MIGRANT VOICES

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Amsterdam is a city of migrants, but rarely do they speak up and share their stories. Migrant Voices is a storytelling project collecting testimonies of first-generation migrants living in the city. Stories are told through text and podcasts. Migrants speak about why they came to the Netherlands, the lives they built, and the impact they have on the city and country. When many in the Netherlands and around the world turn their backs on migrants, we listen to their voices.

           

Calvin Duggan

Originally from Hay-on-Wye, Wales, UK
Living in the Netherlands for 8 years
English Lecturer




“I think there’s the idea that moving between countries is a lot easier than it actually is sometimes. And perhaps I shared that idea for the longest time. I was born and grew up an EU citizen and at some point I wasn’t anymore. And that made me realise how precarious everyone’s position is when you live in a country that’s not your own. And that was made very aware to us after Brexit happened.”

Calvin Duggan has been a migrant for more than 12 years. First living in Switzerland and Romania, before arriving in the Netherlands. With his partner, they decided to move to the Netherlands, choosing the country for work and study opportunities, but also to be closer to family.

“Being far away from family is difficult for a lot of people and we're included in that. So it was a very conscious choice to then be somewhere that was closer, but not necessarily in the same place as our families. I suppose we always think of it as we kind of have the best of both worlds. It's still very easy to get to the places that we like and the people that we love. But we are not necessarily under their feet and they're not under our feet all of the time.”

In the Netherlands, Calvin works as an English professor while also pursuing his PhD. Both the classes he teaches and his PhD program are in English, but under the previous Dutch governments, his programs (as well as many others), have been threatened.

“The argument is that the internationalisation of education in the Netherlands has led to lost opportunities for Dutch students, that places in programmes are lost to internationals or something like that. I struggle to see that based on my experience both as a student and as a teacher. I would say that having a broader range of students in a classroom makes for a richer learning experience for everyone involved. That's true of the international students that come here and get to engage in and learn about Dutch culture, but it's very much true for the Dutch students as well. Speaking to people who speak different languages, that have different cultural and religious backgrounds, especially in my field, that's really what is the bread and butter of what we're doing. And to have that rich diversity in the classroom. You're not just talking about something from afar; you're literally having those discussions in the room, and that's also partially why I came here. 
The programme that I was lucky enough to be a part of when I first moved here had people from Japan, from Hungary, myself from the UK, we have Dutch students, people from a wide array of different backgrounds, both theoretical but also cultural. And that's a real strength, I think. Least of all when you're studying language and culture, but I would go as far to say that it doesn't matter what you're study, that will still give you a wider range of perspectives. And really for me, that's what the university is all about.”

Calvin sees himself as contributing to the social fabric of the city, through his work, but also in his community. He feels he belongs.

“I feel that English is essentially a native language in the Netherlands at this point. It is spoken so frequently. I’m not convinced that language is the only answer to the question [if] someone is integrated in the Netherlands. So if it’s not only about language, then what is it about? I think it’s also about what you do where you live. I also feel more a part of the city just by going to my local bakery. That also means that I feel that I live and belong here. It’s also how I feel I am seen by the people that live where I live. Am I recognised as someone that belongs and lives here or am I seen to be someone that is an outsider?”

Calvin and his partner have lived in several neighborhoods in Amsterdam, but when choosing to buy an apartment, they chose the Amsterdam West neighborhood of Bos-en-Lommer.

“It felt the kind of place that as a non-Amsterdam native you could have a sense of belonging. In a way that you might not in every part of the city, or you didn't necessarily feel that you could in every of the part of city. So the fact that it is a neighbourhood that has a very strong migrant flavour to it, that was appealing to us, when we were looking for somewhere to buy, especially. Perhaps that’s why I feel I am integrated in this area where I live, because people don’t seem to look at me, or I don’t feel like looked at as if I don’t belong here. There are some places I can go in Amsterdam or in the wider Netherlands where I feel my position as an outsider is a bit more strongly felt.”

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