Letter to the owner
Letter from We are here to the owner of the Vluchtkerk
Dear mr Kortlever,
Some years back you were in Somalia, and you had a very nasty experience. Luckily you arrived safely in the Netherlands. Exactly the same thing happened to most of the inhabitants in the Vluchtkerk. Mayby, that’s why you allowed them to shelter in your building during the winter. We all are very grateful for that.
For three years now, you work on realising a children’s play event in the old church, and with every delay you extended the contract with the previous users.
You presented your construction plan informally to the city hall, and
unfortunately, they rejected it. You have not yet submitted a final
construction request, because you still talk with all people concerned to get more parking places, restaurant space and see through windows, then the urban plan and monument rules allow. This also means that to get a construction permit, you need to go through the extensive procedure.
If you submit your final request this week, then it will take roughly six
months to get it. Before that, on the inside, you’re allowed to do almost nothing. Outside you can start renovating, no problem, inhabitants will help you as much as they can. The continued use of the Vluchtkerk by We are Here, therefore doesn’t hurt your business interest. To the contrary: It is really good for your reputation.
However, just like us, you are under great pressure of the ministry of
justice. Because they are very unhappy with the symbolic power of our group under your roof. We the inhabitants have great plans to further develop that common power, and to use that power to slowly by slowly work towards solution. But, this all needs more time.
We hope that you, just like us, won’t cave in for the pressure of the
ministry of justice. We hope that you allow us to extend our stay with another five months. We also solemnly promise to immediately leave the building if you get a construction permit earlier.
We hope that in a short time, we can talk about this with you.
Sincerely yours, Ahmed, Bayisa..Younis, Zakaria.