‘Also my place’ exposes discrimination in Alkmaar: “Yes, but you are different, Zahra”

The number of discrimination complaints in Noord-Holland Noord remains high. Art.1 Discrimination Affairs Bureau Noord-Holland Noord handled a total of 307 reports of discrimination last year. Most reports were received about Alkmaar, Hoorn, Den Helder and Dijk en Waard. 62 percent of the complaints are about discrimination based on origin and skin color.

When a Black Lives Matter demonstration was organized in Alkmaar in the summer of 2020, political parties subsequently served into a motion to have city conversations about discrimination and racism with Alkmaar residents. It turned out to be the starting signal for Also my place, a project with which the municipality is trying to make Alkmaar a place without racism and discrimination.

To get broad attention for the project, the help of a number of filmmakers from the region was enlisted. One of them is Silver Dirks (24), from Egmond. “The condition for us was to get complete journalistic freedom. We are certainly not uncritical towards Alkmaar.”

“Before we started the film, we first had to know what exactly is going on in Alkmaar,” says Zilver. “It is a bit of a rural town. That does influence the extent to which you can deviate from the norm, we think after our research. People who fall outside that norm often feel left out. As if they don’t really participate in society.”

‘Depends on yourself’

The filmmakers came up with the idea for a documentary starring: people from the region who are committed to more connection in their neighborhood or municipality. So is socio-cultural worker and neighborhood coach Zahra Taghlaoui.

Forty years ago she came to the Netherlands from Morocco with her parents. She has lived in Heerhugowaard almost all her life. Growing up in a white neighborhood, she develops a blind spot for racism and discrimination. “As a child I belonged to everything and was involved in everything. When people said they were being discriminated against, I didn’t recognize it. ‘It’s up to you, you also have to open up a bit and seek rapprochement’, I thought.”

White bubble

But when Zahra gets a job as a socio-cultural worker, she steps out of her own bubble and comes into contact with people from all kinds of different cultures. Only then does she realize how lucky she was in her childhood. “Children who grow up in, for example, a deprived area or have parents who speak poor Dutch, have far fewer opportunities in education. This affects development, behavior and opportunities for the future.”

“Yes, but you’re different,” is a one-liner she hears all too often. “I used to think, yes maybe I am different. But no, those people have just never spoken to anyone else. Unknown makes unloved.”

The fact that Zahra wears a headscarf regularly surprises those same people. “It’s nice that we can have a dialogue about the headscarf, isn’t it? I really wear it for myself, especially to cover my gray hair. In countries like Iran, women are oppressed. Here I have the freedom to come and go wherever I want. I choose to hide my beauty. We don’t have to understand each other in that, but we can respect each other.”

Shorten the distance

“It’s not just white people, right? We are also responsible for explaining what’s going on,” Zahra continues her account. “Discrimination occurs in all cultures, we all do it. Enter into dialogue with each other and answer each other’s questions. Then you reduce the distance.”

That fear of the unknown is also reflected in the documentary, says Zilver. “When we get to know each other, we also become less afraid of each other. We all know that anecdote of: ‘My neighbor is one of the good guys’. By talking to each other, we take away that unfamiliarity. That is why we have we let inspiring people speak, who are already looking for that connection every day.”

New policy

My place can also be seen in the coming months at eleven different locations, including community centers. “Most performances are accessible to everyone, but we also visit a number of schools. After the film we have conversations and people can share their reaction or emotions. Then people can brainstorm further in small groups about how we can combat racism and discrimination. We transfer input to the municipality so that new policy can be made.”

After the successful premiere last night in Theater De Vest, the filmmakers hope to draw full houses. “It takes place in the Alkmaar region, but it is a universal problem. Young and old, everyone should see it. The film not only criticizes the white Dutchman, everyone has it in them and actually does it. The question is : what do you do with it? Ultimately, it’s about awareness and behavioral change.”