AMSTERDAM - The Netherlands is facing the daunting task of integrating a massive number of people not only of different religious and sociological backgrounds, but also of different histories.

Lily Spranglers, director of the "Turkije Instituut," an independent organization that provides a Dutch perspective on various aspects of Turkey, underlined that the record of the Netherlands for tolerance and openness to change is somewhat shaky nowadays.

"The difficulty that the people coming from the Anatolian heights to the Netherlands would face was of course obvious. We had a highly individual, modern, urban society, this is why many immigrants found it difficult to fit in if they stuck to the style they had lived for centuries," she said, speaking to a group of Turkish opinion makers at the institute headquarters in The Hague.

A columnist for the Netherlands daily Telegraf and a comedian of Turkish origin Funda Müjde emphasized that the Sept.11, 2001 attacks led to a wave of Islamophobia that only recently subsided. "The Netherlands received immigrants more easily until the 1980s. But when economic tides turned low, it was usually the least qualified and the foreigners who lost their jobs," Müjde said. For years Müjde, one of the 400,000 Dutch people of Turkish origin, has approached the problem from her own perspective, and runs a cabaret to satirize the "Dutch Dutch," the Dutch of different origins.

Mehmet Genco, a supermarket owner in Amsterdam whose story is an example of a successful immigrant, is a case in point on the economic level some managed to reach, with a background of a stunningly low level of cultural integration that has taken place over decades.

Genco’s parents had settled in the Netherlands in the 1960s, and he arrived in 1970. "The first thing I did was learn Dutch," said Genco, who runs a market that sells mostly Turkish food to a clientele of varied origins, by no means the only one of his kind. "Food sales are primarily run by Turks in the Netherlands, and then by the Moroccans," he said.

His wife Meliha said the city was not consistent with their cultural habits. "Here in Amsterdam, everything is free. You can buy everything from anywhere you want," she complained, referring to soft drugs available in "coffee shops."

More: http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/10566718.asp?gid=243

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Specially for those who can´t stand a bad word about their country: Criticizing your own country? Of course that´s possible! Being Dutch I don´t agree with everything ´my´ government does. So, read the article and shoot!

Gosh

I thought it was ´dyke´ when looked at first..

Have to admit, I thought that too - wondering why a Turkish newspaper was so interested in the Netherlands....

Did you not go and see Offa´s Dyke when you went to Wales??  Just unfortunate the same spelling is used to describe a woman who bats for the other side

 Do they have dykes on dykes there too?

an interesting article. i wonder how far the netherlands will ride on openness and all-tollerance?

 Don´t know but the newest street here in Rotterdam is named ´Kasbah Street´ in the ´Moroccon´ (design) area ´Le medi´.....

 awww, should quickly visit your country until its still dutch any guarantee for few years? cant afford it now

maybe bed amerikans should send me some cash to support me trip?

We will start a special fund for you femme...everytime your post gets deleted all members have to donate a dollar.  I´m sure you will be booking a flight in no time...  Heck, I may even go with you...if that´s the case.

 offf you finally posted something good and useful

a dollar is no a deal, 5 dollars will make a good deal. i cant wait ages to work on my posts to get deleted to collect enough cash for inter-european flights (as you know they are quite expensive), because i may be too late to see the remains of dutch.

pls, pay in the first fee for the posts deleted in december. thank you, God bless