{"id":1401,"date":"2016-12-07T15:22:02","date_gmt":"2016-12-07T14:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/?p=63065\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:06","slug":"meerderheid-allochtonen-wil-niet-dat-overheid-herkomst-meet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2016\/12\/07\/meerderheid-allochtonen-wil-niet-dat-overheid-herkomst-meet\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The majority of allochtonen would prefer the government not to register ethnic origins\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

More than half of all immigrants think the government should stop registering ethnic origins, though only a third of native Dutch people share this view. This was revealed by a survey<\/a> sociologists Jaco Dagevos and Arjen Leerkes held last month on SocialeVraagstukken.nl<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In March the Dutch Lower House carried a motion asking the government to \u201creview the formal terms Western and non-Western allochtoon<\/em> and autochtoon<\/em>\u201d. Even before the decision of Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) on 1 November to stop using these terms, Dagevos and Leerkes had launched the survey<\/a> to find out what aspects of the formal terms should be reviewed.<\/p>\n

Three options<\/h3>

\u201cThe Lower House\u2019s motion was quite public and, in my opinion, the WRR ought not to decide on this alone, but we should find out what our society actually wants too,\u201d explains Leerkes. \u201cEspecially as there are different options for the review.\u201d Dagevos and Leerkes discovered three different options: stop the registration of ethnic origins, continue to register ethnic origins but use different terms, or continue to use the terms allochtoon<\/em> and autochtoon, <\/em>but in a new way. \u201cWe wanted to get an idea of people\u2019s preferences and the differences between groups, but without revisiting the old discussion,\u201d Leerkes continues. \u201cThat\u2019s why the outcome mainly shows the people who want something to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Different views<\/h3>

The survey revealed that 42 percent of the respondents wanted to stop the registration of ethnic origins, while 58 percent of them thought the government should continue to register them. However, nearly a third (31 percent) thought other terms should be used for registering origins. The remaining 27 percent wanted the terms allochtoon<\/em> and autochtoon<\/em> to be applied differently. \u201cIt shows that a majority want the government to continue the origins registration, but there are differences of opinion as to how this should be done,\u201d Leerkes explains. \u201cThe solution offered by the CBS and WRR is to continue the registration, but to stop using the terms allochtoon<\/em> and autochtoon, <\/em>which is only supported by 31 percent of the respondents.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cImmigrants\u201d would like to see an end to the registration<\/h3>

The differences between the groups with different ethnic origins are striking. Two thirds of the \u201cnative Dutch\u201d respondents think the registration should be continued, in contrast with 58 percent of respondents from \u201cimmigrant\u201d groups, who want the government to stop registering ethnic origins.<\/p>\n

Which is quite logical, according to Leerkes: \u201cI think \u2018immigrants\u2019 are on the receiving end of being labelled, which is partly to do with the context: allochtoon <\/em>has acquired negative connotations.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, the definition of allochtoon <\/em>encourages exclusion. \u201cIt\u2019s strange that we distinguish between citizens who are born and bred in the Netherlands by using terms like \u2018second and third-generation\u2019 allochtoon<\/em>. Moreover, the definition applies what we sociologists call the \u2018one-drop\u2019 rule<\/em>: you are regarded as an immigrant\/allochtoon<\/em> even if only one of your parents were born abroad. The term comes from America and has almost racist origins. It implies that you should, as it were, be pure, that you should have two Dutch parents to be true native Dutch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Distinguished by native country<\/h3>

If it were up to Leerkes, the terms allochtoon <\/em>and autochtoon<\/em> would not be used any more. He is calling for a system in which people are distinguished by their native countries. \u201cEveryone who is born in the Netherlands belongs to the same category. For instance, you could use the terms \u2018native-born\u2019 <\/em>and \u2018foreign-born\u2019 <\/em>and then make distinctions within those two categories, according to someone\u2019s origins. That would be much more neutral and is more in keeping with the multi-ethnic society we have in the Netherlands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leerkes doesn\u2019t think that the registration of ethnic origins should be dismissed entirely, as there is plenty we can learn from it. \u201cBecause we register ethnic origins, we know, for example that native-born<\/em> girls from a Moroccan background are doing better in school than native-born<\/em> boys from a Moroccan background. Besides, the registration of ethnic origins could be used to control inequality and exclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 400 people took part in the survey. However, the group questioned by the survey is not representative: highly educated people are overrepresented while young people and pensioners are underrepresented.<\/p>\n\n\t

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