meeting with a minister

(lady with the mike...)

I’m not the biggest fan of the minister for integration and immigration, Rita Verdonk. Under her watch, children asylum seekers have been put in jail, people who’ve been living, some even born, in this country (illegally) for years have been forcibly deported, and at one point she was even on the verge of deporting homosexual Iranians back to their country. Her favourite motto seems to be ‘rules are rules’.

But then as the minister for integration, she has somewhat been more vocal on homosexual affairs than the rest of the cabinet ministers of this centre-right coalition government. Her VVD party (Party for Freedom and Democracy) places Article 1 of the Constitution on non-discrimination on whatever grounds above all else, and this includes sexual orientation.

So with the elections in ten days, she was invited by the biggest ho(mo)le(sbian)bi(sexual)-interest group COC for a ‘meeting with the gay voters’ in Amsterdam. Especially since the discussion was centred around ‘Homosexuality and ethnic minorities’. This I just couldn’t miss.

So I ordered a drink and sat around in the gay lounge/bar. The place was crowded with reporters and journalists and other prominent parliamentarians and ‘the common gay voter’. I was pretty nervous actually, as I always am in ‘strange’ places with strangers. Besides, I really rarely go to gay places, and everyone else seemed to be so much older and were all mingling and chatting in groups or couples. Sat around, fidgeted with my drink, read and re-read the brochures and election pamphlets, and tries to look interested, all the while hoping the show would start soon…

Finally after half an hour the minister showed up…fashionably late. She looked pretty much the same as on TV, though being just a metre away from her made it all the more exciting. A bright, long red scarf wrapped around her neck, dark blazer over a white blouse. As she walked toward the podium, she stopped and chatted to people. Most were friendly and shook hands with her, exchanging chit chat. Though one or two were not so impressed.

“Whoever pays a visit brings a gift”, she began. And she started off almost immediately with a pledge of seven hundred thousand Euros to COC and the National Bureau against Racial Discrimination (Landelijk Bureau ter bestrijding van Rassendiscriminatie). A grand gesture, which sent the audience wild and applauding.

Her ‘masterplan’ is to make homosexuality accepted and discussable in society as a whole, and in particular within ethnic minority groups where a lot of intolerance and misunderstanding exists. As Verdonk said, though 90% of Dutch people accept homosexuality, in reality and practice the situation is much more different. Some 30% of Dutch natives still have a problem having a homosexual friend, whereas this within the Turkish and Morrocan communities stands at a staggering 80% (according to a recent survey in Rotterdam).

This man came on stage and told of his torments when a group of ethnic minority teens set his house on fire. Hate crimes are on the rise, but existing legislation don’t specifically refer to homophobia as one of the causes. So this money will try to combat all that. Applause. Applause.

At one moment this old lady went on stage and gave an impassioned speech about the plight of homosexual seniors. About how lonely they are, about how retirement homes don’t cater for their needs, and how they are the lost and forgotten generation because of the taboos in the past.

Much of the pledged funds will target schools, where a lot of young people still have much problems coming out, and recent reports have revealed that even teachers are going back into the closet. In much rehearsed jargons she reiterated the importance of equality and non-discrimination as the key foundation of ‘virtues and values’ of this country, and that there can be no compromise of these principles. Ethnic groups should be engaged and (made to) accept homosexuality as a norm, just as heterosexuality is accepted. Being gay cannot be a “taboo”, everyone should be able to live freely and openly as they choose to. Surprising, Verdonk says, that some 30% of people still don’t dare to come out at th work place. Why should it matter who you sleep with if you do your job well? The crowd cheered and applauded some more.

I felt at times I was at a party convention, and that this 'meeting with gay voters' was no more than part of a election campaign. Deep down I wondered how much of that money will really improve anything. With my usual sense of cynism, I left after the debate finished.