The Dutch municipality of Lochem plans to pay residents near an asylum seekers' accommodation up to 1000 euros for security measures such as cameras or lighting. The plan faces criticism for potential discrimination against refugees. It aims to alleviate residents' fears but is viewed as a vote of no confidence in the accommodation's inhabitants.
In the municipality of Lochem, with around 34,000 inhabitants and located about 40 kilometers from the German border, an asylum seekers' accommodation currently houses 65 young refugees aged 15 to 18. Another 185 are expected to arrive in the coming months, expanding capacity to 250. Two years ago, issues with previous residents fueled anxieties among neighbors.
Bertus Karssenberg, faction leader of the "Mitdenken mit Lochem" party, stresses: "These are good people." He still supports the plan to provide up to 1000 euros for home security measures like surveillance cameras or improved outdoor lighting. Expenditures will be strictly checked. The municipal council plans further discussion next week and a vote in March. The budget is 24,000 euros, covering at most 24 households.
The proposal has drawn national attention. Geert Wilders' anti-immigration PVV called it "proof that asylum seekers structurally cause harassment, intimidation, threats, and insecurity." Critics see discrimination. Migration expert Carolus Grütters from Radboud University told "de Volkskrant": "It labels a group as criminal. These people feel excluded and distrusted from the outset."
PvdA's Martine Willems called it "clearly discrimination" in an interview with RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND), as it assumes criminal behavior from the residents en masse. She noted that the young refugees attend school and benefit from integration initiatives: "There is much here that benefits integration. The same cannot be said for the 1000-euro plan." Local politician Guido de Wit described it as a "poisonous signal." One resident said: "We don't want the 1000 euros at all."
This plan arises amid a 2024 Dutch law for even distribution of asylum seekers due to conditions in the Ter Apel reception center. Refugee numbers have declined, and the new government under Prime Minister Rob Jetten (D66) prioritizes issues like healthcare costs and the housing crisis over migration. In other municipalities like Molenlanden, protests against asylum homes escalated to violence against police.
