In Tilburg, a city in the Netherlands, the story of a 100-year-old Moroccan woman believed to have been homeless for three years has gone viral, drawing both attention and outrage. However, authorities and individuals close to the case clarified that she never spent a night on the streets, but had in fact been staying with family in Morocco since 2022. According to local media, an Amsterdam-based foundation called Assadaaka alleged that, after the death of her husband, the elderly woman had been left neglected and alone until the foundation intervened and relocated her to Amsterdam. But the city of Tilburg was quick to respond, debunking the claims, with a spokesperson stating, «This woman has never lived a single day on the streets». Sources confirm that the woman left for Morocco in 2022 and was subsequently deregistered from the Tilburg municipality, which lost track of her until her recent return to the Netherlands, likely due to complex care needs. Upon her return, she again stayed with family, but the arrangement proved unsustainable. Although no longer under its official care responsibility, the Tilburg municipality helped secure a place for her in an Amsterdam care home, in coordination with the Kloek foundation and other partners. A working group from the Moroccan community supported her both during her time in Morocco and after her return. Aziza Aboulkacem, a Tilburg Labour Party council member in contact with the group, confirmed: «She was never living on the streets». Social worker Fatima Elabbassi, who was also involved, wrote on LinkedIn: «What strikes me is the suggestion that the woman was abandoned and that Tilburg authorities failed. That is incorrect. On the contrary, a lot of time, attention, and effort was invested in helping the woman. If the woman had truly been on the streets, I would even have taken her in at my home». The Moroccan working group has asked the Assadaaka foundation to correct its earlier claims. The organization was unavailable for comment on Friday and Monday, the same source concluded.
