Minister wants to abolish term ‘allochtoon’
Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin would like to see the Dutch word ‘allochtoon’ abolished. Allochtoon is used to refer to ethnic minorities.
“We must realise that we have a great deal in common in this country. I do not like the compartmentalisation that splits our country in two, for example the antithesis that is so often created between autochtonen’ (native Dutch) and allochtonen. Perhaps we should just stop using the words, as they create a false distinction,” he said yesterday in radio programme De Ochtenden.
The official definition says allochtonen are people born outside the Netherlands or people born in the Netherlands but with one or both parents born abroad. The term was introduced in the 1980s for reasons of political correctness; the words ‘foreigner’ or ’stranger’ became superfluous.
The Christian democrat (CDA) minister admitted that there are problems linked to the multicultural society. But “if we go on talking as if our country is divided, or creating other false distinctions, we only make things worse.”
Source: NIS News, 25 February 2008
February 26th, 2008 at 11:33 am
I agree that the term “allochtoon” is used in a discriminatory way in the Netherlands. As a foreigner, I would always include myself in the “allochtoon” group, but my Dutch friends and family would say “No no, you’re not an allochtoon, you’re French”. Apparently “allochtoon” is used for non-Western foreigners only… But let’s be honest, do Dutch people also call Japanese businessmen working in the Netherlands “allochtoon”?