Based on reporting in Het Parool.
An Amsterdam family has taken down the Pride flag that has flown outside their Amstelkade home for years, following a violent attack on Wednesday evening that saw a brick thrown through their 13-year-old daughter’s bedroom window.
Gerben Sterringa, a 50-year-old general practitioner, described hearing a loud crash around 9:45 PM. He discovered that a brick had been hurled through the double-glazed window of his daughter's ground-floor bedroom, which is located next to the front door where the family displayed their Pride flag.
“My daughter happened to be making sandwiches at the time, but if it had happened half an hour later, she would have been in bed and it could have gone very, very wrong,” Sterringa explained. “That brick was thrown through the double glazing and flew right across the room. It could have been fatal.” His daughter was deeply shaken by the incident and spent the night in her parents' room.
After rushing outside, Sterringa found the perpetrators had already fled. However, they had left a chilling message spray-painted on a nearby wall: ‘Drop dead xxx gay! I kill gay.’
This attack is the culmination of a series of escalating acts of harassment. Earlier in October, the words ‘gay cancer’ were written on the same wall. The family's flag had previously been stolen once and vandalized on another occasion, prompting them to secure it with a repurposed vacuum cleaner tube to prevent further theft.
Sterringa and his wife decided to fly the flag several years ago as a clear sign of solidarity. “We heard about people being assaulted and even murdered because of their orientation. That’s just not acceptable,” he said. “Everyone should treat others with respect, regardless of your faith, orientation, or skin colour. For us, that flag stands for respect and tolerance for everyone.”
The family’s initial reaction was one of defiance. “My first thought was: I won’t be intimidated and the flag stays,” Sterringa shared. “I didn't want to be dominated by the fear they are trying to create.”
However, the direct threat to their daughter’s safety forced a difficult and painful decision. “It’s your daughter who sleeps there,” he acknowledged. “My wife also said: this is dangerous, we shouldn't do this.”
Police responded to the scene and have launched an investigation in collaboration with Roze in Blauw, the Dutch police force's dedicated LGBTQ+ liaison team. According to Sterringa, the responding officers were supportive. “They told us, ‘You should be proud,’ but they also understood why we were taking it down.”
The incident has left Sterringa dismayed about the state of tolerance in a city that prides itself on its open and accepting culture. “I am so angry and disappointed that this is happening now in Amsterdam, in a society that has always been so tolerant,” he said. “A flag like this shouldn't even be necessary. But the fact that this happens shows that tolerance is becoming less and less self-evident.”
