Dutch Have to Show “Basic Concepts” to Westerners Too
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3263From the desk of The Brussels Journal on Sat, 2008-05-17 09:55
A quote from AKI, 16 May 2008
The Netherlands should abolish the overseas “integration test” that targets migrants of certain nationalities, according to an international rights group. Human Rights Watch said people of Moroccan and Turkish origin had been particularly hard hit by the test while citizens from western countries like Canada, Australia and Japan were exempt. […]
“The overseas integration test is discriminatory because it explicitly applies only to relatives from predominantly ‘non-western countries,’” said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. […] Under this integration test, applicants must demonstrate basic knowledge of the Dutch language and basic concepts of Dutch society before they enter the Netherlands.
A quote from Paul Belien at The Brussels Journal, 16 March 2006
Since 1 March people who want to settle in the Netherlands are required to pass a preliminary exam at the Dutch embassy in their native country. This so-called “integration test” includes a film which exposes the would-be immigrants to scenes of kissing homosexual men and topless women. The message is that “If you can’t tolerate gay lifestyle and public nudity, you can’t come.”
Citizens from EU member states and from Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Japan are exempt from the test. Fortunately this applies to the United States, too. Otherwise Americans – most of whom do not approve of the public display of depravity and nudity – would not be allowed to settle in the Netherlands.