Shahrzad Moradipanah, 34, came to the Netherlands from Iran as a young child and grew up in an asylum seekers’ centre in Vught. She now lives in the municipality and represents the SP on its municipal council, where she must help decide how Vught will meet its legal obligation to receive refugees and under what conditions.

Moradipanah said her own experience made the issue difficult, while she also had to consider residents’ concerns about road safety and the effects of a reception centre on peace in the villages and surrounding forests. She said she was positively surprised by the welcoming reactions at an initial committee meeting in late October, despite criticism and opposition. The council was due to discuss the reception arrangements on 10 November.