Omroep Flevoland – News – ‘This stress is eating away at you’, Almeer family leaves the Netherlands after conflict over autistic daughter

After a drawn out battle against Ymere housing association, a family from Almere are throwing in the towel. Earlier this year, Ymere filed a lawsuit against the family, because their 15-year-old autistic daughter was causing a disturbance around the house in Poort. Ymere wanted to leave the family.

The family has now decided to leave for India for good, in search of peace. “This stress is eating away at you,” said an emotional Junaid, the father of the family.

The trial revealed the heart of the conflict in July this year: the girl, who suffers from a severe form of autism, screams regularly, inside and outside. According to Ymere, she also climbs the fence and throws things into the neighbors’ yard. The situation escalated, after which Ymere de he asked to send the family out.

Sound insulation
The father, who was emotional and sad about the situation at the hearing, offered to invest 16,000 euros in sound insulation himself. He was even willing to pay a higher rent. But Ymere stood her ground. According to the company, sound insulation measures would not provide a solution. In addition, a garden cannot be soundproofed.

The court hearing lasted for hours at the time. Lawyers from both parties accused each other several times and the judge had to intervene several times. In the end, the parties agreed that they would try to find a mutual solution within three weeks. If that doesn’t work, the judge will still issue a decision. The consultation period has been continuously extended in recent months, but after four months the family are now taking their chances.

The joint solution was sought in another household. “Hoofddorp came up,” said Junaid’s father. “But we wanted to stay in Almere Poort.” Ymere will explore the possibilities, but according to the father, no concrete proposals were forthcoming. “They haven’t shown me a house in all these months.”

A problem would only be transferred
According to the father, a move would have largely been a move of the problem. “The concern would then just arise again somewhere else.” According to him, Ymere also wanted to include in the contract that they could not cause any concern at a new address.”

According to Junaid, the pressure of the ongoing uncertainty is now taking its toll. “He was even admitted to the hospital with high blood pressure.” In the end, the family chose to avoid a court judgment due to health issues.
In both cases, a decision in their favor or against them would not solve the problem and, according to the Almeerder, would not remove the pressure.

The work stopped
“Peace is priceless. I choose my health and the health of my family,” said the father. He resigned and will hand over the house on December 15. “If I can, I will board a plane to India the same day.” Ymere has withdrawn the lawsuit against the family and, according to Junaid, will bear the 6,000 euro costs for the to move furniture to an Asian country.

A difficult decision, he admits. His wife and two children have been living in India since the minutes. “I was born in the Netherlands, but we give up everything. Even the good Dutch care my daughter gets here. We exchange it for a third world country. Just to get some rest .”