Worldly Chatter

The act of adapting; it’s a hard concept to grasp for many and it is an issue no matter where you are. Expats have a reputation for being unable to adapt to the surroundings they find themselves in. Immigration and integration are issues so many countries face and have found the very topic in main stream news. In the US President Bush wanted to put into practice the Guest Worker Program enabling immigrants to stay in the country legally while also contributing to society. However much as I or anyone else likes the idea of slowing the influx of illegal’s into the country with this program it doesn’t solve the underlying issues that most Americans have. It isn’t just the fact that they are illegal, it is that they will not adapt to the country and its people they find themselves in.
I can recall while living in America the increase of Spanish all around me. While the country is English speaking I still had to press one or press two on the telephone if I wanted English when making a phone call to a company. Pamphlets at the doctors were becoming bilingual just as menus and job requirements. It was becoming increasingly necessary for you as the applicant to speak both to work in certain areas of the country or particular jobs.
It boils down to the country in question not wanting to lose its identity to a class of people coming in. It can be the language that identifies its people, music, food, dance, literature and the list can go on. If something is being compromised then it becomes an issue to the native as they feel their culture is being compromised or ‘tainted’. It isn’t any different in the EU. Some European nations have constant arguments over immigrants coming over aren’t adapting to their culture but expect the native to find room in their lives to have the immigrant comfortable. In recent months in the UK and the Netherlands the Islamic burqa and veils covering the face have come under considerable fire and a ‘burqa ban’ has been desired in both countries. Several reasons for the ban on the burqa range from security to rudeness and the simple fact that in western cultures it is not done and it is felt that by moving to the country you must adapt to a certain extent. It isn’t the religion itself that is being banned however European countries are at constant struggles with its citizens and the Muslims that come into the country. They simply want to see the face they speak with, have an ability to see expressions and get to know the person and not a piece of cloth.
Arabic channels are becoming more popular just as Spanish channels are more available in America. The networks feel that they should give these stations to appease the immigrants coming in and adapting to their needs. Many individuals see this as a sign that the people coming into their country won’t accept the language and culture they move to and instead want to bring their country to their new home. Recently in Expatica news they mentioned that the General Programming Board (APR) is considering replacing Dutch channel rtl7 with an Arabic speaking channel. Due to the large number of Arabic speaking people in Amsterdam and its surrounding areas they want to replace the failing station with one that would better serve its viewers. It would be part of the standard package in the area and thus covering the Media Act where there has to be diverse material in its programs.
Within each country there is a culture within itself and its people want their cultural identity preserved. When people come to another country speaking another language and identifying with an all together different cultural setting should they be made to speak the language and adapt to its new surroundings they knew they were going into? Where is the line of adapting verses losing oneself in the integration process? Being the immigrant myself I find the topic interesting and can look at it from a different perspective than I once did living in the US.
My Dutch is by no means perfect. I can say ‘Mag ik een kop koffie’ or say een, twee, drie of vier. I get around at the store, can read some basic child like level and my understanding of hearing gets better as my vocabulary gets better. I have to learn Dutch. Not because the government mandates it for residents who only have a permit here but because that is the culture I have moved to. It would make my life immensely easier if I could understand and mingle in the language I am surrounded in daily. The Dutch government only requires citizens to speak Dutch. Individuals living here on a temporary basis or individuals living permanently but with only a permit are not required. Regardless, why should I as the immigrant ask the people around me to adapt to me when I moved to their country? I don’t feel it is their obligation to make my life easier. I will take my integration classes and find my niche in Dutch society. Will I lose a part of my own self or the culture I came from in the process? It is something I ponder but feel that if something particular is important to me and I don’t wish to lose it then I will keep it within my own home and personal space. Sure I have those ‘American’ things in me, I can’t help it I am American but I don’t feel it is right to take those things and force others to endure it or tolerate it simply because I am here.
I have never had issue with the immigrants in the country of my birth. They want their Spanish delis and the music of their culture, kudos I say! But to ask if I can speak Spanish in English speaking nation is another. If you do it in your native land can you still do it once you move? If we do something here that is alien to you or your native land forbid it, does that give you the right to judge it? What is proper integration and who decides what is best for the immigrant as well as the native? These constant questions that go round and round all over the world; what is the right answer when it comes to immigration and integration? My opinion or anyone else is simply that, an opinion. Yet the growing presence of the topic gives way to talks, political decisions, opinions and cries from both sides of the fence. It has gone on and will continue to go on. It is how societies evolve; it is how the world goes on. A constant blending of one culture to another whether it is liked or not.

American Expat, Netherlands, Immigration, Integration