This article is from WeChat public account: huanxingxingqiu , author: soil romantic, Photo by Michal Soukup on Unsplash
Invited to Camp
As one of the five founding members of the European Union, the Netherlands has also increased its efforts to accommodate refugees in recent years. There are more than 70 refugee camps in the country. The establishment of refugee camps has affected the society in all aspects, and public opinion has also been mixed.
Distribution of major refugee camps in the Netherlands, image source: Google Map
There are reports in the news that thieves, robbers, and even terrorists … have left many people afraid of refugee camps. Including European and American media, most of the content reported in the European refugee camps is from an external perspective. And I always wanted to go inside the refugee camp to see what it looked like.
The Dutch refugee camps are located on the outskirts of Herren, a city on the border between the Netherlands and Germany. All non-refugee status is strictly prohibited here. (Including refugee claimants) .
A few years ago, the management of refugee camps in the Netherlands was not so strict. But in recent years, with the continuous influx of refugees and the infiltration of terrorist forces in the Middle East, countries in Western Europe have strengthened the management of refugee camps.
But this time, it happened by chance. Through working relationship, I have met two refugee friends from Southeast Asia and have a good relationship with me. One of them wanted to invite a few friends to a dinner party on his birthday, and I entered the refugee camp with them.
On that cold night, I and the two friends came to their camp, a refugee camp of a sizeable size.
A corner of a refugee camp in the Netherlands, picture source: https://www.dutchnews.nl/
Cold Night Story
After I entered the refugee camp, I observed it, and it was almost the way I expected.
The refugee camps in the Netherlands are n’t as tents and smoky as ordinary people think. Everyone is blinding with vigilant eyes or killing you with hateful eyes. And no one was carrying a bayonet with Kalashnikov in his arms.
thisThe refugee camps are similar to the rest of the Netherlands. They are basically simple and clean two- or three-story simple buildings. Although at night, the lighting is good and the sight is clear. The people coming and going are still very excited, and the windows are brightly lit, and everyone is thriving.
The picture shows one of the largest refugee camps in the Netherlands. Picture source: https://refugeesnetherlands.weebly.com/
I followed two friends into one of them. There are two bedrooms of about 10 square meters in this unit, each with two beds. The common area is a living room. (Its function covers the kitchen and dining room) < / span>, a bathroom. Heating water for 24 hours, the stove in the kitchen is an induction cooker, equipped with necessary living facilities such as a refrigerator and a washing machine.
We ate a birthday dinner in the living room, drank a few glasses of vodka, and laughed casually. At this time a man with a West Asian appearance came in from the outside. This man with wide shoulders and strong body is a tough guy with a big body. Taking off his jacket, he wore a basketball vest inside. Seeing someone come, he greeted me politely.
He just came back from the gym outside. Buddy’s name is Andorf (hide the real name) , Syrians, Christians > (About 10% of Syria ’s 23 million people are Christians) , fitness instructors, fled to Europe to escape the bloody cleansing of ISIS and settled here. He is not idle in the Netherlands, participated in many bodybuilding competitions, and won a Dutch provincial championship.
A friend came in for a moment, with a Middle Eastern appearance and a young man. This person is named Sayed (hide the real name) , an ordinary Sunni Muslim, escaped the war and came to Europe. This buddy, whether he is a fellow Christian or a Southeast Asian or Northeast Asian Get in harmony and communicate normally.
A few people haven’t talked about the political situation, international affairs, etc., just to talk about ordinary life. In general, the people here are basically satisfied with the refugee camp, waiting for identity approval and work. Some people will go out to work odd jobs, not only with adequate food and clothing, but also with a balance.
It is understood that, except for our unit, the large and small rooms in the barracks are basically similar to each other. No matter from the building, the facilities, or the atmosphere in which people get along, this place is more like a university dormitory than a refugee camp.
Ordinary refugee camp room layout, picture source: https://pulitzercenter.org/
The biggest difference between this and university dormitories is that refugee camp men and women stay in separate buildings, while Dutch university dormitory male and female students are mixed in the same building, even in the same large unit. It’s just that the rooms are different (all single rooms) .
Drank some wine again, and late at night, a Southeast Asian friend (both the two Southeast Asian friends mentioned that I should not disclose my nationality) span> Go back to your dorm. After saying goodbye to two friends in Syria and Iraq, I will go to his own room with another Southeast Asian friend, and I will sleep in this room.
Gold is not ambiguous
He came to his room and met another friend,Adu, a Hazara from Afghanistan, (hide the real name) . The Hazara is a Chinese people among the Afghans. I asked him, what country are you from?
He said with a smile that it was from China, but later he said it was Afghan, a Sunni Muslim. Buddies came to Europe to escape the war. People are very optimistic, but when it comes to those who traveled mountains and rivers, crossed mountains and ridges, almost didn’t die and came up to become a Dutch life experience, their smiles obviously converged and their expressions turned solemn.
I won’t talk to him about bad things, and after a few words, I’ll take a bath. The bathroom turned out to be very comfortable and the water was plentiful. The bath was very comfortable, and then returned to the room.
Common toilet, picture source: UNHCR Benelux
I said I could sleep on the floor. My friend said, since you are here, you are the guest. May I let you sleep on the floor? I didn’t shirk away and went to bed. Just lay down and someone knocked on the door outside. As soon as I saw it, it was buddy Said. He said, brother, did you lose 2 euros in the bath?
I touched my pocket, wasn’t it? It was the money I lost! He said, “I found it and I will give it back to you. Be careful next time.” I express my sincere gratitude.
It was dawn as soon as I felt it. I said goodbye to everyone and left the refugee camp early.
This visit to the refugee camp was not long, but at least I took a nap and learned some basic information and basic features. The building and facilities are basically the same as I expected-a four-star hotel treatment. And the people inside are not the same as I expected. There is no frowning confession, nor deep hatred. To put it plainly, most of them are ordinary people who have struggled with suffering, even death, and want a normal life.
The situation in Western European countries
Early last year, many people were worried after the incident in New Zealand. For this worry, for that worry, for themselves, and before civilisation.
Worried, right? Correct.
Is there a problem with civilization? Have.
However, I have been in the Netherlands for more than ten years, and I have also traveled to Southwest European countries such as Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and many other times. At least I personally have never seen some people mention that the so-called religious law enforcement team (they cannot obtain law enforcement authority from any government) , Haven’t seen anyone who is full of streets and parks under the banner of religion does not make people drink or keep girls from wearing short skirts.
Children of refugees participating in the event, image source: Peter Braakmann / Shutterstock
On the contrary, one of the organizers of the Eid festival for friends from various countries in the Middle East also said to me: “Sorry, brother, we don’t have alcohol here. You can just drink Fanta or Cola.”
Although abroad, the ones who urge you to be religious and send out flyers are mostly the small denominations in Christianity. I have never met a follower of Islam or a grandmother persuaded me to believe in it. At most, there are Muslim friends at the party to talk about whether you have a religion or not, would you like to come into contact with religion, etc.?
Even in countries with strict Islamic laws, some can marry foreign teachers. Pakistani scholars have told me that if you are Christian and Catholic, then you can also marry Islamic people. It is best to convert to Islam after marriage, but it is not mandatory. But atheists are determined not to.
A corner of the refugee hall, picture source: UNHCR Benelux
I also know a grandma friend who is very religious, does not drink, does not go to nightclubs, wears a beard, wears traditional clothes and prays five times a day. He is: what you believe and do is your business, I do not affect you, but I am my own piety. In the Spring Festival of 2019, this friend also sent me a video of that universal piggy cart on WeChat to bless the Chinese New Year. This person is an Afghan Pashtun. In fact, such people are also a large part of the Islamic population, but the percentage cannot be calculated.
In terms of daily life, although there are Muslim food areas in supermarkets in the Netherlands, they only take up a small part. Moreover, in the Muslim populated areas, the supermarkets are full of Muslim employees. They also handle, arrange and transport pork products such as ham and sausages. This situation has not caused any complaints or disputes.
On the other hand, the police in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and other countries are not as weak on the extremists as some people describe online. Terrorists are under close surveillance by counterterrorism agencies in various countries. In January 2015, the Belgian police facilitated pre-emptive terror attacks and entered the room directly to kill two terrorists who were planning terrorist attacks. In December 2017, Dutch police arrested suspicious elements suspected of participating in terrorist activities when they entered the home in Rotterdam.
From the overnight stay in the refugee camp to the many years of life, here I just introduce the reader to something I know, not to make a right or wrong judgment. As far as the exchange of ideas is concerned, I have always opposed extreme challenges or extreme lies against lie.
This article is from WeChat public account: Ring Planet (huanxingxingqiu) , Author: romantic earth