Last Saturday, May 16 of 2026, anti-migration protesters gathered on the Ossenmarkt in Groningen city. This event attracted about 80-100 people. Incited by the announcement of this protest, a group to 150 to 200 people gathered nearby to raise their voice for a humane sheltering a refugees, humanity and peace.
The incentive to protest on both sides were manifold, resulting in the gathering of a variety sort of concerned citizens. The anti-immigration protesters expressed concerns about the shortage of housing, public healthcare, keeping the country for the original Dutch, the Dutch first. The motives for the contra demonstrators varied from refugees are welcome, peace, climate change, women’s rights, Palestine rights to anti-war. The variety of the motives was expressed in the variety of the flags and banners. E.g, the official Dutch flag (Red, white blue) was carried, but also the so-called Prinsen vlag (Orange, white blue) that has an ugly right wing connotation dating from the 2nd world war collaborators with the Nazis.
Noticeable was that the contra-demonstration was much more loudly and well better organized, especially with front leaders igniting the chants and songs.
At a certain moment, the anti-migration protesters approached the contra-demonstrators and a tensed situation emerged. However, the police was present and alert and the stepped in between the two groups immediately stopping a confrontation very effectively.
I spoke with several people on both sides. An anti-migration protester told me that he considered the country to be overcrowded that resulted in shortage of housing and affordability issues. A women on the side of the contra-demonstration told me she was not associated with a group and was present as an individual showing her concern about peace, climate change causing more people to flee their country, and that we as Dutch original citizens should welcome them because it could well be us needing to flee in the near future. At the end, I spoke to a women of Palestine descent whose parents were refugee here, when she was born in the Netherlands, rasing concern about the hardship and suffering of her people under Israeli occupation. It was nice to see that towards the end, some people on both sides starting a conversation exchanging their concerns and arguments.
My photos is the gallery speak for themselves, I think!
Rijko Ebens
