After living for so many years in the Netherlands, we started to appreciate the idea of a community of Romanians, we started to understand that it would be very good to find out about one another, who we are, why we are here, why we feel good in this country.
And so the project Noi Rădăcini – New Roots – was born: a format based on short interviews, which will be published every week for a year. 52 interviews in total.
Who is it for? First, to say that Romanians feel good when living in the Netherlands. We can collect their stories, some different from the culture and traditions they left behind, and we can learn from them. We, Romanians, want to learn about other Romanians, to understand the different facets of living and being successful in the Netherlands.
Second, Noi Rădăcini wants to be a credible source of information for the Dutch people, focusing on the good things Romanians actually do in the Netherlands, from things that are tangible and easy to appreciate, to less tangible things that nevertheless make the Dutch society work.
There is also a third reason for Noi Rădăcini to exist, a reason perhaps only meaningful to the authors: we were and remain curious about Romanians living in the Netherlands. Who are these beautiful and courageous people?
“Many people ask me what I find so special about the Netherlands. I think that this country has a very favorable environment for business and personal development. For the simple reason that nobody bothers you. If you are good and talented, they come to you with a proposal to collaborate, just because they realise that there’s something in it for them as well.”
“I get agendas as a present from the Dutch, from the Romanians, the habit just doesn’t stick to me. When someone asks something, now I’ll say out of fear “I’ll check my agenda”, but, in fact, I’ll check the agenda in my head.”
“You are successful the moment when you can change someone’s life – that is what I used to think back then. The idea of success has not changed. In principle, I like to continue to help people.”
“For me, having success doesn’t mean material gains. It is a certain contribution that I can bring to the community I live in, to the society, to the country I live in, and in my particular case a contribution to the country I left behind. Through my Romanian classes, I give something back to Romania. The success for me is expressed through the personal satisfaction and through what I offer to the children, first of all.
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