Sixteen-year-old Marianne Vaatstra was murdered in a meadow near Veenklooster on the night between Queen’s Day and May 1, 1999. Then-mayor Piet Visser of Kollumerland incurred anger and in October 1999 he was criticized for it. It was an act of impotent anger by six young men.
Eggs
During an information evening by the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) and the municipality, Mayor Piet Visser of Kollumerland was hit with a number of eggs, one of which also hit a target. Visser sat behind a table with a pulpit to provide information about a new asylum seeker center (AZC) within the municipal boundaries of Kollum. Anneke Haarsma, manager at COA at the time, sat next to him and provided the information from the COA side. The sports hall in Kollum was full, it was six months after the murder of Marianne Vaatstra. The perpetrator had not yet been found and all kinds of scenarios were circulating, in which some asylum seekers from the AZC that was already located on the Trekweg in Kollum played a role.
Square
A crowd had gathered on the square in front of the sports hall, led by Hilly Veenstra. She was convinced that the perpetrator had to be sought among the asylum seekers of AZC Kollum. The regional and national press were fully present in the room. Precisely because of the murder six months earlier and the sultry atmosphere surrounding the accusation against some residents of the AZC, there was a police presence and plainclothes officers present.
Kollum
In 1999, AZC Kollum was located in Kollum, less than 1 kilometer from the meadow along the Keningswei where Marianne Vaatstra’s body was found. The manner in which the murder was committed, the slitting of the throat, fueled the suspicion among part of the population that the perpetrator must be of non-European origin. Reference was made to the AZC. A few incidents where threatening gestures were made fueled this suspicion. The egg throwers were lumped in with the people who persistently pointed the finger at the AZC, but they do not fit into that group. AZC Kollum closed in 2003, the administrative agreement between COA and the municipality was not extended. The declining number of asylum seekers entering our country played a role in this. Mayor Visser retired early in 2001.
Mayor
During the information evening, six men entered the room with eggs, which they threw at the people behind the table. The target was mainly mayor Piet Visser. He ducked behind the table, but had already been hit. The speakers were led out through a side door, and the egg throwers were arrested except for one. The latter was discovered two years later: an international arrest warrant had been issued against him. He was also arrested after a speeding violation.
Boys
The group of egg throwers consisted of six young men. One of them, Hendrik Jan de Haan, had just bought ten eggs from the Chinese. He was twenty at the time and knew Marianne Vaatstra well. He was furious with Mayor Piet Visser because he had heard him say that all the fuss about the murdered girl should be over. It rubbed the boy the wrong way. He and his buddies were not driven by xenophobia, but by frustrating anger against the authorities and the mayor in particular. Thirteen years after the infamous information evening, he is still surprised that the ten euros he paid for the eggs – the Chinese did not want to sell the eggs at first – had such an impact. The world was turned upside down.
Floral
De Haan knew Marianne. She was a ,bright famke, , he can still hear her laughter. He does not regret his action, even though it cost him a week in jail and community service. His six buddies had already appeared in court in December 1999. The police were still looking for the sixth, who was sitting on the stand in the courtroom. He does not regret his action. The throwing of the eggs – De Haan had three himself and had given the other eggs to his mates – was not motivated by racism. It was for Marianne Vaatstra and against mayor Piet Visser of Kollum. “It’s who for Marianne. And cheesy the bowmaster.,
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