One Jan was sitting quietly on his boat, frying an egg. The other Jan was already working at his accounting office. It was just before eight o’clock in the morning on a summer weekday in 2019 when they were arrested by a force majeure force. Both were seen as the main suspects in the totally escalated windmill protests in the Drents-Groningse Veenkoloniën.
In the years before the arrest, director Kees Vlaanderen already followed the two Jannen, who were known in the region as the front men of two different action groups that fought against the arrival of windmills in their area. For three years, the documentary maker was at actions, village meetings and in court. He made the documentary Headwind, the sadness of the peat colonies which can be seen on NPO2 on Sunday, a portrait of how ordinary citizens quickly became fierce opponents of the government.
Also read: Did this northern ‘Don Quixote’ cross borders with his battle against the windmills?
When Kees Vlaanderen started filming three years ago, the dissatisfaction among the population about the windmill plans was already visible. After it became known around 2010 that two large wind farms would be built in an area known for its panoramic views and tranquility, the population protested. It started with some protest cloths, a barbecue on the side of the road and the occupation of the village hall.
But it was only on the spot that he saw how far the resistance sometimes went. A scene from the documentary shows primary school children cheering behind a homemade cannon aimed at a fake doll with the deputy’s face on it. “I thought that went a long way,” says Flanders. “But it shows well how the situation had escalated.”
The resistance only got harder and harder. A granary belonging to a windmill initiator caught fire, dozens of threatening letters were sent and companies involved in the construction of the wind farms found asbestos on their property.
Torn Community
In the documentary, various residents are followed in their years of resistance. Residents who first feel surprised by the arrival of the windmills and try to have a say in the plans. But when they find out that they have little to say, they lose faith in the government and the judiciary. Moreover, it led to a torn village community, because many farmers in the area were the initiators of the windmills.
“I wanted to show what happens when you overrule citizens – well-meaning people in my opinion – as a government, so that you turn them into opponents,” says Flanders. “Either they become apathetic and lose their involvement in society, or they move out, or they kick their ass and get angry. And then some of them go too far.”
The resistance in the Veenkoloniën is known as the strongest resistance in the Netherlands against the arrival of windmills. But the entire process is now also seen as an example of what not to do: the residents felt completely unheard by The Hague, which pushed through the wind plans.
Or as Siep van der Velde from Meeden puts it in the documentary: “As a resident you feel humiliated, as if you are not being seen.” He himself was not against the arrival of the windmills, as long as they were moved a little further from his house. But he, like his fellow villagers, got no response. While he has always had faith in the government. “And then you automatically drive people to the extreme side of thinking.”
The documentary Headwind, the sadness of the peat colonies can be seen on NPO 2 on Sunday 30 October at 8:25 PM.
#Windmill #resistance #started #barbecue #ended #death #threats