Since it's not possible to deport all non-Dutch and close the Dutch borders, we might as learn to live with one another.

By Q | January 2, 2008 10:04 AM

Dear Q

It is not possible that as long as there is imbalance in terms economies in the world you will never stop immigration.Furthermore,the immigrants are not simple man in terms of intelligence.Bob Marley said in one of his songs that what they teach us is what they think we know.

By College Maphosa | January 2, 2008 12:03 PM

Tolerance yes, but there must be a limit to asylum seekers when this country is too full.

This is a tiny country, where do you want to put all these immigrants that you want to help but have no place for them to live?

How about America or Canada?

And those who commit crimes, what to do with them?

By Sandra | January 2, 2008 1:27 PM

Sandra obviously knows nothing of world events. The United States has more illegal aliens than the entire population of The Netherlands.

Besides, suggesting alternate countries for people to go is not the answer. The solution is to teach countries to become responsible and self-supporting.

Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime. What you're suggesting is simply making it someone else's problem.

By Tim | January 2, 2008 2:27 PM

I think the expansion of the EU and its open border policy created this beast, this totally unexpected surge of unskilled migrants with no sign of bending. It’s something that Brussels policy makers did not anticipate or if
they did, they planned very poorly for the event. Never in peacetime do we withness a wholesale movements of people throughout Europe and it’s the West who will take the brunt of this mass migration overwhelming their welfare system, housing, health care, and law enforcement. Big challenges ahead with no easy answers. The integration of the EU as one socio-economic entity was a great idea but it looks to me like it’s having some undesirable effects. But politicians being politicians are short sighted and they will grow and learn. Now they have to implement a stop-gap solution to a very difficult problem. And to fuel the fire, it’s already turning into a racial issue or at least we are seeing the beginnings of it. Soon there will be this culture of “us” and “them” and when that happens, hell will really gonna break lose. Is tolerance the answer? We like to think so but it's easier said than done.

By Carlos Borjal | January 2, 2008 9:23 PM

"First we had the tendency to turn a blind eye too much."....The tendency to turn a "blind eye too much" is the reason why Geert Wilders and his party exist today. Wilders' anti-immigration sentiments are a balance to the liberal immigration policies. Individuals, such as Wilders, are a necessary force in politics; otherwise, there wouldn't be a Dutch culture. The liberals are the ones without tolerance. They label anyone who fails to follow their liberal views as intolerant and indifferent. The Dutch need to be thankful they have individuals like Geert Wilders. He is a beacon of hope for individuals with the desire to keep the Netherlands as a Dutch culture.

By Hiram | January 3, 2008 7:03 AM

Wilders' wife is Hungarian. If he indeed wants to keep the NL Dutch, shouldn't he marry a Dutch woman? His secretary also has a Swiss passport. He allowed a Swiss national to steal the job of his fellow Limburgers and whine ceaseless about Polish workers here.

By Q | January 3, 2008 9:53 AM

Unlike the USA, the Netherlands is not truly a country of immigrants. This wave of uncontrolled new arrivals coming from everywhere is something of a new phenomenon, sort of like a cultural shock to the local population.

As we can see by the reaction of politicians like Mr. Wilder, it's actually a cry of frustration and fear. It's the horror of losing ones national identity and the Dutch culture that makes people edgy and insecure.

This is the penalty for being a successful country with good government and sound economy, everybody wants to go there and be part of the promised land.

But unfortunately, with all the country's economic success, it can only handle so much carrying capacity. When you exceed a certain limit the whole system breaks down and who pays the ultimate price? Not the migrants, it's the Dutch.

By Carlos Borjal | January 4, 2008 2:55 AM

@Q: That is rediculous. Extrapolating your logic, all appeasers should marry muslims, which is impossible unless they become "muslims" themselves, and they don't. Further they should live nextdoors to the few remaining natives in the muslim-ghetto's and send their kids to a school there.

They do the opposite though, like Socialist Finance minister Bos and former Green Left leader Rosemoller: they move to a "white" area to stay clear from immigrants.

What is not mentioned in the article about the "appeal" here (but says a lot about its supporters) is that Doekle Terpstra, the Unilever commissioner behind this call for dhimmitude, only accepted whites on this (anti-Wilders) list. "For PR purposes," he said.

Maybe people like him and those supporting him are a bigger threat to society than muslim immigrants.

By Vincent | January 4, 2008 4:34 AM