Friends in a Cold Climate: Schiedam-6b

Schiedam also experienced the impact of the war in Yugoslavia— Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, etc. Slovenia, part of former Yugoslavia, is just below Austria and Italy. When the war broke out in the south, Schiedam took notice, especially due to the refugee crisis.

Velenje asked for our help, and I took the initiative to start a relief effort. Slovenia also wanted to become an independent republic and asked for support from its partner cities. The council of Schiedam had reservations, expressing that while they valued the sister city relationships, deciding on international political matters was beyond their scope and should be handled by national politics.

As a result, Schiedam distanced itself from this issue, unlike Esslingen, which did not. Eastern European countries were looking to establish close contacts with Dutch municipalities. However, Schiedam did not extend our contacts further into Eastern Europe.

A significant highlight was when Schiedam, together with Vienne and the Polish city Piotrków (partnered with Esslingen), received the Etoile d'Or award from the Council of Europe. We were recognized for forming a network of partner cities and organizing several successful exchanges, which was unique compared to the more common bilateral partnerships. The award ceremony took place in a grand theater in Ferrara, Italy, with a beautiful, full audience.

Jan explains that the successor of Mayor Scheeres, who had no interest in the sister city relationships instructed him to quickly remove the city signs. Mayor Scheeres, already retired, inquired about the signs, which had been taken down. Jan confirmed they were removed but secretly found two signs, now stored at the company that removed them.

Taking and preserving these signs was seen as an act of resistance, though the succeeding mayor never knew they were taken. Otherwise, the speaker might have had a shorter tenure with the municipality.