of locals has won,” the agency said. “In the end it is youngsters who are the victims.”
The Coevorden protests are not the first to force a refugee housing plan to be scrapped.
Other protests
In March, plans to build a large refugee centre next to the village of Berlicum in Noord-Brabant were put on hold after protests, which included hanging pigs’ trotters from a fence at the site.
In February, the Telegraaf reported that plans for at least 20 refugee centres had either been cancelled or delayed due to local protests.
In Elst, for example, plans for a 200-bed centre were abandoned following a local campaign, and similar blockades have taken place in Deurne, Heerenveen and Zwolle, the newspaper said.
By law, all municipalities are required to provide housing for their share of refugees, based on population size and the socio-economic status of their residents.