“Maybe Friesland is too far away”, says one organiser
Translated by Thomas Ansell
As Europe continues to close its borders ever-tighter, and passes on the responsibility for processing incoming refugees to ‘outer-border countries’ like Greece, Turkey and Libya, more and more people are gathering in refugee camps like the infamous Camp Moria in Greece.
Luckily, whilst the Dutch government hardens its heart, Dutch people are opening theirs to try and draw attention to the tens of thousands of people languishing at the border fence. One such protest action took place in the Frisian village of Morra in April, where campaigners put up 4,222 figures in a remote field to demonstrate the humanitarian crisis.
The organisers then sent an accompanying letter to the Tweede Kamer, to try and spur members into action. Predictably, it was ignored, and so a number of protestors have decided to bring the figures to The Hague. As reported by the Omrop Fryslân.
Luckily, one MP was receptive to the protest action: Habtamu de Hoop (PvdA), who is from Friesland himself. Organiser Wini Weidenaar says: “we thought: we have to find a way to take things a bit closer to the action. De Hoop also thought that it was ridiculous and said: we’ll help you, and welcomed us to The Hague to tell our story.”
Organisers will also present a pamphlet to politicians in The Hague, explaining their actions, but also highlighting the madness of current policy towards (especially unaccompanied child) refugees.
