The integration debate in the Netherlands is broken. On one side, there are parties that dismiss groups. On the other side, you have the bystanders who claim there is no integration problem. If you dare to raise an issue and come up with real solutions, you are either naive or a racist. Meanwhile, it is primarily society that suffers, as many problems remain unnamed and thus unresolved.
We can no longer allow this to continue. If we continue like this, we will lose our way of life. That is unequivocally what is at stake. The ongoing flow of migration, its scale and speed, and the places where most people come from, with very different norms and values, this combination of factors puts our rule of law, social provisions, social cohesion, and our freedom under pressure. This means that on one hand, we must set firm limits on migration. And on the other hand, we must set strong demands for integration.
We urgently need a real integration debate, with realistic solutions. It should revolve around participation for everyone who is allowed to stay here. And where we better protect our free, secular society and democracy from unwanted influences from countries of origin and unfree behavior in our country.
This week, we saw very concerning reports from Turkey. The Turkish Ministry of Religious Affairs, Diyanet, called for a global Jihad, allowing the use of all possible means. In a newspaper linked to the Turkish regime, a violent passage against Jews was written. In Germany, this led to great uproar. After all, Diyanet finances many mosques in Europe. The German government immediately asked the German branch of Diyanet to distance itself from the intolerant messages from Turkey.
In the Netherlands, around 146 mosques are financed by the Erdogan regime. Yet, it remained virtually silent in Dutch politics and media. While there are plenty of reasons for concern. Over forty percent of people with a Turkish background do not identify as Dutch. Over thirty percent support Erdogan. And a quarter feels unsafe due to the presence of the Turkish regime here.
That such a severe call from Turkey receives hardly any attention here is, in my opinion, emblematic of the non-existent integration debate in the Netherlands. A few years ago, we could still find majorities to counter unwanted foreign influence and tackle integration problems: now, few parties dare to do so. We have become entangled in a surreal debate where DENK and GL/PvdA have even taken the position that there is no integration problem at all.
The genuine anger of many people with a migration background over discrimination and the tone of Wilders deserves our empathy and a joint struggle against exclusion. But instead of looking at where things are going well and where they are not, anger has become a business model for some parties. If you mention where things are going well and who deserves our support, you are colluding with the enemy. If you dare to raise a problem regarding integration, a video is made of you, and you receive hate mails for weeks from people who no longer feel welcome in the Netherlands.
A sensible and realistic integration debate has thus become virtually impossible. And yet: this is not why I entered politics. To accept that the integration debate is suffocated. That we are afraid of an unjust accusation and thus keep our mouths shut. The broken integration debate undermines the very relevant conversation we need to have as a society and the solutions we must seek.
If we do nothing, our population will grow from 18 to 23 million inhabitants due to the arrival of migrants. Our society cannot bear that. How do we prevent people in neighborhoods from living even more apart than they already do? That women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and dissenters in certain cultures are also oppressed in our country? That we again saw more than 670 reports of honor-related violence this year? That the Holocaust has become unmentionable in too many schools? That young girls as young as seven are sent to some Islamic primary schools wearing headscarves and receive separate lessons? That foreign unfree regimes imprint their messages in the minds and hearts of young people here? I want the debate to be held about that. And about the many solutions we have ready to protect our way of life and our freedoms.
The VVD advocates for an integration debate based on facts. It applies: if you were born here, even if your ancestors have a different background, there is no question of “earning your place” or integration. You are Dutch and belong here completely. Integration is not about you. And many positive developments also show that it often goes well.
But we must not look away from the fact that there are also people who invoke their migration background to not participate in society. Who do not behave in line with our free democratic rule of law, who refuse to speak the language or grant others their freedom. I do not only call this poorly integrated but especially totally alienated. For example, when people adhere to a foreign regime and reject Dutch democracy. Or when people believe their daughter should be mutilated or that their son should be abused if he is gay. Or look at the 40,000 women in the Netherlands who are genital mutilated, with another 4,000 girls and women at risk of undergoing that. In large cities like Rotterdam, more than 200 women live hidden behind closed doors. And all these problems are connected to the culture or religion of another home country.
And of course, there are also plenty of problems among people without a migration background. Like autonomists who do not accept the authority of the government, strictly religious orthodox individuals who fight against abortion and LGBTQ+ rights by spreading fake news. And what about femicide where many native Dutch people are the perpetrators? But this should not lead to whataboutism in the integration debate. That is always the counterargument: but what about the other? So that problems related to migration background may not be discussed at all.
We must discuss integration problems to address them. What the VVD proposes is to set higher demands for integration and citizenship, to ensure equality between men and women everywhere. So tackle genital mutilation and honor-related violence, address orthodox imams and the funding of weekend schools and mosques if they promote unfreedom. Combat discrimination. So also for women who are currently not being invited for interviews with municipalities to get to work, or who are not allowed to have their own bank card. Do not accept that very young girls go to school veiled and separated. Modernize article 23 and put a stop to the growth of the number of orthodox schools in the Netherlands.
A start of such a realistic approach is what State Secretary Nobel for Integration and Participation is doing. With an agenda for participation in the labor market, for self-determination, and combating things that do not fit into our free society, such as hate imams, burqas in public spaces, and genital mutilation. Minister van Weel is also working to counter unwanted foreign influence. But much more is needed! Serious integration policy with sensible solutions will lead to a society where everyone participates. Instead of a society of parallel worlds. It can and must be done! Let’s start today.