1 week Ago
Racism is a serious problem in the Netherlands, and Uitermark stressed this. She admitted, however, that in 2023, one in ten people felt discriminated against, according to official data. Among the most common types were race, nationality, and gender discrimination.
“One study found that 29% of civil servants with a migrant background experienced racism,” Uitermark said.
She also alluded to the fallout of the childcare benefits scandal whereby tens of thousands of parents — mostly dual nationals — were falsely accused of fraud, acknowledging that the government had been complicit in racist policies.
New 10-Point Manifesto Against Discrimination
In addition to this initiative, Rabin Baldewsingh, the national coordinator for discrimination and racism, has introduced a 10-point manifesto.
This is an election manifesto piece addressed to the political parties that has three focuses – it calls to end exclusion in public services, housing, and the Caribbean, defends the rights of young people, and is a manifest piece as part of our ELECTION PACK.
Reading from a prepared speech, King Willem-Alexander said he would reprise the constitutional vow of equality shortly after holding a meeting for visiting US President Donald Trump. “We should all feel safe and be free,” he said.
“Inclusion is not something that will fit in the suitcase of 18.1 million people in the Netherlands, it’s an ongoing process and it involves everybody,” Baldewsingh said. “Diversity and inclusion — they’re bandied about but they are rarely ever accomplished,” he said. “We must hear the voices of those who have been ignored for far too long.”
Research Findings on the Visibility Gap for Asian Communities
In a March study, researchers at Utrecht University and the Pan Asian Collective shared results showing that just 0.57% of articles published over 14 years in popular Dutch newspapers were about Asia or Asian people.
The vast majority were international stories, and domestic coverage was dominated by stories about food, COVID-19, or crime.
According to Dr. Dennis Nguyen, “Asian communities in the Netherlands are still very much in the shadow.
These sorts of public brawls “play us off against one another,” Dr. Diantha Vliet said, as we fall back on stereotypes, confirming that Dutch tolerance is “a slogan, not a condition of life.”
The conference also discussed topics such as AI bias, pregnancy bias, accessibility for people with disabilities, and healthcare inequality for black citizens — all of which indicated a broad national effort to fight structural discrimination on multiple levels.
