Why leave? Reason #7: The Dutch society

The Dutch society is one of the main reasons for us to search for a better place. But what is better? Well we don’t ask for much. Just treat other with respect and be friendly to one another.

We have to say that there are nice, warm and good people in the Netherlands. We are very happy that we can call them our friends.

Then there is a group of people who are ‘just oke’. It is nice to celebrate Kingsday (former Queensday) and watch soccergames together (which is by the way a very long time ago since our national team is not what it used to be, but oke), but on other days they are individualistic and doing their own thing.

However there are many people who just want to take advantage of others. Then there are people who get irritated very fast and they can act agressive for literally nothing. Sometimes even when you say goodmorning to a stranger. It is the weirdest thing. Then there are Dutch in their car… well that is not a pretty sighting: a bunch of higly irritated people who all wants to get to their destination as soon as possible. Some even believe, we guess, that the traffic rules do not apply to them at all and they don’t care that they put others in danger because of their actions.

We even didn’t started on the whole immigration discussion. Some people seem to think (and they show it pretty clear) that this country is their country and no one elses. If that person is a refugee from a country in war where it is inhuman to live? They don’t care and scream bloody murder and they want to send them back. We feel heartbroken when we hear stories like that. We don’t ask for the Dutch to accept all regufees. In our opinion there is a difference between political and economic refugees. There is a huge problem with a large stream of refugees, but is it so hard to make a little room for the people who have literally nowhere else to go? Right now it looks like nobody is welcome and that they try to send everyone back. We just want civilization where there is room for the ones in need. The last couple of years the Netherlands became an individualistic, cold (not only climate) and inhospitable country. That doesn’t fit us.

Is the South African society that much better? There are other problems which are not to pretty as well. However, people help each other if someone is in need and that is the base of a civil society.

Wiebe & Melanie