I am a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew and a Buddhist too. If you don't like it, then this place is not for you, but as long as you don't force your beliefs on anyone, you're welcome to join in, it doesn't matter if you're a liberal, a republican or just simply you.
Recently there has been an overabundance of reports on the abuse and torture of Sri Lankan maids taking place in countries all over the Middle East and elsewhere in Asia. It's great to see that finally something is being done about this poblem.
To raise awareness on the abuse in Lebanon, this video presents a picture where the roles are reversed, putting (what appears to be) a Sri Lankan in charge of a Lebanese maid, and to a add a special twist to the whole, the Lebanese maid is referred to as "Sri Lankieti" in Arabic, meaning "my Sri Lankan [maid]" as if calling someone a "Sri Lankan" is equal to calling someone a "maid", but in a way that dehumanizes her, as if she's just a tool, merely intended to serve, be enslaved to others and be denied all human dignity.
At least one Moroccan in Holland volunteers to leave the country, which he says he loves so much that he's willing to disappear for at least a year to help contribute to solving the Moroccan problem in Holland.
I'm not sure what to think of it. Is this really a good way to solve problems? Isn't this an easy cop out, which in the end makes everyone look bad? What if this is just a promotional stunt to get him a free trip to a dream resort? I have mixed emotions over this.....
I know it sounds awful (I love people all the same), but please hear me out for a minute...
When I say "undesirable immigrants" what's the first thing that comes to mind?
If you think about it on a global scale there are quite a few minority groups around the world that are treated as "undesirable" or "unwanted" for whatever reason. In some countries it might be "Muslims", to some it's "Mexicans", to others it it might be "Jews", to others it's "Blacks" or "infidels" or "Moroccans" or "Rohingyas" or "Roma gypsies" or "Palestinians" or "unskilled laborers" or...or...whatever garden variety human with an accent on "different" and "poor" that happens to annoy the heck out of nativist bigots.
To Geert Wilders, as everyone knows by now, it's "Muslims, Moroccans and (poor) immigrants". You might have heard about his latest maneuver in his conquest against these undesirable immigrants. You see, the man thinks big - I mean HUGE, now that he got a big chunk of the votes in the last national election. So now he's working on expanding his territory and wants to rile up haters in other countries, where anger against Muslims and immigrants already festers and always ready to wreak havoc at the drop of a hat.
So why is this all happening you think?
Money? Power? Heroics? The bad economy? Politics?
Please don't me give that "freedom of speech" nonsense, because I'm not buying it.
So why really? Why is such a terribly bigoted politician, who says some of the craziest things and makes a fool out of Dutch parliament daily, actually allowed to have free reign to incite hatred against people in a democracy that's supposedly world famous for its tolerance?
Is it maybe because he's carrying out the will of the people who feel threatened by these "undesirables" or is he simply trying to enforce the laws of the land by pursuing the Dutch government's very own agenda to get rid of unskilled laborers, while applying pressure with tremendous help from the Dutch press and leveraging hate groups in the US and Europe?
Well, in case you didn't know, Holland actually pays certain immigrants to leave the country as long as they agree to be stripped of their rights to return, as set forth in the Dutch Remigration Act.
I remember vaguely hearing about this a while back, but I didn't know the exact details till I started looking into it after my friend Xoussef asked me if it's true that Holland pays immigrants a monthly salary if they agree to leave the country - he told me he had read about this in a Moroccan newspaper and questioned the veracity of the article because it just sounded too weird.
If you are going to leave the Netherlands to move to another country, you may
be able to get a one-off relocation grant and a monthly benefit to help cover
your living expenses in your new country of residence. This is provided for
under the Remigration Act.
Two types of benefits are paid under the Remigration Act:
a remigration grant
a remigration benefit
Remigration grant
The remigration grant is a one-off payment towards moving expenses. It is
made up of various components. Which components you are entitled to depends on
your personal situation.
You can get a contribution towards the cost of:
the journey to the country where you are going to live;
the transportation of your luggage;
settling in your new country of residence;
storage of your property in your new country;
the transportation of aids for a disabled person;
the transportation of business inventory and equipment.
These contributions are fixed amounts.
remigration benefit
The remigration benefit is a monthly payment to help cover your living
expenses. It is only payable if you are 45 or over. If you are no longer covered
under the Dutch health insurance system after you have moved abroad, you will
also get a contribution towards health insurance.
If you are awarded a remigration benefit, you will also get a remigration
grant. The grant will not include a contribution towards resettlement expenses
because this will already be included in the remigration benefit.
When are you eligible for these payments?
You can get these payments if you leave the Netherlands to return to:
the country where you were born, or
the country of which you are, or were, a national, or
the country where one of your parents was born or of which he or she is, or
was, a national.
You can also get financial help if you are a refugee or if you have been
granted asylum in the Netherlands, and you are moving to another country.
The fact that the Dutch Remigration Act singles out only immigrants from specific countries who can apply for this deal has "discrimination" written all over it if you ask me. Smart move by the Dutch government though in terms of saving money in the long run. They encourage these immigrants to leave the country, sending them off into early retirement at age 45 along with the rest of their families, with a minimum wage that's tailored to the cost of living in their country of origin, instead of having to pay them significantly higher pension benefits when they're actually due for retirement in Holland. And as we all know, governments tend to change rules and laws whenever they see fit.
Are these wages guaranteed for life?:
The amount of your remigration grant or remigration benefit
The amount of your remigration grant or remigration benefit depends on:
the country where you are going to live;
the number of people moving with you;
whether you live on your own or with family members;
the ages of the people who live with you.
For more information about the amount you will receive, you can contact us.
Last week it was the "baiting Jew" proposal, now it's a "Yamulke Day" and a "Gay Square" proposal on the table by Dutch MP Ahmed Marcouch, as part of the so-called "Solidarity Action" days, in his noble quest to combat hate crime.
I'm sure his heart is in the right place and I'm big on conflict resolution and all, but sometimes you can go a tad too far with too much of a good thing, if you ask me.
I'd say carrot and stick people, carrot and stick.....unfortunately I've been seeing too much "stick" and not enough "carrot" in the Netherlands lately.
It's about time somebody had the guts to stand up for Holland and do the right thing to stop this hatemongering
imbecile! Never mind the fact that Wilders hates Muslims and immigrants, but
the fact that he wants to implement a headscarf tax on Muslim women and is
trying to push for an "ethnic registration requirement"(among other outlandish things) on the Dutch people, should outrage the whole entire world! This man is insanely
dangerous! Ethnic registration? What the hell is wrong with people? Have we
learned anything at all from WWII?
I'm especially surprised and extremely disappointed that the Jewish
community isn't making a big deal out of this. Where is the outrage?
Mr Maxime Verhagen, petje af meneer, ik ben trots op u!
Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders has
accused Dutch Christian Democrat leader Maxime Verhagen of sabotaging attempts
to form a centre-right three-party government. A right-wing cabinet now looks
unlikely after eight days of coalition talks.
Mr Verhagen on Thursday repeated his view that free-market liberal VVD and Mr
Wilders' Freedom Party should first iron out their differences. The two parties,
the two winners of the 9 June general elections, differ fundamentally over
issues like economic austerity measures and ethnic registration. Once those
issues are sorted the Christian Democrats will consider joining the
negotiations, Mr Verhagen said, but not earlier.
The Christian Democrats lost half their seats in the elections and said it
behoved them to be modest, rather than being overly eager to join a government.
Some of you might remember the video that was launched a while ago by munt.nu - presenting the possibility of what could happen if everyone of Moroccan descent were to leave the Netherlands.
Dutch artist Yuri Vermeer claims that it's his reaction to the current nationalistic populist overtone of Dutch politics, but I think it's his lame attempt at fame and I find it tasteless, to say the least.
If anything, what the video does is instigate even more hatred and resentment among people, pushing for the boiling point.
I was talking to one of my sisters recently who lives in Amsterdam and I asked her to tell me what she thinks of Amsterdam's former mayor Job Cohen.
Without hesitation she responded: "He's my idea of what a politician should be like. Not only does he look the part, he actually does what he says he's going to do, unlike most of our politicians. He has this natural ability to command respect and put you at ease, sort of like a father figure really, and when all hell breaks loose, you know you're in good hands because he'll take care of it and make you feel that everything is going to be alright. Sadly, we have too many politicians that look or act like they just rolled out of college, too high on ambition and self-gratification, and absolutely no interest in doing what's good for our country and the people."
New York Times Magazine's Russell Shorto sort of paints the same picture of Mr. Cohen, but in a much broader sense, digging deep into Holland's complicated sociopolitical, historical and multicultural fabric, explaining Cohen the man, the politician and his mission to save Holland from the brink of collapse as a member of parliament.
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