Inspiration from an unexpected source

A cold wind is blowing. It is coming from the right and is blowing so hard that I am leaning to the left. But I do not want to brace myself, not bend, not let myself be thrown off balance. I want to remain upright and continue undisturbed and firmly on the path we took when we were founded. The path to our dream of a Netherlands in which employers see and utilise the talents of refugees and in which they are given the right opportunities on the labour market.

About that road: we are making progress but we are far from there yet. It is a process of two steps forward and one step back. Sometimes a process of one step forward and five steps back. A great step forward was the (rightly) great media attention for the SEO study that shows what the enormous social and economic value would be of abolishing all obstacles for asylum seekers to find work: it would yield society around €2 billion. Great steps forward were the more than 130 activities with employers, with which we work on better job opportunities for newcomers; the launch of the Energy Skills partnership; the collaboration with fellow organisations in developing the plans for RefugeeWork , the matching platform for newcomers and work. And the greatest steps forward are of course the many jobs for refugees, or rather: for professionals who happened to be born somewhere else and who are now seen again for who they are.

 But the legislative proposals that were approved by the Council of Ministers just before Christmas are huge steps backwards - huge steps backwards. The Asylum Emergency Measures Act, the dual status system, the Return and Detention of Aliens Act: they are all legislative proposals that belittle people, dismiss them, exclude them, deprive them of opportunities, bully them, criminalise them, dehumanise them. Try to counter that.

Are we mopping with the tap open? Does it make any sense to do what we do at Refugee Talent Hub, and what our fellow organizations do, if every step forward seems to be undone by big steps backwards from politics? As if we are trying so hard to move forward on an escalator that is going faster and faster in the other direction.

Yes, it makes sense. A lot of sense.

 Because if we stand still, things will go even faster in the wrong direction. If we say nothing, Faber's sound will be the only sound. If we don't show refugees that we see and hear them, that we are there for them, who will? And for the record : 'we' is not Refugee Talent Hub. 'We' is everyone who does not want to go along with the frame of newcomers as scapegoats for everything that is wrong in the world. And who instead tell a different story, show something different.

 And fortunately, I have encountered many of them in the past year. Inspiring people who do not give up, but push back and doggedly continue to connect, trust and build.

 People like Syrian Ramy Weiss : “As a refugee, you are just as suitable for work as someone from Europe.”, and Turkish Őzlem Gűndűz : “Hi, I just read one of your articles on the website. I thought maybe I could do something too. My Dutch is not perfect yet, but I have achieved something and I would like to inspire others with my journey.”

 And people like Dimitrios Kantemnidis , the manager of the refugee camp I visited on Lesbos, who refuses to think in obstacles (“Ignore Wilders”), Maarten van Panhuis who tinkers with stagnant processes until they break loose. Ben & Jerry's who turns us all into fortune seekers . Cabaret artist Mouna Laroussi who juggles different cultural perspectives in a mind-blowing performance. Colleagues and board members who hold up a mirror to me and to themselves, and show the way to how things can – and should – be different and better.

 In a strange way, current politics works as an amplifier for our mission. This cabinet stands for everything I do not want and do not think - and with so much contrast, its own position becomes sharper. Like a kind of diapositive. Faber as an inspiration, who would have thought.

 At the same time: there is not much point in setting ideas against each other. There is no need for more contrasts and black-and-white thinking, there is no lack of us-them thinking.

 So: from this look back at an eventful year, I distill three good intentions for 2025.

1.  Stand upright and walk steadily, even (and especially) when big steps are taken backwards;
2.  Collaborate with all people who want to go in the same direction;
3.  Keep talking, keep listening, also (and especially) with and to those who are furthest away from us.

 I'm really looking forward to the first two. The third one, if I'm honest, less so - but we're going to do it anyway. Let's stick to it, okay? Are we going to lock ourselves in our bubble, stop looking at the other perspective, become cynical or out of touch with reality? Mail it to info@refugeetalenthub.com with the subject 'Reminder resolutions 2025'. Thanks in advance!

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