Integration has been a hot item in Dutch society in general and in politics in particular for some time. Almost everyone has an opinion about it, but few people have tested these opinions against the truth themselves.
Immigrants and integration
With the increase in the number of foreigners, immigrants or whatever we want to call the group of people of foreign or partly foreign origin, the call for integration is increasing among many ‘real Dutch people’. But what does integration mean? Do people who want to settle in the Netherlands have to fully adapt to Dutch society? And what exactly is Dutch society and culture? Because in order to integrate into something, you obviously have to know where.
My integration
From my own experience I know a thing or two about integration. I myself am trying, through trial and error, to integrate into the Middle East. And that made me think a lot about integration in general and my own integration here and that of ‘foreigners’ in the Netherlands in particular.
I have learned the language of the country, although I still have an accent. After ten years I am quite familiar with the do’s and don’ts, but… I know one thing for sure, I will never become ‘one of the Arabs’. Not because I don’t want to, not because those around me don’t want it, but because it is simply not possible. I lived in the Netherlands for the first 25 years of my life, that’s where my roots are, that’s where I was raised and that determines who I am today. Of course I have changed, but I will never fully merge into this society. And to be honest, and this may offend some people who are very pro-integration, I don’t want that at all. I am proud of where I come from, I enjoy Dutch food, Dutch books, Dutch TV programs, stories from my Dutch family and friends and the Dutch language in general. And I would also like to pass some of that on to my children.
Partial integration
What do I want to say with all this? I think I am not alone in having these feelings as a migrant. It is utopian to expect people to fully adapt to their new country. Learning the language is extremely important, perhaps even more so for the newcomer himself than for the rest of the society in which he finds himself. But I believe it is a huge fallacy to expect people to turn away from their roots. Not only do people not want that (with perhaps an exception), but it is not even possible. In addition, external characteristics (skin color, clothing, etc.) often also make integration difficult. If you are always treated as an outsider, you will not see yourself as a real part of the society in which you find yourself. The us versus them thinking is something that can enormously frustrate the integration process. And that applies to both sides, both parties should try not to see each other as completely different and strange, but should try to build bridges.
It will be a different story for children and grandchildren of migrants, for this it must be possible to integrate more, but I think it is very wrong to more or less forbid people to be more than ‘Dutch’ . People need roots and if they happen to be outside the Netherlands, so be it. When people master the language of their new country and obey the laws of the country, it seems to me that they are integrated enough.
Dutch culture
Culture is something that is constantly changing. When one looks at the Netherlands in the 1930s, one sees something completely different than when one examines the Netherlands during the 1970s and that situation is completely different from life in the Netherlands today. Of course, that does not mean that there is no such thing as Dutch culture (although Maxima seems to disagree with me). You may only get to know Dutch culture when you live abroad for a while. Often they are small things that are difficult to put your finger on, but for me there is absolutely such a thing as ‘Dutch culture’, although that is of course a generalized concept and there will always be people who do not meet those characteristics. . But I don’t expect a newcomer to conform to that culture, just as I hope that people in the country where I live don’t expect me to conform 100% to their cultural expectations.
The future
In summary, I think integration has to be a two-way street. The greatest effort will have to come from the newcomer. This person will have to learn the language and gain some insight into the new society so that he/she can operate in it as independently as possible. I think it is most important for the natives not to make an immediate judgment and not to see the newcomer as ‘the other’. The most important thing, in my view, is to prevent polarization, because this will certainly only have a negative impact on the integration process. The us versus them thinking will only lead to people no longer wanting to integrate, which can have very bad consequences.