‘In the case of this particular home there was no suitable candidate from the Moluccan community, at which point we invited a number of non-Moluccan candidates to view it. Our actions were fully in keeping with the agreement.Some members of the Moluccan district nevertheless disagreed with us. We will therefore hold further talks with the neighbourhood on this matter.’It is not the first time Moluccan communities have reacted strongly to attempts to house families from other backgrounds in their neighbourhoods. In 2014 a family had to move out of a house in Hoogeveen, Drenthe, when it was sprayed with slogans saying ‘Moluccans only, Moluccan neighbourhood.’
The Moluccans were brought to the the Netherlands in the wake of the Indonesian independence wars, after the Netherlands could not guarantee them the free state they had promised in return for military support. Many were housed in camps when they first arrived, including the former Nazi transit camp at Westerbork.