Sahar Meradji couldn’t have picked a better time for her documentary series Own people first so soon after the PVV’s election victory. For the four-part series, the documentary maker followed various right-wing extremists for PowNed. At least, that’s what the Secret Service calls them. The activists themselves do not consider themselves extremist or racist at all. In their own eyes they are nationalists with normal ideas, they stand up for the Netherlands.
Meradji is staying with an activist couple from Identitair Verzet, a group that, among other things, occupied an Islamic school. The husband has a large beard and runic signs tattooed on his shaved head. He looks dangerous and proudly says that he has abused Moroccan street thugs. The blonde wife appears more sympathetic. Interesting is the scene in which she denies being a racist, then looks up the definition on her phone and then concludes in surprise: “I am a racist, oops!”
Furthermore, the documentary follows Iem al Biyati, chairman of the Youth Forum (JFVD), an interesting politician who we will probably hear more about. We see how she effortlessly drills a group of tigerish young men at training camp. She also leads the disruption of a two-hour story time drag queens. She expresses herself in a nuanced, somewhat vague manner, she is the only one of the interviewees who does not rail against migrants. She emphatically rejects violence. Xenophobia is foreign to the party, she says.
In this series, Jong Forum represents the spiritual side of right-wing extremism. This seems to be a floating movement that strives for self-improvement, to build a new world together. It’s about the feeling. Because of this spiritual aspect, JFVD is reminiscent of the fascist movements of the past. Iem al Biyati was also in the similar series Rutger and the Nationalists, but there the subjects were met with more resistance. From Rutger Castricum, of all places.
Unchallenged rants
although Own people first gives a fascinating picture of the right-wing extremist movement in the Netherlands, there is something seriously wrong with this series. The disclaimer states that Meradji wants to make the right-wing extremist voice heard “honestly and unfiltered”. That turns out to be a bad idea. For four episodes I had to listen to unchallenged tirades against Muslims and refugees who would destroy the Netherlands. From “gang of robbers” to “race war” – it made me feel sick. And I was none the wiser.
Why didn’t she critically question the activists? Why didn’t she put the facts about migration and racism next to it? Or, for example, an expert’s explanation of this philosophy? She presents right-wing extremism not only unfiltered, but also with little context or explanation. It could be that many PowNed viewers think: what those friendly people say is actually quite reasonable.
Meradji mainly wants to show that right-wing extremists are ordinary people, full of good intentions. People like you and me. By the way, she didn’t do her homework properly here either. She does not mention that Iem al Biyati was in one of the leaked app groups in which Forum members turned out to be a bit more fascist than they pretended. The group image was a Nazi image. Iem al Biyati thought zero percent Muslims were “the most desirable” for the Netherlands. She shared a song that referred to a far-right terrorist attack. Just kidding of course. Nice girl.
Hatred is of course not good, the documentary maker concludes, but we must take the fear and dissatisfaction of these people seriously. Why actually? Fear of migrants is based on delusions, why would you seriously listen to it? I would take that hatred a little more seriously.
Wilfred Takken replaces Rinskje Koelewijn this week.