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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don't agree with some of the analysis here. I live in the Netherlands now, and did 30 years ago.  Was first here on a scholarship at the University of Amsterdam to research the rise in right wing movements in Western Europe and most of my work was around assimilation of 1960s and 1970s immigrants into France, Germany and Netherlands.  It's not true that Syrians and Afghans aren't assimilating now, and the Dutch have amazing taal schools to get immigrant children up to speed on Dutch to join regular Dutch basis schools (primary) and other options for children over 12.  There are many hardworking well integrated Syrians here. More people where I live now (Maastricht) are complaining of Moroccan youth being disruptive around the center and link increasing crime to new laws forbidding foreigners from going into coffee shops thereby creating a black market with aggressive sellers.

The housing crisis is THE biggest deal for most and it's easy to point the finger at immigrants for some.

Not all Dutch are as tolerant as the stereotypes.  And Geert Wilders has more in common with some of the fundamentalist Muslims that he wants to deport.  His platform is just as anti-LGBTQ and black and white in approach.  It would be wrong to simply link his support as tied to those who see Muslims as a threat to Dutch tolerance.  The cities with the largest Muslim populations did not vote for his party, notably Amsterdam.

Just wanted to add some nuance to some of the generalizations I'm reading here.  [/quote]

I really wonder if you are a man. I have a female friend who has lived in different cities in the Netherlands and is now in Amsterdam. She says the amount of catcalling is so out of control when you walk down so many street and 99% of the men who are making incredibly rude sexual comments and then making threatening comments and spitting when they are ignored or rejected are immigrants from North Africa or the Middle East or other parts of Africa. She says ask any female if they have gone to cities in the Netherlands and been harassed and they will say yes. It is so out of control.

So while she is liberal and believes there are many positive things that immigrants bring and do jobs Dutch often don't want to do, she is really mad that women are constantly harassed. She has been to Latin America, so I asked is it like being in Latin America, and she said absolutely not. It might be whistling and some comments but nothing at the level that is going on in the Netherlands now. She said so many women are just so sick and tired of it and are going to vote for someone who might bring  some hope that it can stop. [/quote]

We were on vacation in Amsterdam visiting family and none of the women were harassed ever. We walked everywhere. None of my female family in the Netherlands has complained that this is a thing. My good friends daughter is studying near Amsterdam and does not complain about this being a major issue .

The affordable housing crisis is definitely worrying many people though.

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Have you asked your family members? Or the topic never comes up. Here is on recent survey that found 2/3 of young women in the Netherlands have been harassed. 24% had been followed or chased!
https://longreads.cbs.nl/the-netherlands-in-numbers-2022/how-many-young-women-encounter-street-harassment/
"In 2021, 2 in 3 young women said that they had been harassed on the street at some point in the past year, e.g. by means of wolf whistling or catcalling, sometimes by being chased or followed. Women experienced wolf whistling as least threatening, and being chased or followed as most threatening"

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Yes they feel safe in the Netherlands and for good reason - it is one of the safest countries in the world for women.

List of Safest Countries For Women to Travel Or Live in the World
1. Norway 2. Finland 3. Iceland 4. Denmark 5. Luxembourg 6. Switzerland 7. Sweden 8. Austria 9. The United Kingdom 10. Netherlands

https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/world-safest-countries-for-women-to-travel-live-1694156063-1
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