Artwork Data
Title
Monument Geweldslachtoffers
Artist
Year
2010
Material
Natuursteen, baksteen, metaal
Dimensions
h. 4 m
Artwork Location
Address
Wijndaelersingel, Den Haag
City district
Loosduinen
GPS data
52.055892380046, 4.2218126502319 View on map
Artwork Description
Text
On 14 May 2000, window cleaner Daan de Blok and funeral director Alan Roos were murdered. After a night out, they drove along in the car of Kobus R. and his son. Kobus shot the men through the head for no apparent reason. Their bodies were found in a parking garage on the Ouverturestraat. The car was later found burning.
For two years, the two parking spaces where the men were found formed a memorial site. In May 2002, an official memorial was erected just outside the car park. To this end, a wall measuring 1.60 by 2 metres was erected from the paving stones on which the men had been lying. A natural stone with a text against senseless violence was placed in the wall.
Martin Roos, Alan's father, set up the Aandacht Doet Spreken foundation in 2003 to stand up for the rights of the surviving relatives of murder victims. At the time, for example, the right to speak and victim support were not self-evident. Thanks to the foundation, they are now. In 2016, the foundation merged into the Federation Relatives of Victims of Violence (Federatie Nabestaanden Geweldsslachtoffers, FNG).
Martin Roos is not only the initiator of the foundation. He has also worked hard for the memorial stone on the Ouverturestraat. He also took the initiative to erect a general monument to the victims of senseless violence. Ten years after the double murder, this monument was unveiled by then alderman Baldewsingh at the Westduin cemetery in Loosduinen. It is the first monument for victims of violence in the Netherlands. Several cities followed suit.
The black cobblestones represent street violence, the smooth black stone with the point refers to domestic violence. At the large gate with the golden branch, everyone can give his or her own interpretation. This, together with its prominent place in the cemetery, makes this monument so valuable for the surviving relatives of victims of violence.