Home-Abroad-A-Profile-of-the-Dutch-Diaspora-in-New-Zealand PDF
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! ! ! ! HOME!ABROAD! A"Profile"of"the"Dutch"Diaspora"in"New"Zealand" " " " " " " " " New"Zealand7Netherlands"Foundation" Wellington" 2014" " " ! Table&of&Content& ! ! 1! Foreword! 3! ! Boudewijn!(Boyd)!Klap,!CNZM,!QSO! ! 2! Speech!at!Conference!on!Dutch!Diaspora!in!Australia!and!New!Zealand!! 5! ! Arie!van!der!Wiel! ! 3! The!Dutch!in!New!Zealand:!Past,!Present!and!Future! 7! ! Professor!Jacques!Poot! ! 4! Second!and!Third!Generation!Dutch!in!New!Zealand:!A!Theoretical!Framework! 19! ! Dr!Tanja!SchubertIMcArthur! ! 5! Second!and!Third!Generation!Dutch!in!New!Zealand:!Research!Findings! 29! ! Dr!Tanja!SchubertIMcArthur! ! 6! Dutch!Diaspora!and!Citizenship! 38! ! Arie!van!der!Wiel! ! 7! Dutch!Societies!in!New!Zealand! 65! ! Arie!van!der!Wiel!and!Christine!Hofkens! ! 8! Recent!Migration!to!New!Zealand!from!the!Netherlands! 77! ! Paul!Merwood!and!Jelle!Hatenboer! ! 9! Clogs!and!Tulips:!A!Qualitative!Research!Study!on!Attitudes!and!Behaviours!! 85! ! of!Second!and!Third!Generation!New!Zealanders!of!Dutch!Descent! ! Theo!Muller! ! 10! Outcomes!round!table!discussions!at!Conference!on!Dutch!Diaspora!in!Australia!! 90! ! and!New!Zealand! ! 11! Biographies!of!the!contributors! 93! ! & ! ! 1& Foreword&& ! It!is!a!real!privilege!for!me!to!write!the!foreword!to!this!book!which!searches!the!hearts!and! minds!of!the!second!and!third!generation!Dutch!in!New!Zealand.!! ! As!a!Dutch!migrant!to!New!Zealand!in!the!1950s,!I!have!experienced!at!first!hand!the!values!and! characteristics!that!the!Dutch!brought!to!their!newly!adopted!homeland:!these!are!a!strong! independent!spirit,!selfZdiscipline,!inbuilt!creativity!and!hard!work.!While!much!has!been!written! about!the!lives!of!the!first!generation!Dutch!in!New!Zealand,!far!less!is!known!about!their!offZ spring,!the!second!and!third!generation.!In!fact,!we!know!so!little!about!them!that!the!term! ‘Invisible!Dutch’!is!often!used!to!describe!them.! ! The!origins!of!this!book!came!from!a!oneZday!Dutch!Diaspora!Conference!in!Melbourne!on!15! November!2013.!The!Embassies!of!the!Kingdom!of!the!Netherlands!in!Australia!and!New! Zealand! had! organised! a! seminar! with! academics! from! Australia,! New! Zealand! and! the! Netherlands,!as!well!as!representatives!of!Dutch!migrant!organisations!‘Down!Under’.!They! considered!the!past,!present!and!future!of!the!Dutch!diaspora!in!both!countries.!In!their!opening! addresses,!both!Ambassadors!Annemieke!Ruigrok!(Australia)!and!Arie!van!der!Wiel!(New! Zealand)!expressed!their!wish!to!better!understand!the!opportunities!that!the!next!generation! has!to!offer!to!strengthen!the!cultural,!political!and!economic!ties!between!the!Netherlands,! and!Australia!and!New!Zealand.! ! The!main!objective!of!the!initiative!was!to!develop!a!joint!strategy!aimed!at!how!best!to!keep! the!Dutch!heritage!alive!in!Australia!and!New!Zealand.!This!heritage!is!built!on!a!long!history! but!also!on!very!strong!people!to!people!linkages!that!immigrants!have!with!their!birth! countries.!The!conference!was!seen!as!a!start!to!discuss!the!findings!of!two!pilot!studies!carried! out!in!Australia!and!New!Zealand!among!next!generation!Dutch!migrants,!and!to!look!into!the! possibilities!of!a!broader!followZup!in!the!future.! ! This!book!brings!together!the!results!of!the!New!Zealand!part!of!the!research!program,!initiated! by!the!New!ZealandZNetherlands!Foundation.!For!many!years!the!Foundation’s!focus!has!been! on!a!stronger!engagement!with!the!second!and!third!generation!Dutch!migrants!in!its!activities.! ! The!reasons!for!targeting!the!next!generation!are!evident:!because!of!their!numbers,!they!give! the!Dutch!diaspora!a!special!position!in!New!Zealand.!Although!there!are!no!official!statistics,! Dr!Suzan!van!der!Pas!and!Prof!Jacques!Poot!estimate!that!there!are!around!100,000!second!and! third!generation!Dutch!migrants!in!New!Zealand.!But!who!are!they!and!what!remains!of!their! ‘Dutch!Touch’?!Although!we!have!integrated!very!well,!we!still!keep!to!a!certain!extent!our!own! identity,!in!particular!when!it!comes!to!frankness.!Or!as!is!sometimes!said:!the!Dutch!are!too! honest!to!be!polite;!the!Kiwis!are!too!polite!to!be!honest.! ! This!study!will!help!us!get!a!better!understanding!of!the!next!generations!of!Dutch!in!New! Zealand.!It!also!shows!us!growing!diversity!between!the!second!and!third!generation!Dutch.! Instead!of!one!Dutch!Kiwi!identity,!the!research!of!Dr!Tanja!Schubert!found!a!whole!spectrum!of! identities!that!ranges!from!feeling!‘very!Dutch’!to!‘not!Dutch!at!all’.!! ! Although!in!many!ways!the!profile!of!the!Dutch!diaspora!in!New!Zealand!and!Australia!show! great!similarities,!the!findings!of!this!study!indicate!that!there!are!also!significant!differences!in! their!Dutch!identity.!The!citizenship!study!by!Ambassador!Arie!van!der!Wiel!revealed!that!in! New!Zealand!the!majority!(60%)!of!the!first!generation!migrants!kept!their!Dutch!nationality,! whereas!in!Australia!most!(80%)!changed!citizenship.!It!is!not!entirely!clear!what!caused!this! distinction,!i.e.!differences!in!economic!opportunities,!assimilation!policies!or!legal!issues.! Encouraging!is!that!the!number!of!Dutch!passport!holders!is!still!growing!according!to!a!survey! by!the!embassy,!mainly!due!to!New!Zealand!born!applicants.!The!great!majority!of!them!is!dual! national.!As!they!graduallly!will!become!the!backbone!of!the!future!linkage!between!between! _________________________________________________________________________! !HOME!ABROAD! ! !3!! A!Profile!of!the!Dutch!Diaspora!in!New!Zealand! our!two!countries!we!need!to!develop!a!strategy!around!this!target!group:!the!next!generation! Dutch!dual!citizens!in!New!Zealand.! ! The!study!also!touches!upon!the!recent!migration!to!New!Zealand!from!the!Netherlands!in!the! chapter!written!by!Paul!Merwood.!Those!who!arrived!since!the!1990s!have!remained!much! more!Dutch!than!the!first!wave!of!migrants.!Most!of!them!intend!to!return!home!and!therefore! keep!in!close!contact!with!their!birth!country.!It!was!fascinating!to!see!that,!whereas!the!results! from!the!pilots!were!almost!the!same,!the!actions!suggested!from!the!research!were!quite! different.!In!Australia,!they!want!to!focus!more!on!the!new!generation!migrants,!while!in!New! Zealand!the!focus!is!primarily!on!the!second!and!third!generation.! ! Finally,!I!would!like!to!briefly!highlight!a!few!recommendations!from!the!working!groups.!In!first! place! the! issue! of! dual! identity! raised! by! Prof! Lydia! Wevers:! a! large! number! of! Dutch! descendants!still!have!strong!emotional!ties!to!their!Dutch!identity.!Many!have!lost!that!identity! officially!when!they!naturalised,!because!of!the!very!restrictive!Dutch!policy!on!dual!nationality.! The!study!shows!a!growing!interest!among!second!and!third!generation!migrants!to!obtain! Dutch!citizenship.!Secondly,!there!is!the!lack!of!interest!by!the!Dutch!government!in!supporting! cultural!organisations!in!emigration!countries.!An!institute!that!facilitates!Dutch!culture!similar! to!the!British!Council!could!contribute!to!a!stronger!Dutch!identity.!The!establishment!of!an! Erasmus!centre!in!the!traditional!emigration!countries!should!be!considered!by!the!Dutch! government.!And!thirdly,!there!needs!to!be!a!more!active!promotion!of!student!exchanges! focused!particularly!on!the!second!and!third!generation.!Traditionally,!students!from!Down! Under!go!to!the!UK.!A!more!active!policy!on!working!holiday!schemes!and!internships!in!the! Netherlands!may!change!this!trend.!And!on!a!more!personal!note,!but!also!supported!by!the! chapter!on!Dutch!societies,!there!is!a!strong!desire!for!more!cohesion!among!the!Dutch! organisations!in!New!Zealand.!To!attract!the!interest!of!the!second!and!third!generation!–! especially!those!with!dual!nationality!–!a!new!institutional!approach!is!needed:!less!focused!on! the!traditional!clogs!and!tulips!and!more!on!the!modern!and!contemporary!Dutch!culture.! ! Many!people!have!contributed!to!this!book!in!the!form!of!support,!information!sharing!and! providing!ideas.!!I!would!like!to!mention!here!a!few!people!in!particular.!Prof!Leo!van!Wissen!of! the!Netherlands!Interdisciplinary!Demographic!Institute!(NIDI).!NIDI!has!become!the!caretaker! of!this!research!initiative!on!next!generation!Dutch!diaspora!together!with!the!two!Netherlands! embassies!in!Australia!and!New!Zealand.!!A!special!word!of!thanks!goes!to!the!Chair!of!the! conference,!Prof!Loretta!Baldassar!(University!of!Western!Australia)!and!Femke!Withag,!of!the! Dutch!embassy!in!Canberra.!Femke,!as!coordinator,!became!the!‘mother’!of!the!success!of!this! Dutch!Diaspora!Conference!in!Melbourne.!!And!last!but!not!least!Thomas!Kleine!Schaars,!who! was!immensely!helpful!with!editing!the!final!manuscript.! ! I!am!sure!this!book!will!contribute!to!the!debate!about!the!possibilities!and!challenges!for! retaining!Dutch!heritage!in!New!Zealand.! ! ! Boudewijn!(Boyd)!Klap,!CNZM,!QSO! Founder!President!of!the!New!ZealandINetherlands!Foundation! & & _________________________________________________________________________! !HOME!ABROAD! ! !4!! A!Profile!of!the!Dutch!Diaspora!in!New!Zealand! 2& &Speech&at&Conference&on&Dutch&Diaspora&in&Australia&and& New&Zealand&–&November&15,&2013& Arie!van!der!Wiel! ! New!Zealand!Dutch!migrant!history!shows!great!similarities!with!the!Australian!story.!Also!New! Zealand!saw!a!large!influx!of!Dutch!after!the!Second!World!War!as!around!20,000!settled!here! between!1950!and!1960.!We!estimate!that!the!total!number!of!people!of!Dutch!descent!is! currently!almost!120,000!–!one!quarter!of!whom!still!have!Dutch!or!dual!nationality.! With! such! a! large! community! you! would! expect! a! strong! visibility! of! the! Dutch! culture.! However,!as!a!migrant!community!they!integrated!so!well!that!they!are!often!referred!to!as!the! invisible!Dutch;!and!many!seem!to!have!lost!their!identity.!We!would!love!to!see!the!community! become!more!visible.!Obviously!not!to!reverse!the!integration!process!but!to!strengthen!our! cultural,!economic!and!political!ties.! Let!me!suggest!some!challenges!and!opportunities!as!food!for!thought!for!the!discussion!today.! Some!may!be!a!bit!provocative.!! Why!did!these!Dutch!integrate!so!well?!I!would!like!to!share!with!you!four!possible!explanations.! Two!are!closely!linked!to!the!Dutch!culture!and!tradition!and!two!related!to!the!host!country’s! policy!and!environment.! I!will!start!on!the!Dutch!side.!Has!the!strong!integration!something!to!do!with!the!Dutch! character!and!psyche?!The!Dutch!are!said!to!be!highly!individualistic.!Going!it!alone!is!held!in! high!esteem.!Unlike!many!other!ethnic!groups,!the!Dutch!do!not!form!a!closeZknit!community.! Calvinism!probably!lies!at!the!root!of!this.!Although!true!Calvinism!nowadays!encompasses!less! than!10%!of!the!population,!its!related!value!lingers!on.!It!is!therefore!sometimes!said!about!the! Dutch!that!one!third!is!Protestant!type!Calvinist,!one!third!is!Catholic!type!Calvinist,!and!one! third!has!no!religion!type!Calvinist.!! The!easy!integration!may!also!be!caused!by!the!fact!that!they!do!not!have!a!high!profile!and! therefore!a!less!visible!national!identity.!Take,!for!instance,!the!Dutch!kitchen.!Dutch!food!is!not! very!appealing!to!foreigners.!The!Dutch!are!known!for!mashing!all!their!food.!This!is!why!you! will!find!hardly!any!Dutch!restaurants!abroad,!yet!many!Asian,!Italian!and!Greek!restaurants.! But!there!are!plenty!of!Dutch!food!shops!where!you!can!buy!your!ingredients!for!home!cooking.! Queen!Maxima!(then!still!Princess)!also!referred!to!the!national!identity!crisis!some!years!ago.!It! caused!a!heated!debate!in!the!Netherlands.!So!the!extent!to!which!we!lack,!or!lost,!our!identity! is!definitely!not!felt!by!everybody!in!the!same!way.! On!the!host!side!I!would!like!to!mention!two!other!possible!reasons!for!the!loss!of!visibility.!The! successful!integration!may!be!to!a!large!extent!the!result!of!New!Zealand’s!and!Australia’s! assimilation! policy.! For! example,! New! Zealand’s! policy! of! scattering! new! immigrants! throughout!the!country!–!also!known!as!the!pepper!potting!approach.!This!was!to!avoid! clustering!of!ethnic!migrant!groups.!From!all!the!different!groups,!the!Dutch!have!spread! themselves!most!widely!in!New!Zealand.!Furthermore,!the!great!majority!of!the!male!migrants! married!nonZDutch!women.!The!assimilation!policy!also!led!to!many!Dutch!immigrants!not! speaking!their!language!at!home,!whereas!many!other!immigrant!groups!continued!speaking! their!languages!at!home.! Secondly,!the!successful!integration!may!have!been!helped!by!the!fact!that!going!to!a!country! with!a!Western!outlook!was!easier!than!settling!in!a!country!with!a!completely!different!culture.! However,!the!Anglo!culture!that!dominated!Down!Under!was!not!always!friendly!towards!the! Dutch.!Some!of!the!first!wave!of!Dutch!immigrants!were!criticised!for!working!too!hard!and! were!told!to!slow!down!in!the!workplace.!! Most!likely!the!truth!is!a!combination!of!these!factors.!But!it!is!striking!that!the!integration! process!shows!great!differences,!both!between!the!various!ethnic!groups!and!within!the!Dutch! community!itself.! _________________________________________________________________________! !HOME!ABROAD! ! !5!! A!Profile!of!the!Dutch!Diaspora!in!New!Zealand! A!minority!of!Dutch!protested!against!the!assimilation!process!by!starting!clubs!to!speak!Dutch,! play!Dutch!card!games,!sing!Dutch!folk!songs!and!celebrate!Dutch!national!festivals.!But!less! than!30%!became!member.!These!days,!club!membership!is!so!low!that!these!institutions!are! hardly!sustainable.! In!the!second!part!of!my!presentation!I!would!like!to!focus!on!three!areas!where!we!may!find! opportunities!to!strengthen!Dutch!identity.! The!first!is!the!strong!‘Dutchness’!among!new!migrants.!Today’s!Dutch!migrants!are!highly! educated,!often!coming!with!their!families!for!a!few!years!of!adventure!in!New!Zealand’s!open! spaces.!They!often!maintain!close!links!with!the!Netherlands!and!speak!Dutch!at!home.! Whereas!return!migration!under!the!first!wave!of!migrants!was!low,!around!one!third,!under!the! new!wave!it!is!significantly!higher,!with!two!thirds!or!more.!That!is!the!reason!the!latter!group!is! often!referred!to!as!transnational!migrants.!These!new!migrants!could!be!an!interesting!group! to!assist!in!developing!a!strategy!on!how!to!strengthen!Dutch!identity!Down!Under.! Secondly,!my!hope!rests!also!a!little!bit!with!the!third!generation!Dutch.!Let!me!explain.!One! has!to!keep!in!mind!that!assimilation!is!not!a!simple!linear!progression,!but!one!that!moves!back! and!forth!across!the!generations.!Or!as!a!historian!wrote!about!the!migration!process:!‘what!the! son!wishes!to!forget!the!grandson!wishes!to!remember’.!And!in!interviews!in!New!Zealand! during!the!pilot!study,!first!generation!migrants!indicated!that!(surprisingly)!their!grandchildren! seemed!suddenly!more!interested!in!their!Dutch!roots.! Finally,!this!shift!by!the!third!generation!and!the!sustaining!of!their!own!identity!by!the!new! migrants!may!also!be!the!result!of!greater!acceptance!of!multiculturalism!in!New!Zealand! compared!to!the!strong!focus!on!assimilation!in!the!early!period!of!settlement.!New!Zealand! has!become!ethnically!much!more!diverse,!particularly!through!the!large!inflow!of!Asians.! Multiculturalism!has!become!an!important!element!in!New!Zealand’s!nationZbuilding.!I’m!not! saying!that!this!goes!without!resistance.!In!Europe!we!experience!a!kind!of!reversed!reflection! of!this!process!and!speak!about!the!failure!of!multiculturalism!with!emphasis!on!a!stronger! integration!of!migrant!communities.! Allow!me!to!make!a!final!remark!about!the!term!‘diaspora’!used!in!the!title!for!this!conference.! The!concept!diaspora,!as!Stephen!Castles!writes!in!his!book!The!Age!of!Migration,!goes!back!to! ancient!times!and!was!used!for!people!displaced!or!dispersed!by!force.!In!migration!literature!a! number!of!common!cultural!traits!are!linked!to!the!term!diaspora.!For!example,!collective! memory!about!the!homeland,!idealisation!of!the!ancestral!home,!development!of!return! movement,!strong!ethnic!group!consciousness,!troubled!relationship!with!the!host!society!and! solidarity!with!coZethnic!members!in!other!countries!of!settlement.!! In!conclusion,!the!key!question!we!raise!at!this!conference!is!to!what!extent!we!can!speak!of!a! Dutch!diaspora!Down!Under.!In!particular,!what!is!the!meaning!of!Dutch!heritage!for!the!second! and!third!generation!Dutch!migrants?!Are!they!still!interested!in!Dutch!culture!and!tradition?! And!finally,!what!initiatives!could!be!undertaken!by!our!two!missions!to!strengthen!Dutch! identity!in!New!Zealand!and!Australia?!! May!I!wish!you!all!successful!deliberations.!I!am!sure!this!conference!will!be!of!great!help!on!how! to!keep!in!touch!with!the!Dutch!in!Australia!and!New!Zealand.& & _________________________________________________________________________! !HOME!ABROAD! ! !6!! A!Profile!of!the!Dutch!Diaspora!in!New!Zealand!
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