24 January 2024 , 09:25
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British expats were told to “f*** off back to where you came from” after moaning about local church bells.
Dutch neighbours were left less than impressed after some Brits abroad launched a petition to ask a local church to can its bell ringing overnight. An unnamed Brit, living in the Dutch capital, penned a letter to fellow residents of their neighbourhood, Leliegracht, where they had lived for around two years, about the restoration of the nearby Westerkerk clocktower.
When the works are completed, it would see the Cathedral restart its bell ringing, which they said took place every 15 minutes throughout the day and night. In the note, the Brit said they had already complained, but that they had been informed the City of Amsterdam would need more complaints. This led to the author prompting others to follow suit and complain as well.
They wrote: "For over a year now, the Westerkerk tower and its bells have been under renovation. It is expected to look beautiful when finished. My partner and I have lived in the neighbourhood (Leliegracht) for over two years now. Before the renovation, as you probably also know, bells rang every 15 minutes, all day and all night.
"The City of Amsterdam has already received complaints. We also asked ourselves the City if bells could stop at night (for instance from 23pm to 7am) in order to guarantee a better sleep. The city responded that it had brought the topic to its internal committee, but they concluded that it would need more complaints to make a change.
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"If you are also bothered by the bells, you can send a message to the City of Amsterdam (see contact details below) explaining your concern. So that we could all enjoy the beauty of the cathedral without the inconvenience of noise."
The expats letter trying to drum up support (@RichardCrommert/X)However, their letter didn’t go down well with their neighbours and De Telegraaf reported that the first response told her to "f*** off" and "go back where you came from" as well as to "learn good Dutch first".
The remarkable response will draw comparisons to anti-migrant rhetoric in the UK when people have told migrants to go back where they came from amidst the toxic debate over immigration.
The noise-hating author, for whom the bell now may be tolling, told De Telegraaf: "I am so sorry, I did not want to offend anyone. I only wanted to exchange ideas about it … I am learning Dutch, I am doing my best and I love the city. What should I do now? Move?"
The Westerkerk debate sparked responses from across parts of the European nation. But this isn't the first time it has hit the news as in 2019 expats similarly moaned about the bells - drawing similar ire from locals.