Students were subjected to years of sexual violence, harassment and physical attacks by migrants at an Amsterdam housing complex designed as a pioneering integration project.
Stek Oost, situated in the Watergraafsmeer neighbourhood, was pitched to the Dutch public as an innovative answer to both housing shortages and refugee integration challenges when it opened in 2018.
The scheme placed 125 students alongside 125 refugees, with residents encouraged to form "buddy" partnerships to help migrants adjust to Dutch society.
However, testimonies from former residents shared in an investigative documentary described repeated sexual assaults, stalking, and violent confrontations.
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Residents claimed their complaints to authorities were repeatedly dismissed despite filing multiple reports.
One former resident, identified only as Amanda, described being raped by a Syrian man after he repeatedly asked her to visit his room to watch a film.
"He wanted to learn Dutch, to get an education. I wanted to help him," she told the programme.
After Amanda eventually agreed, he made her uncomfortable and refused to let her leave before sexually assaulting her.
Students faced sexual assault after being housed alongside migrants in an Amsterdam accomodation
|Amanda reported the attack to police in 2019, but officers dropped the investigation, citing insufficient evidence.
Six months later, another female resident warned the housing association about the same man, expressing fears for her own safety and that of other women at the complex.
Local authorities claimed evicting him was legally impossible.
He was finally arrested in March 2022 and subsequently convicted of raping Amanda and another resident, receiving a three-year prison sentence in 2024.
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The combined housing was sold to the Dutch people as an attempt to 'aid integration'
|Residents described a climate of fear throughout the complex, with one woman recounting regular fights breaking out in hallways and communal living areas.
A male resident told the programme Zembla that a refugee had threatened him with an eight-inch kitchen knife.
Dutch broadcaster AT5 reported in 2022 that one refugee faced accusations of six sexual attacks committed between 2018 and 2021, leading to a lengthy legal dispute as authorities attempted to remove him from Stek Oost.
Carolien de Heer, district chair for Amsterdam's East district, where the complex is located, acknowledged the difficulties in addressing dangerous behaviour.
Residents claimed their concerns to authorities were repeatedly dismissed despite filing multiple reports
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"You see unacceptable behaviour, and people get scared. But legally, that's often not enough to remove someone from their home or impose mandatory care.
“You keep running into the same obstacles," she told the programme, per the Daily Mail.
Stadgenoot, the housing association, sought to shut down Stek Oost as early as 2023, but local authorities rejected the request.
The complex will finally close when the contract expires in 2028.
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