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?
“I had to go through some moments when I had to accept my cause, to understand that I would not become a world-famous soloist, that I wouldn’t be such a big name, as it is, in fact, expected of you in the schools in Romania. But success does not reside in these things, but in the perseverance with which you build something.”
“To be integrated means to be open to the culture in which you settle, without forgetting or denying your roots. You take something from that society, but you also bring something along. We, as Romanians, have an extraordinary richness of emotions and feelings that we can use here very well”
“… For us, it is important that we are very well integrated into the Dutch society.”
“Maybe the biggest change in perspective I’ve had since arriving here was that I changed my definition of success. I am successful now but I don’t have either money or cars. What I do have is impact on other people’s lives and I believe that, eventually, this is what success is about”
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