Integration is stagnating

Jan Latten, a social-demographic researcher working for the Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS), says that integration is stagnating. The main cause is that both the 'upper white class' and the lower, mostly non-Dutch, class are marrying only within their own social groups.

The contrast between rich and poor is growing. According to the CBS, 80% of young Dutch of Turkish or Moroccan origin want to marry within their own religious group. According to Latten, this will cause the differences between the various groups, in education and income, to pass on to the next generation.

If most drop-outs of today marry each other, the parents will have few chances and will pass on their situation to their kids. In twenty years the new generation will be falling behind.

This "hereditary" of education, income and social class is denied in the Netherlands. But it's clear to see that a kid whose father doesn't earn much, will have twice as much chances to have low income as well.

Unemployment among youth is 12%, but for Moroccans it stands at 28%. Differences in education levels lead to differences in earning power. These lead to differences in buying power, and to the different social classes living in different areas.

The different social classes have their own schools, and operate in their own parts of the job market, live in their own streets and move almost entirely within their own social network.

In Amsterdam, the chances of a Dutch meeting a Moroccan fell from 61% in 1995, to 45% in 2004. According to Latten, the less people meet, the less chances they have to socialize, the more the chances of conflict grow.