BROKEN GATES 'It just doesn't feel like Holland any more'

BROKEN GATES'It just doesn't feel like Holland any more' Troubled by the changes immigration has brought to their country, the van Ramhorst family is coming to Canada

ROTTERDAM -- To a visitor, the village of Nijkerk looks like a model of Dutch calm and order, its neat streets filled with cyclists and lined with tiny townhouses.

But to Bert van Ramshorst and his family, the town no longer feels like home. Its citizens now come in a variety of hues and hold a wide range of beliefs, some of them deeply at odds with the pacifism and expansive liberalism that has long characterized Dutch society.

"I've lived here, in this town, almost all of my life, and it just doesn't feel like Holland any more," the 42-year-old electrical contractor said, as he took a break from packing to sit with his wife and three young children in their narrow, cozy living room. "It doesn't feel like the place where I want to raise my family."

So the van Ramshorst family, troubled by the changes brought about by immigration, have decided to become immigrants themselves.

With their move to Vancouver this summer, they are joining an unprecedented number of people from the Netherlands who have decided, in recent months, to make a new home in what they see as the more comforting and less divisive Canada.

The sudden exodus to Canada has taken the Dutch government entirely by surprise.

During the past year, and especially during the past five months, the number of Dutch citizens applying to depart for faraway countries -- notably Canada, as well as New Zealand and Australia -- has increased to levels not seen in the tiny nation's modern history.

Most of those emigrants, according to the people who help them make their moves, are leaving because of their complex and surprising feelings about the changes to Dutch society brought about by immigration.

For some, the desire to leave is a response to the immigrants themselves, and what many people here view as their violent, divisive, non-Dutch ways.

But just as many Dutch immigrants seem to be alarmed that immigration has turned their countrymen into angry, intolerant nationalists.

In just about every country in Europe, immigration has become the most significant political issue, by far, in public opinion, media attention and parliamentary action. In Germany, France, Britain and Italy, immigrants have become the dominant election issue.

Faced with shrinking, aging populations and the attendant economic costs, most European countries are badly in need of immigrants. In some countries, this has led to culture shock.

The ethnic cleansing and mass migration of the two world wars left many European countries with one dominant ethnic group, so the presence of large numbers of visibly different people has alarmed and alienated many residents.

Nowhere is this being more strongly felt than in traditionally tolerant, open nations such as Britain and the Netherlands.

While both countries face severe labour shortages and therefore cannot give up on immigration, the public reaction to the demographic changes has been nothing short of fury.

In the campaign leading toward the May 5 national election in Britain, polls show that immigration is by far the most significant issue to voters of all classes and backgrounds -- outpacing by an enormous margin other hot topics such as crime and taxation.

Even the governing left-wing Labour Party has felt compelled to adopt the angry rhetoric of the anti-immigrant right, and has promised to cut back the number of refugees accepted (if not the number of immigrants).

In the Netherlands, the reaction has been equally heated. But there, people are voting with their feet.

"The entire society is changing and people are longing for the world of 20, 30 years ago -- some people believe they can only find that by leaving," says Frans Buysse, a former Canadian embassy employee who runs Holland's largest agency for people wishing to emigrate to Canada.

Mr. Buysse can pinpoint the precise moment when the Dutch outflow became a full-scale flood. On Nov. 2, the libertine filmmaker

Theo van Gogh was murdered in a bloody throat slitting by a Muslim extremist while cycling on an Amsterdam street. To outsiders, it seemed a strange, passing crime. But the Dutch responded, within their tight-knit community, the way some Americans did to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Suddenly, people were noticing immigrant crimes, and committing crimes against immigrants: December saw the firebombing of several mosques and Islamic schools.

During the next four weeks, Mr. Buysse received 13,000 on-line applications from people requesting information on moving to Canada -- more than four times the usual level. Since then, this increase hasn't stopped. And, he says, the thousands of people he has helped move to Canada during the past few years have mentioned either immigration, or intolerance resulting from immigration, as a reason for leaving.

"For certain people, Nov. 2 was a confirmation of their beliefs," he said. "As a society, we have always been very tolerant to people from other places -- for hundreds of years, this has been the case -- but we have become so tolerant that some groups are influencing society in such a way that it starts to become intolerant. People are fed up with this."

While Dutch emigrants cite numerous reasons for going to Canada, including job opportunities, a desire for adventure, and especially the wide-open spaces that are almost absent from the Netherlands, Mr. Buysse and other immigration workers say it is the tension over immigration that has pushed the emigrant numbers so high recently.

According to the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics, 49,000 people emigrated last year, the highest number since 1954 and a dramatic increase over approximately 30,000 in 1999.

But the statistics do not reveal the strange and often contradictory motives that are driving away thousands of citizens of the Netherlands, a country that has better standards of health care, education and social services and a lower crime rate than most Canadian cities.

The Dutch, a trading people, have had outsiders in their midst for centuries. And while the past two decades have seen a more open approach to immigration from non-European countries, something about this latest wave has deeply galvanized the country against immigration.

Some blame the Dutch policy of cultural segregation, where groups such as North African Muslims are allowed to attend their own schools and not encouraged to learn the local language or culture. Others blame the simple insularity of Dutch society, which forces newcomers into such enclaves, with little hope of wider acceptance.

For two computer technicians in Rotterdam, the problem has to do not with immigration itself, but with the Dutch response to it. In the view of Ge-An Van Rossum, 36, and her husband, Bas Rijniersce, 29, Canada is a place where the tension between immigrants and non-immigrants does not exist, because that distinction does not exist.

"Canadians are all immigrants," Mr. Rijniersce said from the austere living room of their flat in a funky corner of Rotterdam. "One or two generations back, they all emigrated from somewhere else. But here in the Netherlands there has been quite a lot of problems with this question -- integration doesn't work so well. In Canada it's worked better, though I don't know why. There's a little bit more tolerance between people than there is here."

For Mr. van Ramshorst, the small-town electrician, the problem is simply that Holland has let too many people in without any attention to their ability to fit into Dutch society.

"The last 10 years, our government's policy was to tolerate almost everything, and that's not good," he said. "There's law, and there's respect of the law, and you can't just let people do anything. Tolerance is very important, but we've reached the point where we're tolerating people who despise our way of life and want to damage it."

Those fleeing what they see as a degenerating society face difficulties with Canada's immigration system. Even for the well-educated Dutch, it takes two or three years to get an unsponsored application cleared, a tougher process than most people undergo to get into the Netherlands, although Canada takes far more immigrants, as a proportion of its population, than Holland.

This difficulty has become an inspiration for some in the Netherlands, who blame their country's ad hoc immigration system for the cultural clashes. Some favour adopting the Canadian system wholesale.

"We are only now beginning to understand that now we are an immigrant country, and that we therefore need an immigration law," Mr. Buysse said. "Canada has understood that for a long time, and its points system seems to be a good model for us."

So it may seem surprising, after all the effort and research involved, that both the van Ramshorst and the Van Rossum families have decided to settle in the area immediately around Vancouver. (Dutch immigration consultants say that Alberta and British Columbia are the two most popular destinations.) After all, this is a highly multicultural region that has had its own conflicts over assimilation and intolerance.

But both families said that they don't see this as a problem -- in fact, they see B.C.'s heavy immigrant population as benefiting them, as they, too, will be immigrants.

"There's a different social consensus in Canada," Mr. Rijniersce said. "People are more interested in becoming part of Canadian society, and nobody makes a big deal about their arrival."

An unprecedented number of Dutch citizens are deciding to leave Holland and seek citizenship in Canada to escape what they see as at home.

More good news...I should have mentioned. Part of the plan is that younger folks from the Netherlands who have dairy experience (but not so much money) can come over, sponsored by larger farmers.

The plan is structured so that they will gradually purchase their own dairy herd/farm, with help from the Iowa farmers. Sounds quite familiar...as this is exactly how this country was settled in the first place.

The young Dutch farmers I've seen interviewed are thrilled with the opportunity.

People sell their houses in CA for huge bucks, move to Oregon, buys a nice house with cash, live on the rest, while native Oregonians struggle with living in a commie state.

And your point is...?

Perfect. They run to Canada. Knowing full well that they can still be pacifists and hyper liberal, AND be protected by the US right next door.

103 posted on 04/24/2005 1:07:29 AM PDT by Kozak (Anti Shahada: " There is no God named Allah, and Muhammed is his False Prophet")

The locamotive's throttle is stuck open on the down grade, the bridge is out, the engineer is drunk and passed out, and it's a felony to change cars or try to wake him up, or tamper with the controls.

Good comaprison. I was thinking that it is like a car going downhill with no brakes and there is a huge building down the slope, but your analogy is a lot better. I think if we had Nero fiddling while Rome burns would be a nice addition though. B-P

104 posted on 04/24/2005 5:29:53 AM PDT by Nowhere Man (Lutheran, Conservative, Neo-Victorian/Edwardian, Michael Savage Listener - Any Questions?)

105 posted on 04/24/2005 5:35:18 AM PDT by Doohickey ("This is a hard and dirty war, but when it's over, nothing will ever be too difficult again.”)

Hey, what about all that anti-Californian sentiment up there?

I was warned about all the "anti-Californian sentiment" before I moved up to Washington (6 years ago) and I've yet to come across any. ....maybe because nearly every other resident up here nowadays is an ex-Golden Stater.

You wanted to know why the anti-California sentiment. Real estate prices have gone through the roof because of Californians buying houses after selling theirs and moving up to Oregon. Then they don't start businesses or even buy locally. And vote D.

107 posted on 04/24/2005 7:24:38 AM PDT by little jeremiah (Resisting evil is our duty or we are as responsible as those promoting it.)

There was a story in a Norwegian newspaper a while back about a little town on the west coast of Norway, to which hundreds of Dutch had moved to in the last couple of years.

They moved because they were opining for the fjords

110 posted on 04/24/2005 7:29:51 AM PDT by Porterville (Inside the heart of every murderer is a communist. Murderism= Communism= Liberalism)

"tolerated themselves to death"

Out of house & home and country. Coming to a neighborhood near you.

If the Democrats make an issue of immigration, they'll win back both houses and the presidency.

I think this is going to result in the most bloody ethnic cleansing ever. It could possibly result in another rise of a Hitler type government in Europe. Don't be surprised if this happens.

I live in Prunedale, but I have to go into to Salinas to shop. I went into Auto Zone and all the in-store ads were in Spanish. I know what you mean. I feel like I am the outsider in Salinas.

lol, and this white dude inter-married a Hispanic chick. Are you scared? ... I am. :-)

"It will end like Bosnia. The muslims will provoke them to fight back. Muslims will define themselves as innocent victims of religious intolerance. The UN will be "forced" to act to protect the muslims "human rights". The invasion will continue with the aid of UN "peacekeepers" until the number of muslims reaches a "critical mass" and becomes the intolerant theocracy they are known for.

Best analysis I have seen yet! I spent some time around Bosnia in 93-94 and didn't really make the connection with Eurabia. You have hit the nail on the head complete with the complicit U.N. scenario. Bravo!

Yes we Hispanics are going to inter-marry with the white chicks.... are you scared?

You really ought to lose that jive. Others do the BSD routine much better. The end results are visible to all in the over copulated, overpopulated, miserably poor failed nations of Latin America. That's why you don't live there. My Jewish grandparents came here in 1900 but they never talked the way you do.

We remaining American citizens will soon be just like the Dutch, but I refuse to go to Canada! Now where shall displaced Americans go--Costa Rica? The Costa Ricans and many others south of the border are moving here like a human tsunami with little or no restraint exerted by the gummint. Close the border and secure the airports now! The illegals are also arriving here with tourist visas and staying. Brazilians and Argentines are using use that simple ploy every day. Is anyone awake at immigration and airport security?

Tu problema, obviamente, es que no reconoces que vives in Aztlan y no America. El idioma nacional in Aztlan es espanol. It behooves you to learn it and soon if you want to "fit in." Gag!

I was just giving the guy a hard time.

...Making a ton of friends in the process.

(rare sarcasm outburst)

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