Last week an interesting report from the WODC about Syrian Dutch people was published. The report is part of a broader research program into status holders in the Netherlands. Wilma Roozenboom argues in this blog: "There remains work to be done. And that requires effort from newcomers. But also - and especially - from those who surround them."
Please note: this article was translated using a translator app
Navigating a new society
Last week an interesting report was published about the development of the position and living situation of Syrian Dutch people: ' Navigating in a new society '. Previous studies showed that the position of Syrian newcomers improved in the first few years after their arrival. However, it now appears that after an average of seven years, this improvement does not continue in all areas. This is evident from research that the WODC conducted in collaboration with the RIVM and Erasmus University Rotterdam.*
In broad terms:
More people are working, depending on social assistance is decreasing
Fewer social contacts and more discrimination
More psychological ill health
Big difference between higher and lower educated people
Encouragement to contact
This report paints a picture that we recognize. There is good news: the vast majority of Syrian refugees who came to the Netherlands between 2014 and 2016 have completed their integration, and a growing proportion have a job - and increasingly that is a permanent job. And there is bad news. A majority still works in a temporary job and dependence on social assistance is high. Two-thirds of female Syrian refugees do not work. Social contacts with Dutch people without a migration background are decreasing, many Syrians are lonely. And older (45+) Syrians are relatively often on the sidelines.
So there remains work to be done. And that certainly requires effort from newcomers. But also and especially from those who surround them. Neighbors, members of football teams in which newcomers play sports, possible employers, colleagues, etc. Because in the Netherlands you get a follow-up job mainly through your network, you learn language better in a sports team or company canteen than on your own at home, and loneliness is by definition difficult to break through only. So as far as I am concerned, we read this report primarily as an encouragement to contact, in every possible way.
