The Rotterdam Citizenship Code

1. take responsibility for our city and for each other, and don't discriminate against each other;
2. use Dutch (Nederlands) as our common language;
3. don't accept radicalization or extremism;
4. rear our children to be valuable citizens;
5. treat women equally to men, and with respect;
6. treat gay people equally to heterosexuals and with respect;
7. treat people of other religions and none equally, and with respect.

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Most of the sentiments outlined in this code that was drawn up by the local municipality in Rotterdam are admirable. So admirable, Immigration and Integration Minster Rita Verdonk thinks it is a model for the entire Netherlands.

Critics - there were a lot of them - immediately attacked Verdonk's emphasis on point number 2. She came out and suggested Dutch should be compulsory in public. She backtracked later in face of widespread opposition (and ridicule). But it is clear Verdonk's sees the code purely in terms of another tool to chastise newcomers and foreigners. It is not about living together; it is about keeping people apart, as far as Verdonk is concerned.

Language

Verdonk, it seems, is worried that autochtonen (real Dutch people, in her way of thinking) are frightened, or at least annoyed, when they hear another language spoken on the streets of the country's cities and towns.

Dutch people, the argument goes, are annoyed when immigrants choose to address each other in their native languages. When in Rome...

There is some sense to the notion that newcomers should learn the local language and customs, but that doesn't necessarily entail adopting them all. One speaks to communicate, not make a political statement. Yes, all residents - to the best of their ability - should attempt to speak Dutch when dealing with official matters or addressing a native-Dutch person.

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