Every Monday and Thursday, volunteer Josje Toby from Alkmaar receives dozens of newcomers who want to learn Dutch in the language cafe of the Alkmaar Taal Thuis foundation. The newcomers are very happy with Josje’s help, but she gets a lot of hate reactions on social media. “I would like to start the conversation with these people.”
In the language cafe of Language Home in Wijkwad meeting center newcomers are helped to learn the language. “But it’s not a school,” explains Josje Toby. “People sit down together to practice the language, do homework for the integration course, or play games for fun and learn how the Dutch interact with each other. It’s really fun.”
More than just language
Josje now has a close relationship with the newcomers. “There’s a woman from Somalia, I call that my Somali sister. She doesn’t just come here to learn the language, it’s much broader than that. For example, if she has to get a corona shot, I’ll go with her.” Friendships also develop between the newcomers. “They feel comfortable with each other and they know where to find each other when they have problems.”
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“This is Homayun, he is called ‘the doctor’ of the group”, says Josje, pointing to one of her students. “He was a nurse in Iran, so everyone in the group always goes to him first when they have something.”
The language barrier is not a problem, she says. “The most important thing for them is that they feel comfortable with someone when they talk about their problems. At least here they are all in the same boat. They will get through it with translation apps.”
Hate and falsehoods
Josje takes care of ‘her’ newcomers with a lot of love, but also gets a lot of hate on social media, especially on Facebook. “There are many misunderstandings about the newcomers,” says Josje. “What I find really bad is that there are so many falsehoods and prejudices among our population.”
“For example, it is not at all the case that more Muslims have joined. And yes, there is a bad apple in every group of people. But in a group of newcomers there are not suddenly more.” Josje therefore invites people who react negatively on social media to start the conversation. “I grant them to see how the newcomers are in real life. Then the opposite will be proven.”
Interaction
According to Josje, it is important to help newcomers. “That we help the people who are already here and stay here in a positive way, and contribute to how someone will feel at home here.”
“Otherwise we always stick to how it was, and you get or keep ghettos, for example,” says Josje. “In those neighborhoods there is no interaction between Dutch people and new Dutch people. As far as I am concerned, that is the worst thing that can happen in a country. Then it will never become one, never a coherent whole.”