Task Force wants massive plan to
tackle Antillean problem groups
THE HAGUE--The Task Force Dutch Antilleans in the Netherlands pleaded on Tuesday for a massive approach to tackling the problems with Antillean groups in six cities where they mostly live. Focus in the coming years should be on the group that arrived in the Netherlands after 1995. The price tag: nine million euros (NAf. 22 million) annually.
The Task Force presented its report “Antillean problem groups in the Netherlands, a solvable social issue” to Minister of Integration Ella Vogelaar, Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin, State Secretary for Kingdom Relations Ank Bijleveld-Schouten, Minister Plenipotentiary in The Hague Paul Comenencia, Chairman of the 21 Antillean municipalities Mayor of Rotterdam Ivo Opstelten and Glenn Helberg, Chairman of OCaN, an Antillean umbrella organisation in the Netherlands, on Tuesday.
The Task Force decided to focus on the group that had arrived in Holland after 1995 because after that year there has been a large flow of especially young people mainly from Curaçao with little or no education.
The Task Force has recommended starting “massive structural programmes” in the six cities with large Antillean concentrations – Rotterdam, The Hague, Amsterdam, Tilburg, Almere and Dordrecht – where the worst problems arise among 21,000 Dutch Antilleans who came to the Netherlands after 1995.
In its report, the Task Force presents a methodical approach and a number of practical proposals to “find and bind” Antillean youngsters. Serious efforts should be undertaken to keep the youngsters in school while tackling their social problems and improving the situation at home. The youngsters need to find jobs. In case of criminal behaviour, the judicial system and social workers have to get these youngsters “on the right track.”
Special attention should go to the 5,000 annual newcomers, the some 5,000 non-registered persons, single mothers and young persons with a criminal tendency, behavioural and family problems, school dropouts and inmates.
The Dutch Government will have to increase its annual budget for the Antillean target group in the period 2010-2017 from about five million euros (NAf. 12.5 million) to some nine million euros (NAf. 22 million). The municipalities will also have to put in an extra effort. Eighty per cent of the means should be invested in programmes in the six “Antillean cities.”
Besides the six cities, the Task Force is recommending additional funding for programmes in other municipalities where many Antilleans live, such as Groningen, Eindhoven, Arnhem, Zoetermeer, Nijmegen, Capelle aan de IJssel, Schiedam, Spijkenisse, Lelystad, Vlaardingen and Den Helder. The Task Force supports the policy of the Dutch Government to include the Antillean community in the Netherlands as much as possible.
Task Force Chairman Hans Andersson said the problem with Antilleans in the Netherlands should be tackled with a clear strategy, good management and a sharp analysis of the problems. Troublesome Antilleans should be coached socially, but, if needed, in combination with a tough approach. Andersson said the cabinet should take two governing periods to seriously tackle this in a structural manner. He said this approach should not be incidental.
Minister Vogelaar termed the Task Force advice “important” and a “real eye-opener.” She said during Tuesday’s presentation that the Dutch Government hadn’t realised until now that many of the problems concerned the group of Antilleans that had come to the Netherlands after 1995. She suggested that there had not been many improvements as a result of 15 years of government policy.
Vogelaar said the Antillean risk group was a “great concern” and therefore needed a thorough approach. She said it was indeed important to work with the Antillean community. “We have to jointly put an effort in this.” She promised that the cabinet would make available as much money as was possible so the Task Force’s recommendations could be carried out.
OCaN Chairman Helberg stressed the need for cooperation and involvement of the Antillean community. “We tax payers are contributing large sums of money to solve the problems and as an Antillean community we cannot just sit back and look at how things evolve,” he said.
Helberg said the Antillean community was very aware of the problems of poverty, both financial and social, and social exclusion. He said many Antilleans were already helping out their fellow countrymen. He said energy and means should focus on district level, at the level of the men and the women on the street, and invest in individuals.
