Flyer action at the KLM-Benelux office in Hoofdorp

The headquarters of KLM-Benelux can be found among the horde of office blocks on the Planetenweg in Hoofdorp. Activists from the Autonoom Centrum arrived early in the morning on Friday 26 November in order to allow the staff there to take part in critical discussions about KLM's part in deportations. The 'KLM' shuttlebus drove through the gates and the Autonoom Centrum activists took their positions in front of the main entrance and began to hand out flyers. Flyers were handed out for about an hour to staff and visitors with the intention of encouraging debate about this sensitive issue within the company itself. Flyers were also placed beneath windscreen wipers of cars in the staff car park. Mr Platenkamp, who is KLM's man in charge of deportations arrived towards the end of the action. He was angry because the 'KLM' bus had managed to gain access to the grounds. KLM had already sent a warning out to its workers a week previously. A large colour photo of the 'KLM' bus had been hung up behind the entrance desk of this office. After finishing off the action the 'KLM' bus drove over to the offices of KLM-cargo and the Immigration and Naturalisation Service that were bopth nearby.

That afternoon the 'KLM' bus went on a tour through the dutch landscape and stopped now and then to pose for a photo session in front of typical dutch scenes, a windmill, or on a dike. Other scenes were the border prison for refugees and illegals in South-east Amsterdam. Our 'KLM' bus drove up to "load up with refugees." The bus seemed to get a warm welcome, the electrically operated gates slid opened and the bus drove in. But when the gates closed the prison warders came to say that the police were on their way. The bus had been kidnapped. The police arrived and complimented us on the quality of our uniforms that were almost exactly identical to theirs, the prison warders were unable to see the funny side of this, they had thought that we were real and let us in. The gates opened once more and we were allowed to return to the 'free' world.