Tears, flowers, and anger: Asylum seekers commemorate Lisa in an emotional farewell
More than twenty current and former residents of the asylum center in Southeast Amsterdam held a silent march on Wednesday evening to honor the memory of Lisa, the 17-year-old girl from Apeldoorn, who was brutally killed last week. Participants expressed their deep sorrow and voiced their discontent over the exploitation of this tragedy for political propaganda.
The march was organized by asylum seekers at the reception center in Hooghelevig, which is the same center where the 22-year-old suspect was arrested. The march started at Strandvliet metro station and ended at Holterbergweg in Duivendrecht, the crime scene, where participants laid flowers in honor of the victim.
One participant told AT5: "It is very sad. She was killed by someone who lived with us in the same center." Another added: "I feel sorrow because this crime is being exploited on social media for politics. It is disgusting. This is not the way to deal with such a tragedy."
Other participants emphasized the importance of publicly expressing their grief. One of them told local media: "We want the Dutch community and Lisa's family to know that we share their sorrow. This crime must be punished, but the criminal represents only himself, not all asylum seekers."
Lisa had been attacked while riding her bike home after a night out with friends in Amsterdam on August 20. She left her friends around 3:30 AM in Leidseplein, and less than an hour later, police found her body in a water ditch on Holterbergweg. The police later arrested a 22-year-old suspect, who was already in custody for a separate rape case in Amsterdam the previous week.
The case quickly turned into a political issue after PVV leader Geert Wilders exploited the murder of Lisa to incite against asylum seekers during a parliamentary debate. He claimed that the suspect had been released a week earlier after committing a sexual offense, a statement that was later proven to be false following a statement from the Amsterdam police. Ultimately, Wilders retracted his statement, admitting he was wrong.