Identification Paradoxes and Multiple Belongings: The Narratives of Italian Migrants in the Netherlands

Abstract

In a time identified by many as one of "multicultural backlash," we can observe a growing negative discourse on the integration of migrants with Islamic backgrounds in most European countries. Criticisms are rooted in the assumptions that cultural and religious differences are the source of social problems and that these migrants are unwilling to integrate. The aim of this article is threefold. First, it criticizes the linear and simplistic assumptions of integration informing the present negative dominant discourse in the Netherlands. Second, it shows that sources of belonging are more layered than the often-assumed exclusive identification with national identity. Third, it broadens the scope of discussion on integration (which is now mainly fixated on Islamic migrants) by showing the somewhat similar experiences of Italian migrants on their path toward integration and belonging within the Dutch context. Through this study, we argue that the process of ethnic othering in the Netherlands is broader than the often-assumed cultural difference of non-Western migrants.

Dutch without the Dutch: discourse, policy, and program impacts on the social integration and language acquisition of young refugees (ages 12–23)

“…Despite the few Dutch natives in their ego networks, participants speak the Dutch language with most of the diverse non-Dutch in their networks. Our findings contradict the assumption of policies and quantitative integration studies that social integration depends on the gradual increase of (close) connections with Dutch natives and that language serves as a critical bridge in this process (see also Rouvoet et al, 2017). As these findings could not be fully elucidated by the network data, the network data were connected with participants' network stories, which highlighted the contexts of networks in ways that network studies, especially those on integration, are often devoid of.…”

“…By including the context, narratives, and networks of young refugees, albeit in specific ways, our results broaden the scope of earlier qualitative findings regarding the doubleness of language acquisition and the so-called integration paradox (e.g. Buijs et al, 2006;Ghorashi, 2018;Rouvoet et al, 2017), both of which refer to the simultaneous presence of experiences of inclusion and exclusion that integration strategies such as learning the language can create. Our findings add to this knowledge by revealing that the young refugees in this study actually find themselves in an aporia, an unresolvable paradox, because the current policies provide no other path for establishing themselves in the Netherlands.…”

“…The network findings show a paradoxical rather than linear relationship between language acquisition and social integration, suggesting the possible existence of an integration paradox and perhaps also a doubleness of language acquisition as has been found in earlier qualitative studies with migrants in the Netherlands (e.g. Buijs et al, 2006;Ghorashi, 2018;Rouvoet et al, 2017). Exploring these and possible other specific impacts on social integration and the effect of language acquisition in the context of young refugees requires qualitative data, which we collected in the form of participants' network stories.…”

“…However, various (mostly) qualitative studies conducted with migrants in the Dutch context use the term 'integration paradox' to indicate that the relationship between language acquisition and integration, and integration itself, is multi-layered and contradictory rather than linear (Buijs et al, 2006;Ghorashi, 2018;Rouvoet et al, 2017). On the one hand, Dutch language knowledge is considered crucial for migrants to develop feelings of belonging to the Dutch society (Duyvendak, 2011).…”

The Socio-Economic Integration of Ethnic Minorities

“…Konyali and Crul (2017) show that, whilst many second-generation people of Turkish origins have managed to find themselves in elite positions in Germany, they are still faced with an enduring stigma of low status birth, suggesting that gaining social acceptance is difficult even for elites among the ethnic minorities. In a somewhat similar fashion, Rouvoet, Eijberts and Ghorashi (2017) show that Italians in the Netherlands face an identity paradox, feeling isolated in the destination country and being an outsider in the home country. Success requires not only cultural but also identificational integration, a theme echoed by Mattes (2017) on the barriers faced by Muslims in Austria and Germany and by Fernández-Suárez (2017) on immigrant inclusion issues in Spain.…”