Network of Free-thinking Dutch Moroccans keeps Morocco at arms length

RNW, 21 October 2010

A group of Dutch citizens of Moroccan descent has formed an organisation which openly distances itself from the Moroccan government and argues in favour of making a clear choice for Dutch citizenship. The group is free-thinking in a religious sense.

Netwerk Vrijzinnige Marokkaanse
Nederlanders (NVMN)

Coordinator Abdelghafour Ahalli of the Netwerk Vrijzinnige Marokkaanse Nederlanders (NVMN) says many Dutch Moroccans feel a stronger bond with the Netherlands than with their country of origin. “If we are at all subjects, we are subjects of Queen Beatrix, not of the Moroccan king”.

The NVMN was formed as a result of numerous discussions among free-thinking Dutch Moroccans who wanted to make their voice heard in the ongoing debate on integration

Radio Netherlands Worldwide to fall under foreign affairs ministry

RNW, 30 September 2010 - 8:14pm | By RNW News Desk

(Photo: ANP)

The new coalition agreement states that in future Radio Netherlands Worldwide will be funded from the development cooperation budget, which falls under the foreign ministry.

The coalition agreement also states that RNW is to focus on its core responsibilities. Dutch media laws state that RNW is to: provide independent information to countries with an information deficit, disseminate a realistic image of the Netherlands abroad and inform Dutch speakers abroad.

RNW Editor-in Chief Rik Rensen says he assumes RNW’s journalistic independence will continue to be guaranteed. He believes the transfer to the foreign affairs ministry is a logical one. “Most of our journalistic activities are directed at audiences abroad, we publish in ten languages covering large parts of the world desperate for the information we provide. On the other hand, the Dutch economy is almost fully dependent on foreign countries”.

The Freedom Party, which will support the new minority government in parliament, has always argued that RNW has become redundant. The party says that the introduction of the internet and the mobile phone mean there is no longer a need for a Dutch international service to inform Dutch people abroad. However, the parliamentary-support agreement between the conservative VVD, the Christian Democrat party CDA and the Freedom Party does not even mention RNW.

Up till now, RNW has been funded by the education, culture and science ministry. Dutch media laws and the RNW editorial statutes guarantee independent journalism. This also holds true for all other Dutch public broadcasting corporations, which will continue to fall under the education, culture and science ministry but will have to cut costs by 200 million euros (on a total budget of 900 million). The cuts will not be allowed to affect the quality of programming. If this does, one of the three public television networks will be scrapped.

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Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Wilders channels anger

Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 17 March 2010 - 4:32pm, by John Tyler

(Photo: ANP)

Ayaan Hirsi Ali has returned to the Netherlands with the same message as when she left: Islam needs its own period of 'Enlightenment'. Ms Hirsi Ali is back for one week to promote her most recent book, Nomad. It's her first substantial visit since leaving the Dutch parliament four years ago to live in the United States.

Her main point still is that Muslim integration into Dutch society can only succeed if Muslim immigrants fully embrace Dutch values and leave their own values behind. The two systems of thought cannot be combined.

"The idea that the two can be combined is why the problem has lasted so long, and become so entrenched as to be nearly intractable: people have contradictory expectations."

Wilders good

In her criticism of Muslim integration, the former Dutch conservative VVD party MP echoes many of the ideas of Geert Wilders, once her VVD colleague and now leader of his 'own' Freedom Party (PVV). Mr Wilders' party is likely to become one of the largest, if not the largest, in the country after the general election on 9 June.

He is currently on trial facing charges of inciting hatred toward Muslims. Ms Hirsi Ali disagrees. She says that on the contrary, Mr Wilders is preventing violence by allowing a segment of the population to channel their anger by voting rather than rioting. Wilders is good for the Netherlands she says.

But she also criticises the Freedom Party leader for raising false expectations.

"I have also learned that you have to translate political proposals into policy, and my critique for Geert Wilders is that his proposals have raised expectations that cannot be translated into policy."

Ms Hirsi Ali portrays herself as more pragmatic than Mr Wilders.

Still controversial

Ms Hirsi Ali's future remains uncertain. The publication of her latest book here in the Netherlands, and the publicity tour she has organised, reveal her ongoing interest in Dutch affairs.

And, in case anyone forgot, she can still stir things up. An avowed atheist, she says the government should promote the Enlightenment - the period in and around the 18th century when many in Europe began to emphasise the importance of science and reason over religion - as an alternative to Islam.

"And for those who really cannot live without God, better then a caring Jesus than a warlord like Mohammed."

Nomad is Ayaan Hirsi Ali's third book.

Once a rising star

• Ayaan Hirsi Ali is living proof of what an individual immigrant from a Muslim background can accomplish.
• Born in Somalia, but raised in three other countries, she gained refugee status in the Netherlands in 1992, under what were later revealed to be false pretences.
• After learning Dutch and pursuing higher education she first went to work for the Dutch Labour Party's research institute.
• The conservative VVD party recruited her as a candidate for parliament, where she handled integration issues for three years. She herself nearly faced charges similar to those facing Mr Wilders, after she called the Muslim prophet Mohammed a paedophile.
• She received protection from the government after making the filmSubmission with Theo van Gogh, who was later murdered by a Muslim extremist. Revelations about lying to gain refugee status indirectly led to the fall of the government, and she emigrated to the United States.
• Four years later, Ms Hirsi Ali has tempered her approach, if not her ideas. She continues to live under constant protection in the US, at her own expense. But she enjoys greater anonymity and a freer lifestyle than she had in the Netherlands.

Why labour migrants are good for the Netherlands

Expatica

Choose whether or not you want to be Dutch, that’s the credo of Minister of Integration Eberhard van der Laan. But with this emphasis on the Netherlands and the Dutch language, Van der Laan is closing the door on a temporary migration policy.

Commuter train

That, say various experts, is bad for the Dutch economy. In the migration debate in parliament, Minister Van der Laan made his position crystal clear: migrants must “choose for the Netherlands and have the moral obligation to adapt themselves”. It’s expected of newcomers that they make an extra effort to obtain a place in Dutch society. But for some migrants it’s better that they don’t become naturalised citizens, but remain temporary migrants.

Restrictive migration policy

History teaches us that for countries with a restrictive migration policy one solid rule applies: once in, there’s no way out. Also migrant workers who really want to return home after a time should think carefully before leaving about what would happen if they ever wanted to come back.

"The more restrictive the policy, the more permanent the migration", says Hein de Haas, researcher on international migration at Oxford University. "I stand up for the existence of temporary migration, and the possibility for migrants to come back to the country later. If you don't allow that, then you practically force migrants to settle. The higher the obstacles, the higher the investment, the less people will want to go back."

Temporary migration

After decades, there is finally serious discussion again in the Netherlands about a concrete policy on temporary migration. Last year, the policy document Migration and Development was published, and this spring the Advisory Committee on Migration Affairs published its advice on temporary labour migration. In the period 2015-2035 a structural shortage is expected in the Dutch labour market. Temporary migration can be useful as a “supplementary instrument” according to the Committee. But this advice hardly figures in the minister’s policy.

Illegality

The objections to temporary migration are partly fed by concerns that the temporary migrants won’t go home and will disappear from view as illegal immigrants. But the experience with temporary migration in other countries suggests otherwise. Melissa Siegel, researcher on migration at the University of Maastricht, cites Spain and Canada as two countries which have experimented with temporary labour migration. The possibility of being able to come back to the host country for a further term after the end of a contract is the key to success. In other words, the option of re-immigration.

A policy that makes labour migration possible and attractive also lessens the enforced choice for illegality. Melissa Siegel is positive about that:

"We see it more and more; the more you try to control people, the more problems you have. The best way of keeping people illegally in the country is to close the door to migrants. So long as you give people the right to go in and out of the country legally, people will go of their own accord."

False picture

For decades the Netherlands experienced an immigration trauma that had its roots in an unsuccessful experiment with the temporary migration of guest workers in the 1960s and 1970s. The picture was painted that a great deal of the guest workers settled permanently in the Netherlands following the oil crisis of 1973.

Rinus Penninx, Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of Amsterdam, modifies that picture. Until 1973, many temporary guest workers shuttled between the Netherlands and their country of origin. After 1973, nine out of ten migrants went back. Of those who remained, many were indeed Turks and Moroccans: they chose the protection of a prosperous country above going home.

Motivation

Many migrants, especially the young, motivated males who crowd around the gates of Europe, want to earn money here in order to later on build a life in their country of origin, emphasizes Melissa Siegel.

Minister Van der Laan’s tough immigration policy, and the obligation for migrants to "choose" the Netherlands, therefore hinders an effective policy for temporary migration. That will do nothing to help Dutch society as it faces the prospect of a serious shortage of labour in the near future.

Laurens Nijzink and Johan Huizinga, Radio Netherlands

Related Article:

Dutch MPs want immigrants to learn national anthem

Dutch MPs want immigrants to learn national anthem

Expatica.com, 02/12/2009

A majority of MPs want immigrants following the compulsory integration course to learn at least part of the Dutch national anthem.

The Hague – A majority of MPs voted Tuesday for the Dutch national anthem, Wilhelmus, to be taught as part of the compulsory integration course for immigrants to the Netherlands, reported Trouw.

The motion, tabled by SGP MP Cees van der Staaij, had asked the Dutch integration minister to include the Dutch national anthem as one of the final objectives of the integration test.

The proposal was well-received by Integration Minister Eberhard van der Laan who added while immigrants do not have to know all 15 verses of the national anthem, it is important that they know part of it.

Van der Laan’s view is supported by most MPs.

“Most native Dutch won’t know all 15 verses, “admitted van der Staaij.

The move was opposed by the democrat party D66 who described it as a forced attempt to forge a Dutch identity.

"There are multiple identities, old and new. We want to seek connections to new Dutch people via core values such as democracy, justice, civil rights and freedom. We see our identity as European. We don't need the Wilhelmus to bind society together," said a spokesperson for D66.

What expats feel

The news has prompted a flurry of mixed responses among expats living in the Netherlands.

Dian Irawati, an expat who has lived in the Netherlands for over five years and have followed an integration course was unfazed by the announcement.

“I don't understand the fuss about making it compulsory. During my integration course, Wilhelmus was one of the materials that we learnt. I remembered thinking it was weird that "den Koning van Hispanje heb ik altijd geëerd" (The king of Spain, I have always honoured) was mentioned in the anthem).

“Since the intention of integration course is to prepare a new immigrant to life in the Netherlands and also those who would want to be a Dutch citizen, then why not?”

The 31-year-old from Indonesia said a quiz on Wilhelmus lyrics may even be better than some “silly questions on ‘vague’ Dutch society values” as it is based on history and facts.

Student Maggie Hulsebos who was born to a Dutch father and a Swazi mother agreed that it is a fair request.

“If people want to be a part of the Netherlands, learning the national anthem is acceptable. The national anthem is a part of a country’s history and should be taught to new immigrants looking to settle here, even though it will just be general knowledge that won't be used later on.”

Expressing dismay at the new regulation is Malaysian expat Denise Chua -van de Hoek.

“I think this is just one of the many ways the Dutch government is "welcoming" foreigners to this country. I do not understand why they are making the integration course increasing more rigid.”

Chua –van de Hoek went on to question what the new regulation spells for native Dutch who do not know the national anthem: “I am sure some native Dutch do not know their national anthem that well. Does that mean they have to go through the integration course too?”

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