The Levant News publishes voices from a wide variety of people with different backgrounds. After stories from Italy, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and America today Erwin Sanders writes about the violent protests that broke out in various cities in the Netherlands after the government introduced a curfew right before the weekend.

After weeks of debate amongst Dutch politicians if The Netherlands should introduce a curfew or not, the government decided to execute the measure from January the 23rd. The same measure that was taken in various other European countries. Just like the vast majority of the Dutch population, I am not a proponent of this new measure. To say the least.

Yet again more freedom, and maybe the last freedom left, has been taken from us. When Saturday the clock stroke at 21:00 local time in Holland the curfew came into effect. It did not go flawlessly.

Illegal demonstrations against the new measure grew in riots in just couple of days. Riots that came to a sad climax Sunday. Despite disproportional efforts from the Dutch police, including tear gas and watercannons to drift the crowd of hundreds of people in various Dutch cities apart. But the genie was let out of the bottle.

A sad climax it was indeed. Sundays’ events were extremely shocking. Various cities in the country looked like a war zone. Angry demonstrators throwing rocks, fireworks and even golf balls at the police.

Shops, which already had a hard time due to the coronavirus and its measures, were severely damaged, plundered, a historic train station in the city of Eindhoven demolished. A corona test location in the city of Urk was set on fire. So were many cars. Unprecedented scenes of violence in a country that is internationally known for its diplomacy and not-violent approach to matters.

Are protests just because of this curfew or a frustration of one year in a crisis? Maybe it was just a “good” reason for them to start riots? In my perspective this was one step too far. Damaging other people’s properties makes you lose and simply stupid and irresponsible.

A horrible development that will not have any effect on the corona-measures ever. As stated in the introduction, I do not like the web of corona rules either. I am doubting if they have any effect on combatting the crisis.

But this atrocious behavior make me feel ashamed.

Let’s all hope this coronavirus will end soon. Let’s hope we all stay healthy and get back to normal as soon as possible. Let’s stand up for our rights in a normal way without riots. In the ends violence leads to more violence and everybody will lose even more.

I do not think anybody would want that either.