Sun, 22 November 2009
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The Dutch government has waged a tough anti-immigration policy over the past four years, but tolerance is staging a comeback.When talking about 26,000 asylum seekers, the Dutch government found it easy to be clinical.
For the public, the number has no personality, it is not individual. It is simply a number: a number that according to the Cabinet simply had to go. 
But in finding that one of those 26,000 people lived next door to them or went to school with their children, many Dutch people found their sudden uprooting and deportation to be catastrophic.
And the electorate eventually decided they should stay.
And it is an issue that must be resolved in the coming weeks if the Netherlands is to find a new government.
Back in 2002, the fear of even letting new foreigners into the country propelled the xenophobic LPF party into government.
The LPF later disintegrated and the anti-immigration baton was passed to its one-time coalition partner, the Liberal VVD at the 2003 elections.
VVD Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk has since been very diligent in carrying out her task: in 2004 she told 26,000 families who had been living here for five years of more that their time was suddenly up.
These 26,000 entered the country prior to tougher new immigration laws in 2001 and were still waiting for their applications for asylum to be processed.
But the government wanted to make a clean sweep of the backlog: those with 'distressing' stories could stay. The others would simply have to go.
In the end, just 2,000 people with distressing stories were given residency and 24,000 others given their marching orders, 12,000 of whom have since left the country. The last 12,000 are still living here.
And now, with the long-awaited re-emergence of Dutch tolerance finally in sight, these 12,000 people are caught in the cross-fire of a new political dogfight.
Here’s a current guide to health insurance, doctors, dentists and pharmacies.
Lost in the Dutch immigration system? Look no further than this guide compiled for our Survival Guide 2009.
Some basic facts and figures about living and working in the Netherlands.
The challenges and benefits of the maternity system in the Netherlands and how it differs to other countries.
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