Riots in the Afrikaanderwijk

You are in the Afrikaanderwijk, a neighborhood with a turbulent history. In the summer of 1972, major riots broke out here after a Turkish landlord tried to evict a Dutch woman and her children over unpaid rent. This incident triggered long-standing tensions.

The area mainly consisted of old nineteenth-century houses, often converted into boarding houses for foreign workers by slumlords. This caused housing shortages and dissatisfaction among the original residents, who also felt abandoned by the city government.

In August 1972, the conflict escalated into violence. Fires were set, boarding houses were looted, and riot police had to intervene to restore order. After six days, calm returned thanks to calls for solidarity from neighborhood residents.

The city council then proposed a policy limiting neighborhoods to a maximum of five percent residents with a migration background. This plan was unworkable and eventually dropped. Rotterdam later grew into a superdiverse city with inhabitants from over one hundred sixty countries.