The neighborhood around the Opera Hall Center in the Hague got thoroughly culturally enriched last night by rival Eritrean gangs, who did battle with each other and the police using iron bars, baseball bats, rocks, fireworks, and whatever else they could find that was close at hand. The night was chilly, and they set a bus and police cars on fire so that everyone could keep warm.
Many thanks to Gary Fouse for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes and RAIR Foundation for the subtitling:
Video transcript:
| 00:00 | Riots broke out in the Hague on Saturday evening. | |
| 00:03 | That occurred around the Opera Hall Center on the Fruitweg. | |
| 00:07 | According to the police, the riots broke out after a confrontation | |
| 00:11 | between two groups of Eritreans. The groups, who sought confrontation | |
| 00:14 | with each other, consisted of dozens of men. | |
| 00:17 | A number of them were armed with iron rods, baseball bats, and bicycle locks. | |
| 00:22 | They also pelted the police with rocks, fireworks and bicycles. | |
| 00:27 | The rioters also set fire to cars, including a tour bus and several police cars. | |
| 00:39 | According to the local authority, emotions ran high between pro- and anti-government groups | |
| 00:43 | of Eritreans. The pro-government Eritreans had set up a meeting in the Hall Center. | |
| 00:49 | When their opponents showed up, things got out of hand. | |
| 00:55 | Finally, the police had to use teargas to get the situation under control. | |
| 01:02 | In the violent explosion on the Fruitweg, several officers were injured, | |
| 01:06 | according to an administrative member of the police union. | |
| 01:10 | According to him, three Mobile Unit buses were damaged, | |
| 01:14 | and three surveillance cars were set on fire. | |
| 01:17 | Not only the police, but the fire department was pelted. | |
| 01:21 | They tried to extinguish the cars that had been set on fire, but got stuck. | |
| 01:25 | Because they were attacked, they had to pull back. | |
| 01:29 | Around nine o’clock Saturday evening, the fires around the Hall Center were finally under control. |
The Dutch police should have borrowed a Canadian tactic and served the fun-loving Eritreans hot coffee. Alas, there are no Tim Hortons in the Netherlands.
They sure are a welcome addition to any city!
When all Eritreans move to Europe, the Dutch will be able to move to Eritrea and start from scratch.