The paradox of the disappearing Dutchman

"This country isn't the same as it was. When I was at Rotterdam in 1967, things were very different." Just another of my father's late afternoon ramblings, but it interested me as to his exact meaning: "Everyone was very friendly, English was more prevalently spoken, and on the whole it was a lot more hospitable." Strangely, this wasn't the first time I had heard this. "I'm leaving the Netherlands and settling down in Italy after my retirement", says my housing agent. "I don't like it here anymore, people are not friendly. Just take the traffic here - everyone is bad mouthing and giving each other the finger."

Many make their way to the Netherlands every year to try and make a livelihood for themselves here. The majority of such immigrants aren't proficient in English, and don't need to be to work here. The obvious priority is to pick up the Dutch language and just cope with life here . and that in itself isn't easy. But the end result is a large influx of individuals who aren't as culturally 'open' as the basic Dutch were many years ago.

France, Russia and Australia are already having their fair share of problems with immigrant pockets. To hope that the societal climate here is so perfect that we are in no danger of its happening here is pure naivety. The blank column space in tribute to Theo van Gogh is but one harsh reminder.

No doubt, a balance has to be struck, by way of which the Netherlands gets to play to role of a good host and we immigrants also get to stay as good guests. Immigrants have a responsibility to positively contribute to the maintenance of a foreigner-friendly climate here. We must take the effort to realize that there are certain values the Dutch hold very close to their heart, and the freedom to express one's views, no matter how controversial, is but one of them. Consequently, we must make an effort to demonstrate our whole hearted support in the fostering of such values.

But this is by no means a one sided responsibility. The Dutch administration is yet to realize that the immigrant population is not monolithic and you can't have the same yard stick for all of them. By being insensitive to the need for sensible yet subjective guidelines to deal with immigrants, it's just a matter of time before a section of the population starts to feel that it's being dealt an unfair hand. Pim Fortuyn was short sighted in that he didn't really see the distinction between an unemployable refugee, and a highly skilled knowledge migrant. Unfortunately, not much has changed in regard of that biased attitude. The present administration has many issues it needs to sincerely address and get publicly accepted with regard to immigration. The most important issue would be to view immigration as a mutually beneficial relationship, and that it has contributed positively in shaping the Netherlands. If they don't, they are failing their nation.

Ramesh Chidambaram uit India was MSc-student micro-elektronica aan de TU Delft.