Departing Dutch shores   

By The Holland Times Wednesday 03 June 2009, 10:06

Living in the Netherlands can give an expat a great wealth of experiences and challenges that are both positive and negative. The soon-to-be outgoing British Ambassador, Lyn Parker, has found his posting in The Hague to be no exception. Over the years, he has been at the helm of the British mission to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), participated in the running of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and helped keep the relationship between Britain and the Netherlands on an even keel. He reflects on some of these tasks with the Holland Times and gives a picture on how he has fared

 

What part of the job has taken up most of your time over the last four years?

It really changes from day to day. Some times I'm busy with the OPCW and ICC, while other times it's dealing with Dutch policy. On another day, it could be about sending troops to Afghanistan.

In mainstream society, the average person would have no idea what is going on in the world of chemical weapons abolition

You're right, not many people are aware of it. And not many people know the OPCW is one of the most successful arms control organisations there is. It's been really successful and in a quiet kind of way the OPCW is making the world a safer place. A treaty was signed quite a few years ago by a majority of countries in the world to prevent the stockpiling of chemical weapons. There is roughly seven countries such as North Korea and a hand full in the Middle East that still need to sign on. We do have an excellent program for the destruction of existing stockpiles. America and Russia are still working on destroying their stocks. Albania has just destroyed theirs and Libya is also working on it. India is also for that matter. It's a very difficult and technical job, dealing with the destruction of these weapons. And the toughest part is making sure hazardous substances are not released into the environment.

What did you do with the OPCW?

I was the Permanent Representative to the organisation for the UK. Part of my job was to try to encourage other countries to join and also help other countries deal with problems caused by the weapons. One problem for example is terrorism. You have to realise that we are not just dealing with military plants that make chemical weapons. We also need to keep an eye on the global chemical industry. Many of the most difficult issues we have are how to deal with the rapidly growing civilian chemical sector. Just how much inspection do we need to do?

Is it possible to control these industries?

The object of any verification system is to understand what is going on and check what they are doing. If necessary we can look at them more closely. But there is never a 100 percent guarantee.

Switching from inside Europe to Central Asia now. How has the relationship with the Dutch as a NATO partner changed since the US sent more troops to Afghanistan?

Very little has changed since the US contributed more troops. Certainly the Dutch will have to think about what they are going to do in August 2010 when the present deployment will finish. It's not on the agenda of the Dutch now, but it will certainly be next year. We are really glad to have them next door to us in Uruzgan. We hope that they will continue a military role, but it still has to be discussed by their policy makers and also with their partners.

Regarding the US, I know the Obama administration has been looking at the region as a whole rather than just Afghanistan. The Pakistanis have always had problems in the border areas. The focus on this region is much higher now than say a year ago.

But current methods are not working. What can be done to turn things around?

If I knew the answer to that I would do something about it. One thing is clear. We didn't go in to Afghanistan with a primarily military mission. Initially, we went in to rebuild the country. The military efforts have increased because of the pressure from Taliban attacks. I think more focus must be put into ramping up the non-military efforts. To deal with the Taliban, there has to be a more viable alternative. The Afghans themselves need to trust their own government more. And their government needs to provide greater security. That's why we are helping them with their military efforts.

Stepping away from Military conflict and looking closer to home, what problems do Brits have when coming to Holland?

Well, other than the usual tourist problems common to every country, very few really. The Municipality of Amsterdam and The Hague now have the expat one-stop shops. They are very helpful for the mire of paperwork and requirements when British expats first come here. We also have a consulate in Amsterdam near Schiphol, to help visitors with problems.

What survival tips would you give the first time expat?

Learn the language. It's not as difficult as some say. If you want to be a great speaker, well that takes time, but good basic Dutch will make your life a lot easier. Also, they should trust public transport and buy a stripper card or OV chip card when it comes in. I'm not in a position to advise about all the paper work that's involved. There is a lot of it. I can understand the frustration that's involved. It is by British standards pretty painful to deal with. Another tip is to use the Municipalities and Access to advise you. I won't even get into the Dutch property system such as dealing with the makelaars.

What can you as a British person learn from the Dutch?

Many things actually, one thing is how they manage problems within their society for example. Now more than ever unemployment in Europe is a huge issue. The Dutch work hard to get their young people employed as quickly as possible, so they don't sit around for too long. They have really active labour market measures, such as recycling the long-term unemployed by retraining them and giving them new skills. The Dutch intervene more than we do in the UK. Another social issue we've learned to deal with from the Dutch was regarding prostitution. The sex industry has underlying problems such as people trafficking and we have an interest in seeing how the Dutch deal with it here. Some of the things they try work and some do not. At the Embassy, we find it really interesting how the Dutch policy makers do their job. Often decisions will be taken based on specialist research that has been carefully assessed by experts. We do it differently at home. There are also some things that we can't adopt. Things that are just not acceptable to the British people at this time, the different ideas are always interesting to study though.

What will you miss about the Netherlands?

I'll miss the Dutch way of communicating and the country itself. In the outside world, we have a very simple monochromatic view of the Netherlands; a nation of traders, engineers and the great city of Amsterdam. But when you spend time here you realise that it is a complex country. There are many different parts of society all pulling at the same time in opposite directions. History lies quite heavily here. Public debate on Dutch identity is also different here than in the UK. Obviously it has to be different, because we have four countries inside the UK. I go to a lot of events that are in Dutch and often I find myself the only non-Dutch person there. I think that gives me a great advantage. To be able to go to the parliament and sit and listen to the sessions, it gives me a great insight to Dutch psychology. You can't really understand a country without understanding their language.

Will you miss anything else?

 It has been really intellectually stimulating. The level of people gathered in this city, with all of its institutions is tremendous. I also love the ease of movement around this country - maybe not at rush hour; cycling too is great here. The people are unnervingly frank. But that's a good thing. You know where you stand.  The Anglo Saxon culture rarely has that. We have British irony, where you say the opposite of what you mean and expect others to understand. But having said that, we work well with the Dutch.

Are the Brits more politically correct than the Dutch?

I don't like using that expression. There are certain things that the Dutch say when describing their country and people that would shock the average Brit. It's partly due to their language and partly to do with their forthright nature. The British tend to talk around things and avoid being direct, which I think we have been forced to do. In Britain we have a much wider range of backgrounds and that means it's harder to stereotype people. When it comes to social integration, we are more careful how we talk to other people and the way we treat them. Although in both countries people from minorities still think they are separated from the mainstream to some degree.

There are some huge differences in Dutch and British political ideology; especially considering a member of Dutch parliament was forcibly ejected from English soil earlier this year.

Yes well with the Geert Wilders case, Britain and the Netherlands have two very different perceptions of what is acceptable freedom of expression and what contravenes the rights of others. The Dutch take a very literal view on the freedom of expression. In the UK, freedom of expression is obviously limited by law and the law of Libel. In the Netherlands there is more of an absolute use of it. The case is in appeal now, so I can't say too much about it.

How is the Dutch perspective to the EU different to that of the UK?

If you had been here five years ago you would have said that the Dutch were more pro-EU and the British people more sceptical. Now over the last few years we have come closer together. The Dutch public is now also very sceptical. Not about being part of the EU but rather what the EU does for them. That's been a bit of a shock for some people. In the UK, I do think we have a more pro-EU government than we have in a long time. But citizens are more sceptical about its politicians and about organisations such as the EU.

What advice would you give your successor?

I think the language is important. The British Ambassador always has to learn Dutch before he or she takes up their post. This gives them a good head start. Another tip is that they should get out and about. Understand the diversity of the Netherlands. I feel I could have done more to get involved with the Dutch business community. But my main advice is to enjoy it!!