Refugees and migrants who go swimming get into trouble more often than people with a Dutch background. This is evident from figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). According to the National Swimming Safety Board (NRZ), this is because they often have not had swimming lessons and they are not well aware of the dangers of swimming in open water. “They’re not used to it.”
Last Wednesday, a fourteen-year-old boy drowned in a puddle in Eersel. It concerned Ahmad Faroukh from Hapert. The boy is said to be of Syrian descent and has lived with his family in Hapert for about three years. He was supping (standing paddling on a surfboard) with friends on the recreational lake of camping TerSpegelt.
When their paddle boards flipped over, the boys fell into the water. Two boys were rescued by bystanders. For Ahmad, that help came too late. Police previously confirmed that he is of foreign descent and could not swim.
Migrants and refugees are often less aware of the dangers of water. “There is no doubt that this group is more at risk of drowning,” says Titus Visser of the National Swimming Safety Board (NRZ). “We see that newcomers get into trouble relatively more often.”
Figures from Statistics Netherlands for 2021 show, among other things, that the risk of drowning was 9 to 10 times greater among non-European migrants under the age of 20 than among young people born in the Netherlands.
The reason is quite obvious, says Visser. The Netherlands has a swimming culture, but this is not the case in the home countries of many refugees and migrants. “In the Netherlands you learn to swim as a child. That has to be done in such a water-rich country,” he explains.
“The risk of them getting into trouble is greater.”
“But for people from other cultures that is not at all self-evident. Their experience with swimming in open water is much smaller. They are not used to it. When they come to a country where people swim a lot, you see that with good weather they also want to go to the water, but the risk of them getting into trouble is much greater than for people with a Dutch background.”
People are often a lot less aware of the dangers of swimming. That is why the NRZ works together with the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). “We provide information to asylum seekers about swimming. Then we explain, for example, in which places you can or cannot swim safely and that it is important that they are aware of the risks. The message is: swimming is fun, but do it wisely .”
In addition, the NRZ focuses on swimming lessons. “We want to ensure that they are more skilled in swimming. The COA ensures that asylum seekers can receive free swimming lessons in many places.”
“People are seeing the need for it.”
That doesn’t happen everywhere, but there is great interest in places where people can get free swimming lessons, according to Visser. “In many places, people are seeing the need for it.”
But people who did grow up in the Netherlands should also be careful. Every year, about a hundred people drown in open water in the Netherlands. The NRZ tries to make people aware of the risks of swimming in open water with the campaign ‘Who checks you?’.
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