Everyone living in the Netherlands has to learn Dutch. This is the message of a publicity campaign the Dutch government is about to launch urging foreigners to take their own responsibility.

The move comes amid growing concerns that immigrants don't do enough to learn Dutch.

A short information film to be frequently aired on television shows several foreigners trying to explain something to a Dutch national - and clearly failing to do so. The subtitled film ends with the caption "real life comes without subtitles", followed by a call to learn Dutch.


The film aims to show that daily life requires everyone to know Dutch to find work, talk with neighbours and doctors, and raise children. Integration Minister Eberhard van der Laan, who oversees the campaign, emphasises that integration comes with obligations.

Integration Minister Eberhard van der Laan:

"People who can't make themselves understood in Dutch, should not be surprised if others don't understand them."

The campaign, the minister explains, highlights people's individual responsibility because not enough foreigners are voluntarily enrolling in an integration course.

At Radio Netherlands Worldwide, whose staff come from all over the world, everyone agrees that knowing Dutch is vital. The publicity campaign, however, prompts widely differing responses, with descriptions ranging from funny to patronising.

For Abir Saras, a Palestinian woman who has been living here for ten years, the film views the language barrier too much from a Dutch angle, making it hard for her to feel involved. She thinks a film made from a foreigner's vantage point would make more sense, something she illustrates recounting an experience of her own.

"I remember how my first year here someone in a shop tried to tell me something and I started crying for not understanding, something I found hugely embarrassing. The spot should emphasise these sort of feelings instead of showing how the Dutch view foreigners."