The staff at Asylum Seeker Centers
feel continually unsafe. They are either
threatened verbally and/or physically and also witness violence, sometimes with
knives between asylum seekers. In the
past, these were incidents. Now,
however, it seems as if this is a structural problem. This results from more than 60 complaints
which in the last two weeks reached the monitoring center of the FNV trade
union for unsafe working conditions at asylum centers.
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Many Dutch Municipalities Have No Money
A study by the accountants and consultancy bureau, BDO, has
found that many Dutch municipalities have no money. The worsening financial situation, according
to the researchers, will lead to municipalities being supervised by the national authorities. The problems result from a variety of additional
social tasks the municipalities have been given since 2015.
https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/veel-gemeenten-zitten-op-zwart-zaad~a645ef48/
Monday, February 25, 2019
Million Dutch Houses may Subside
Due to the extreme dry summer there are problems with the
fundaments of about a million homes. The Center which deals with problems of
fundaments of homes (KCAF) says that there is a huge number of complaints. Every
day new ones come. One out of four houses built before 1970 are at risk. One out
of four may subside. Normally there is one complaint a week. Since the summer
there are one or two every day. Sometimes an entire group of houses threatens
to subside.
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Swastikas on Holocaust Memorial in Amsterdam
Swastikas and antisemitic graffiti were found on a Holocaust
memorial and various buildings in Amsterdam.
They were vandalized with green and yellow paint, the colors of the Ado
soccer team from The Hague. Today, ADO
will play the major Amsterdam team, AJAX, in Amsterdam. It is suspected that the vandalism was
carried out by ADO fans. The director of
ADO issued a statement condemning the vandalism.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/vandals-daub-swastikas-anti-semitic-texts-on-dutch-buildings-holocaust-statue/
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Huge Drug Smuggling at Amsterdam Airport
The military police mentions that a
smuggling organization from Africa has carried out huge drug smuggling of
heroin and cocaine at Amsterdam airport. Corrupt employees took suitcases from
the luggage area and gave them to catering or cleaning personnel. These brought
them outside the airport as they had fee access to it with their passes.
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
New locomotives break down several times per day
The New Sprinter next generation locomotives
of the Dutch NS Railway company is reported to be experiencing many
malfunctions. Last Friday there were 8 non-voluntary stops. The company has admitted that it is experiencing problems and says it is normal for a new type of train.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Childrens’ Ombudsman: Dutch Tax Authority Ignored Childrens’ Rights
The Ombudsman for Children Margrite
Kalverboer said that the Dutch tax authority acted contrary to the Convention on Rights of the Child when in 2014, it discontinued the child care allowance for over 200 families. In 2017, the National Ombudsman
published a damning report about what had gone wrong in the case. A newspaper
report found that the tax authority deliberately rejected parents objections
and withheld internal documents during court proceedings launched by parents.
https://nltimes.nl/2019/02/18/dutch-tax-authority-ignored-childrens-rights-abolishing-childcare-allowance-childrens
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Young teens subjected to sexually abusive text messages
A doctorate thesis by Gaby de Lijster
from Maastricht University, found that children as young as 12-14 years old, are already dealing with unwanted sexual behavior and sexual abusive text
messages. Her research shows that a
third of girls whose average is 14, have already faced unwanted sexual behavior.
A fifth of boys said the same thing.
Fourteen percent of respondents said they have participated in sexting.
https://nltimes.nl/2019/02/14/many-pre-teens-subjected-sexually-abusive-text-messages-phd
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Dutch Soldiers Take Ministry of Defense to Court
Dutch soldiers of the Dutchbat battalion,
a part of the U.N. forces in Srebrenica, are taking the Dutch Ministry of Defense
to court. They say that they were not
protected against asbestos, radiation, and other poisonous materials in the
location in which they served. According
to their commander, Thom Karremans, the soldiers should never have been located
in the heavily damaged and dirty factory for car batteries. The Ministry of Defense says that the
soldiers had not been submitted to undue risk, however, it admits that they
were not sufficiently informed.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Dutch government commissions report against Israel's Supreme Court
The Dutch government commissioned
and financed a report by an extremist Israeli NGO B’Tselem. The report attacks Israel's Supreme Court
regarding its decisions and construction planning in the West Bank. The Dutch government specified the reports
goals.
https://www.jpost.com/printarticle.aspx?id=580304
Monday, February 11, 2019
More Sex Crimes Recorded in The Netherlands
Almost 9,000 people told the police
that they had been the victim of a sex crime in 2018 compared with 8,400 in
2017. This results from figures published by the CBS, the Dutch Statistics Office.
Some research suggests that only 4 in 10 people who suffer violent abuse or sex
crimes, go to the police.
www.dutchnews.nl/news/2019/02/rise-in-reported-sex-crime-cbs/
Sunday, February 10, 2019
Amsterdam: Ten Kilometers of Quay Walls in Bad Condition
An external researcher, Peter Cloo, has undertaken a report
on the neglect of maintenance of bridges and quays in Amsterdam over the past
decades. He came to the conclusion that
getting the maintenance of civil construction in the city back on par is a
complex, major and extremely urgent task.
Six bridges are in such bad shape that immediate intervention is
necessary. Of the 200 kilometers of quay
walls, at least 10 kilometers are in very poor condition with an increased risk
of collapse. The daily, Het Parool,
wrote that 2 billion Euro may be required in the long-term to get the city’s
infrastructure back into shape.
https://nltimes.nl/2019/02/07/amsterdam-tackle-neglected-bridges-quays
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
More than 100,000 Children Abused every Year
More than
100,000 children in the Netherlands are abused each year. Over 700,000 Dutch
adults faced domestic violence at least once over the past five year. This results
from a study by the scientific research and documentation center WODC. This is
part of the ministry of justice and security.
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Amsterdam Firemen have no Confidence in Management
A group of
Amsterdam Firemen threatens actions in an anonymous letter. They say that they
have no confidence in the management. The current commander Leen Schaap has
even received death threats. He had been appointed to end the sexism and racism
in the organization.
https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/brandweer-amsterdam-zegt-vertrouwen-in-leiding-op~a5a68c0e/
Sunday, February 3, 2019
Advocate General Denies Dutch State Responsibility for Srebrenica Massacre
The Hague court has ruled that the Dutch state is partly accountable
for the deaths of approximately 300 Muslim men after the fall of the Bosnian
Muslim enclave, Srebrenica, in 1995. The
Advocate General denies in his recent advice to the Supreme Court that the U.N.
Battalion, Dutchbat, is liable for the deaths of the Muslim men.
https://nltimes.nl/2019/02/01/dutch-state-unjustly-held-accountable-srebrenica-massacre-advocate-general-says
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