Monday, 16 July 2012
DAMASCUS – Susan van Mierlo (39) from Soerendonk is stranded with her Palestinian husband and their four children in Syria.
They want to leave the land, which is devastated by a civil war. This is impossible as the father does not have a visa.Since March the Netherlands Embassy in Syria has been closed, thus making an application for a visa as a result impossible. Also in the neighboring Jordan and Lebanon it is nearly impossible to receive a visa. Van Mierlo has written a letter to Minister Rosenthal from Foreign Affairs, but he has yet to respond.The woman from Soerendonk says: “A visa which was given last July was apparently only valid for 3 months, which according to the ambassador, the document was legally valid for five years. Now it is nearly impossible to leave because my husband is of Palestinian origin.”Travel Guide van Mierlo relocated fourteen years ago from Soerendonk to Damascus. She’s afraid that the situation will quickly escalate. There are daily explosions heard in the city with military shooting in the streets.Last week van Mierlo sent a letter to Foreign Affairs. They say that they are familiar with the case and that they will contact the Soerendonk woman soon. Starting in May she sounded alarm, without any results.Source: Omroep Brabant
