Broadcasting West
–
In cooperation with
Broadcasting West
—-
NOS News•today, 20:54
—
The 5-year-old boy who died at the end of May is still not doing well was severely mistreated at the asylum seekers center in Katwijk. That’s what his mother tells Broadcasting West. The boy awoke from a coma after a few weeks, but the worries remain. “He’s behaving differently than usual.”
–
On the night of May 28, 5-year-old Adam was missing for a few hours. When he was found after a search near the asylum seekers center, he was found to have been severely beaten. He was taken to hospital with serious injuries. The police consider an 11-year-old boy who recently lived in the asylum seekers’ center as a suspect.
–
Different than usual
After the abuse of her son, mother Ibtissem temporarily lives with her two children in a building of foundation 40-45 in Oegstgeest. The Moroccan fled to the Netherlands via Libya, partly to avoid a forced marriage.
–
She is concerned about her son. “Adam is different from normal. He walks differently and he looks different. You can still see his injuries. He was in a coma for a total of three weeks. I was afraid he would not make it or that he would never do anything again When he woke up from his coma, he couldn’t see for a week.”
–
It is still unclear what exactly happened that Saturday night. The police have not yet completed the investigation. The police do not want to make any announcements to Omroep West, because the suspect is a minor.
–
Ibtissem describes what she herself remembers about the evening. “It was a normal Saturday night, the kids were all watching football. At one point Adam was gone, and everyone went looking for him. In the end we looked at camera images, but saw nothing.”
–
Underage suspect
Later, the police were called in and a search was organized, but Adam remained without a trace. On other camera images, the police saw that Adam was with a boy, says Ibtissem. This boy also lives at the asylum seekers’ center in Katwijk.
–
“They went to the boy’s room, but he was sleeping now. He had changed clothes. At first he wouldn’t say anything, but later he told us where we could find Adam. That only happened after the police insisted. “
–
Not much is known about the suspect. At the asylum seekers’ center it is said that it is an 11-year-old boy from an Afghan family. He would only be in the Netherlands for a few more weeks.
–
It’s inhumane to take Adam back to where it happened.
–
Ibtissem says that she is not well either. “I fled from an unsafe country, but now it may be worse here. COA has called on Safe at Home for Adam. Are they trying to say that I am not taking good care of my children? Or are they trying to prevent something wrong? is with security on site here?”
–
She also criticizes the COA and believes that the grounds of the asylum seekers’ center in Katwijk are not safe. “Nothing is closed off from the public road. It is not a place where children can do fun things. And nobody comes by to ask how we are doing.” Omroep West has asked COA for a response to the criticism, but COA does not want to respond.
–
Ibtissem has no plans for the future for the time being. The only thing she knows for sure is that she does not want to return to the asylum seekers’ center Katwijk. “I just want to feel humanity, that hasn’t happened so far. I feel alone and no one is helping me. It’s inhumane to take Adam back to where it happened.”
–
In addition, she worries about her son’s future. “I had hopes that he would go to college, but I think he has to go to a special school now because he may have a brain injury,” says Ibtissem. “For example, he behaves aggressively towards his younger sister. I know how he was before, but now he reacts differently.”
—
