And if were italian, or Greek immigrants living in the Netherlands none of these same MPS barking in parliament would put up a fuss that they give up their Italian or Greek identity which is totally different then the Netherlands. Hypocrites.

By Sandra | February 15, 2008 2:19 PM

The Netherlands should encourage an active role from the Moroccan government in keeping in touch wth its migrant community and Dutch MPs should concentrate on real integration of Moroccan imigrants rather than knee jerk reactions aimed at creating a show and dicersio to satisfy intolerant traches within its native and aborigene population.

Instead of complaining the Dutch government should seriously work on the integration of its Moroccan community. Where are Dtuch Moroccan professionals in Banks, Businesses and where are Dutch Moroccan officer in the military, police ????

The burden of proof is on the culture that created Appartheid. It is big time the Netrherlands learns from its wiser countries such as the UK, US or even France on how to integrate its Moroccan immigrants.

Teaching Arabic to immigrants if anything helps the Netherlands to build bridges with other cultures and does not threaten anyone in any way, shape or form

By John Lecercle | February 16, 2008 1:09 PM

Sandra & John I'm with you guys! The Nederlands are terrible hypocrites ..goverment and dutch society has to get there head round to help and not to be racist towards the moroccan people!

Who asked them in the first place to come to NL to work cheaply in the 70'this people will not go back over night !!
I have spoken to lots a moroccan woman and they feel so unwelcome in NL so they avoid dutch people and stick only to there own nationals I would do the same.

Perhaps the goverment should try some projects to bring dutch and foreigners more together ...multi culture festivals not only in big citys ..or a place where people can present there country with infos how they live what they eat and so one ...

There is much more to do and to offer and not only shouting at the immigrants and other EU citizen I allways hope that the dutch are better treated inforeign countrys or perhaps they all should experience what we have to experience in NL??

By Minnie | February 17, 2008 9:30 AM

Minnie, don't worry, the whole world is onto this country, its racism. the world is catching on to the Netherlands and Denmark who are the culprits of ultra right-wing extremism and the spread of Islamophobia, anti foreign hatred.

How they make language integration and culture integration as a punishment instead of helping by making it so expensive and so difficult that it is obvious that they have never had the intention of anyone passing their impossible tests, and if an immigrant does pass their tests, they change the laws to make it all the more difficult the next year.

Sooner or later, there will be a world wide boycott against the Netherlands, Denmark and other European countries that choose to behave in this hateful way. The non Eu immigrant laws are inhumane.

Europe will suffer in the future by have severe consequences because nobody will ever trust Europe again. You think that Europe had learned after world war 2, but it has not changed one bit!

By Sandra | February 18, 2008 8:27 AM

Recently during an event in Cologne, Germany, minister president Erdogan of Turkey went as far as to say to the mostly Turkish audience 'assimilation is a crime against humanity'.

How can the host states accommodate for a cohabitat when immigrants traditions are in direct violation of constitutional rights and laws? Arrangement of marriages without consent of one of the partners, killings for honour, strong paternalistic structures with negation of women's rights et cetera do converge hardly with values we developped in Europe.

I do believe that on this globe, you hardly find a more tolerant ground for multi-cultural cohabitat then in Europe, where different religions, foreign music, fashion, food, cultural events, you name it, are more then welcome.

But, at the core, common values are needed to maintain integrity of society and the state. Assimilation means nothing else then to accept and live those core values, and the Netherlands enable this as good as the other European countries in my view.

How much tolerance does Turkey showed in the last years with the Kurdish ethnic group accepting their difference in culture?

Those statements from Turkey or Morocco leave finally the smell of misusing emigrants as political instruments in a game for achieving benefits from Europe.

By Mike | February 18, 2008 4:21 PM

I use to think just like you Mike, and then after Theo van Gough was murdered by a radical who WAS BORN in the Netherlands, whom was also very well integrated - The Netherlands has changed since this and has even turned against Westerners outside of the EU, making family reunification and formation impossible for even Westerners that marry a Dutch partner.

By Sandra | February 21, 2008 11:07 AM

whenever i thought about netherlands law on immigrant tht remind me of south africa ,when you cant have a white partner.Appartheid in netherland

By nelly | May 12, 2009 10:02 PM