"Dutch Pocahontas" What it's like being half Dutch in the Netherlands?
What is it like to be mixed race in the Netherlands? Half-Dutch? Half-Indonesian? 🇳🇱🇮🇩
There are more and more mixed people in the Netherlands-not a surprise as the Netherlands houses over 200 nationalities.
👋 Meet Romy. She's an energic coach who grew up in the Netherlands as half-Dutch and half-Indonesian. We talk about her experiences growing up, her identity, the differences between the two cultures, and the benefits/challenges of being mixed race.
👩🏻 Check out Romy's website - www.theholisticorganizer.nl/
⏰ CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro
00:55 Meet Romy 🇳🇱🇮🇩
01:33 Growing up mixed race?
02:41 Discrimination?
03:54 When did you first feel like you looked "different"?
06:17 What do you identify as?
06:31 What do you like about Dutch and Asian cultures?
08:34 Challenges?
09:31 How is love expressed in the two cultures?
11:03 Common questions as a mixed person?
12:11 Ending
📽 OTHER VIDEOS:
🇳🇱 Dutch Culture Shocks - • What are the biggest D...
🇳🇱 Why are the Dutch so direct? • Why are the Dutch so d...
🇳🇱 Growing up Chinese Dutch - • Growing up Chinese Dut...
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😁 WHO AM I?
I'm David, a Californian living in Amsterdam. I make videos about life in the Netherlands, hiking/traveling, and the Camino de Santiago.
🔸 If you live in the Netherlands, I'd love to hear your story and interview you.
Email: hidavidwen@gmail.com
We call ourselves Indos. Indos are those of us who have mixed Asian and European ancestory and who are or were Dutch citizens. Most of us were born or have parents who were born in Indonesia before their independence in 1949 though culturally most of us were as much Dutch as we were Indonesian. Indos can also have Malaysian, Moluccan, Chinese, German, Swiss, Portugese, or any other combination of Asian and European ancestory but all with a common tie to what used to be the Dutch East Indies. After Indonesian independece, and the bloody war fought over it, the vast majority of Indos, or Dutch Indonesians as we are sometimes called, were repatriated to the Netherlands during the 40s and 50s. As an Indo, and having lived in Nederland before moving to the United States, it never seemed at all odd to celebrate Sinter Klaas while having nasi goreng for dinner and speaking both Dutch and Indonesian in the home while growing up, and I never felt any racial discrimination UNTIL I moved to the United States.
Yeah in The Netherlands there definitely was discrimination, but when you compare it even 1960s Dutch levels of discrimination to modern American discrimination then it's two different worlds. I agree
@@teaser6089 It may be true that there was discrimination against the Indos arriving in Nederland in the 60s but I certainly didn't feel it. Perhaps my father who was competing for available jobs felt it, but I know that my mother and grandmother and others were very happy in Nederland. From what I recall hearing from family and friends, whatever animosity there was was always centered around jobs ... and girls.
@@hellmuthschreefel9392 yeah compared to other places it was pretty mild.
@@teaser6089 why are you comparing ? people are talking about their own experiences, no reason to compare to say what's worse or not
@@ryantnttve1953 it's a dutch thing
I love your questions David! Super bold and always on point!
Thanks Nikolas! Appreciate the kind words
I've always found this idea that the typical Dutch girl was blonde with blue eyes weird. Because the most common hair color is brown. Only people of Frisian decent(the people, not the province), tend to have blonde hair. That is however a minority.
Thanks for sharing, I think maybe media portrayal has caused this "misperception?"
That was beautiful. Such a lovely, positive, confident woman.
🙌🙌🙌
I enjoy watching these interviews David. It's really fascinating to see what it means to be a Dutch person at a very granular level. Romy's background as half Indonesian/half Dutch shows there's a lot of nuance to the culture and people of the Netherlands.
We are indeed a very nuanced and sometimes weird people i do agree 🤣
Thanks for sharing and for the kind words. There is a lot of nuance to the culture of the Netherlands-it's become so diverse!
Living as a Dutchie in Indonesia, Batam/Singapore! Love it:). Keep it up, David. The Netherlands is still one of the best countries to live! But I prefer Asia:):):)
Thanks! Oh yeah I just came back from Asia…there are lots of things I love about Asia :)
Just say you have fetish and keep going lmao
And being half Asian and half european(ot Dutch of you want to) is just amazing. Best of two continents!
Agree!
When I went to my family reunion back in the 80's one of my Aunts pointed out why 1/2 of us there were pink skin VS light olive complexions. She went to a world map posted at the event and stayed "you are here and your fore fathers decided to Indonesia and F around there. So bringing all their wives and kids back to the home country (Holland) the rest is history"
Oh wow, that was very direct and honest 😂
@@hidavidwen Kinda racist if you ask me. Sounds like some American black would say. Oh all whites are descendants of slave owners! In reality 0.3% of Dutch people worked for the VOC, and there were 10million LESS people in The Netherlands back then. So the chance MY ''FORE FATHERS'' destroyed Indonesia is pretty damn small. There's a higher chance a Dutch person has Roman DNA than that he is a descendant of Dutch slave traders, or colonizers.
Yeah, she has some Indonesian roots for sure. The way she talks about her Indonesian culture tells enough. 😉
Can surely hear her Dutch accent more than yours, but it sounds cute, so no reason to lose it.
why would he have a dutch accent? hes from the us
@@gaolen I didn't say his accent, I said her, you must have read it wrong, the Pocahontas girl has a Dutch accent when speaking English. But most Dutch people also have the same accent, it is a common issue.
@@dutchy1121 you said "more than yours" so i assumed you were talking to the video maker
@@gaolen Well, I know he isn't dutch, but that is probably why you said something. Either way most Dutch people have accents when they speak English so there is no fault. That is normal for anyone who speaks another language.
Which 50% of being Dutch is she supposed to be missing? I don't see it. Silly American frames, Dutch is a nationality, not a race.
No but it is also an ethnicity. And these frames aren't just American. Americans are just more aware, we Dutch confuse our ignorance for superiority. We have a lot of the same issues in the Netherlands, it's just to differing degrees
"Which 50% of being Dutch is she supposed to be missing?" 🧐She ain't missin' anythin', she's just not the typical Dutch caucasian.
@@michalovesanime No, we have different issues but those appearently weren't big enough for some who are determined to project American issues on it so they can just copy/paste the words without having to think. Besides the fact that the issues are very different, you are confusing ignorance with awareness.
@@michalovesanime compared to the US our issues are so small you need a magnifying glass to see them
Dutch is a culture, nationality and an ethnicity.
She is so beautiful and precious
You could have asked her more about her "Indonesian" family, it’s interesting to hear their story, when and why they came to the Netherlands. I put Indonesian between quotes because I doubt her family is Indonesian. Before Indonesia's independence, it was called The Dutch-East Indies, during that colonial era many Dutch men had children with native women. So the offspring of Dutch and native people are mixed, we're called "Indische Nederlanders" in short Indos. Even though Indos were born in the Dutch East Indies, most were given Dutch nationality and were brought up with the Dutch language. Our culture however is very influenced by Indonesian culture but obviously also by Dutch culture. After the war a lot of indos came to the Netherlands, she says she has a big "Indonesian" family, more reason to believe she means her Indische/Indo family and not Indonesian. Indische/Indo people are not Indonesian.
Yup. Just look up Dutch Swimmer and Olympic Gold Medalist, Ranomi Kromowidjojo. She is either a quarter or half Indonesian from her father's side.
@@victorsamsung2921 yes what about her? her father Javanese but born in Suriname (South-America) , she has Indonesian roots but she's not indo by our definition of indo
@@ryantnttve1953 Doubt it. Ranomi is definitely what you consider Indo. As much as Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who is also half or quarter Indonesian.
@@victorsamsung2921 where are you from ? we have different definitions of "indo" and "Indonesian". Please read my first comment to understand what we descendants of people from the Dutch East Indies consider "Indo". Giovanni van Bronckhorst is Moluccan , Moluccans in the Netherlands don't like to be called Indonesian.
@@ryantnttve1953 I'm from the Netherlands. So I know what I am talking about. That includes Giovanni van Bronckhorst, as the Moluccans *are* a part of Indonesia, and were a part of the Dutch East Indies, whether you like it or not. And don't be offended by facts.
Nice interview again David. I cannot speak for other Dutch people, but to me Indonesian people, as wel as people from Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao are considered Dutch when they come to live here. Also the people from Suriname, because of the colonial history.
On paper we are, but in practice we're not seen as such by a lot of white Dutch people. Unfortunately
@@michalovesanime That's just your own racist generalizing prejudiced mindset, which explains why you only apply it to Dutch people of a particular color
@@michalovesanime most people consider you guys Dutch. Everyone can be Dutch, it's a mindset. But there is a difference between being culturally Dutch and Ethnic Dutch.
I was born in Aruba and raised in Curaçao. I’ve also lived in Den Haag. We are born Dutch citizens and we’re often referred to as Caribbean Dutch (Caribische nederlanders) and I have no problem with that. Our islands have been part of the Dutch Kingdom for 400 years.
@@mauritsvanoranje6725 you might be one of those white Dutch people he's talking about, you seem very judgmental while he's only talking about HIS experience that YOU will never experience so you have no clue about it
Love your Videos! I have a Beautiful Indonesian Grandson!!
Thanks Sho!
Very pretty episode. 👏👏👏👏👏👏
She is nice. She is talking Dutch English.
Dutch English lol?
@@Ama94947 With a dutch accent hahaha.
I don't want to be rude (or direct), but I want to be straight: you might fit to each other fine. That is what I picked up from this interview.
As a pure Filipino and having a half Dutch half Filipino friend felt amazing and blessing to me for some crazy reason that I can’t explain
You felt connection with someone who was similar to you…I can relate
Hey, Pocahontas... you know that thinnie little corner of your soul where you are hiding yourself from danger and evil people (who ever they are)? I am there with You and I guard You and protect You and I love You! Just You to know.... Stay well sister.
The typical Dutch person actually doesn't have blonde hair and blue eyes. That is a misconcenption. The typical Dutch had brown eyes and brown hair. My grandma for example is Dutch and many people would have thought she was Spanish but no she is Dutch to at least go back to the 1400s. Many people actually looked like that.
Thanks for sharing, I didn't know that. That definitely is a misconception then (I've met a lot of Dutch here now and not everyone has blonde hair blue eyes)
the nazis didnt agree tho
maybe your grandma was "spanish" so what
Spanish war mongerer.
My bf too! He is Dutch with dark brown hair and dark green eyes
🤔I guess Romy's experience growing up mixed race differed from mine or my dad's? Must be a generational thing then, cauz when my father arrived in the Netherlands he was treated as a 2nd class citizen even when he had a higher education and his Dutch was better than most. His educational diplomas where declared void, because he received his education in Indonesia, which at the trime was still part of the kingdom of the Netherlands. The fact that his teachers were Dutch monks and the lessons were in Dutch didn't help either. You could say the 1st generation of Indonesians were treated the exact same way colored Americans were treated during the segregation. Fortunately this improved quickly cauz I as a 2nd generation was treated equal and had the same rights as every other Dutch citizen. 😶The only discrimination I experienced was that the Dutch kids called me 'peanut' for havin' brown skin instead of white, but fortunately nothin' too serious.
I mean yeah but that was what just after Indonesia became independent or before? Much has changed since then, things that were culturally accepted then Arent anymore. And yeah name calling sadly is a thing and kid experiences in school. If you are white than you usually Don't get name called for race but if you are unfortunate enough to be a little less tall you are going to be name called for Dwarf. Not to take away for the sad thing we still name call, but Kids Don't have developed brains so they Don't realize how much pain it can cause, even though we as adults now also realize that it's not that serious.
@@teaser6089 "Much has changed since then, things that were culturally accepted then Arent anymore." 👍Agreed. I attribute this to the fact that the Dutch wholeheartedly embraced Humanism & socialism, while the Americans never have. To this day they still haven't cauz they already see socialism as anti-capitalism, thus anti-American. 😞Which explains why the colored Americans, especially black Americans, still aren't treated the same as white Americans.
I reckon your parents where refugees and the Netherlands provided them a new home? Not sure if I agree with your 2nd class citizen statement... My parents also fled Indonesia and had to start from scratch in a densely populated country (lot of other people that also have diplomas). But they worked themselves up and are very grateful for the opportunities the Netherlands provided.
@@letitiadominica2588 "I reckon your parents where refugees and the Netherlands provided them a new home?" My grandfather worked for the PTT so was a civil servant and was ordered to come to the NL. I'm unclear on my father's family, but am certain my mother's family had to pay for boarding so were never given a home. "Not sure if I agree with your 2nd class citizen statement..." 🤔Well if your diploma is nullified just because it wasn't given in the NL even when the teachers were Dutch and the lessons were given in Dutch I can only conclude that the location where the education took place was problematic and not the education itself. Furthermore my grandfather was the head honcho of the PTT in te Moluccan and when my father was given a job at the PTT here in the Netherlands he quit after the 1st day. He never spoke of it, but I believe that my father probably mentioned that his father had a high position in the PTT in the Moluccan and that he was proud of that and that his co-workers made it clear to him that he'll never get a manager position here in te NL like his father did in te Moluccan. Just because my grandfather couldn't pay for another education for my father he was forced to become a blue-collar worker. Not that there's anything wrong with blue-collar work, it's just that the education my father had received and my grandfather had paid for was suddenly worth less than nothing. "But they worked themselves up and are very grateful for the opportunities the Netherlands provided." 🙄Why rebuild when te government can take it away in the drop of a hat? Somehow the injustice of nullifying my dad's diploma resulted in me not caring about education or diplomas. I rather put my faith in actual experience instead of (theoretical) knowledge. 🧠Heck, experience is always knowledge but knowledge is NOT experience.
Thanks for sharing. Unfortunate to hear about your father's experience. I wonder if it's a generational thing? Glad to hear you didn't experience anything serious.
Nationality, culture, race (?) or better; your specific looks… these are tags. Emphasizing these tags for yourself gives a discriminative perspective. “That image shouldn’t be stucked” for yourself, she said. If you don’t like people to put a tag on you, why should you do it for yourself?
I feel like just because those things mean a lot to the person themself that doesn't mean other people should be allowed to discriminate against them
@@sarinabina5487 Of course it can be nice of even necessary to emphasize a characteristic, nobody should judge / discriminate you on that. But everyone is more than just 1 characteristic or identity, a person is a multi-color of identities. But as media could make flat characters, I’d never speak from 1 of my characteristics on behave of the people I share that 1 identity with.
i love these tags, its very important where my parents parents came from, what they valued and died to protect, what cultural strengths makes them thrive, people who think of these things in terms discrimination are likely completely out of touch with reality.
Normally I really appreciate your video's because they show a bit about dutch culture. But I cannot watch this, as i saw here in the comments dutch is a nationality not a race. It feels like you try to fit a very American way of thinking and framing onto the dutch culture. I really don't care what your ethnic background is. If you speak english with a dutch accent like that you are dutch.
Dutch is a nationality, a culture and an ethnicity. Dutch is a subset of the European race. Closely related but different from Germans and British.
@@teaser6089 No, race doesn't scientifically exist. The Dutch language is closely related to German and English but genetically it has closer ties to Frisian and French then British native populations. But the European Race isn't a measurable thing that exists.
@@mormacil i disagree. A chiwawa and a German Shepherd are different races of the dog animal. Humans also have racial groups. Its genetic fact
@@teaser6089 Dogs have breeds, not races. Though in biology they're all just dogs, no further distinction exist based on biological markers. What is and isn't part of a breed is purely opinion. Humans do not have races no breeds. A black person from Ethiopia on average has less genetic similarities with a black person from Ghana then a white person from Spain has with an Asian person from Japan. In fact you can pretty comfortably say that any two people from outside of Africa are closer related then the African example. A possible exception perhaps to Australian aboriginals and very select island populations. But anyone from a major landmass would qualify. Dividing humans into racial categories based on continental ancestry has no basis in biology. No such identifiable markers exist. Well none that stand up to modern science, you can find plenty of racist outdated ideas that have since been thoroughly debunked.
Thanks for sharing Edo. Appreciate hearing your point of view. It's why I do this, to also learn from people like you. I am curious to explore what it means to be "Dutch." Especially given the fact that over 200+ nationalities currently live in the Netherlands. It's great you don't care what ethnicity people are-I hope we can treat people as people. But some people do care in the society we live in. And it's good to have people like to you reinforce the fact that we are all people.
She was slightly offended by the questions because she knows she is attractive - the questions really didn't apply. An attractive woman of a different race = exotic.
As a 29year old 100% dutch male, I can say she is the girl next door. She is stunning, absolutely gorgeous.
I agree, she. Is beautiful.
I prefer Europeans, but to each their own.
She is not “the girls next door”. She’s quite exceptional physically. That said, I prefer blond hair blue eyed women.
You’re right, she is beautiful, just like most Dutch people :)
@@jrcreator2257 she is the girl next door, thats where she lives
I consider people with mixed blood quite often attractive. When we would have less people fretting about "pure blood" we would have a better world.
There is no such thing as pure blood lol. Although there are islamic groups that still use inbreding in certain areas as in the UK for example. We Dutch people are already mixed blood. My sister has French, Italian DNA and we also have morrocan DNA and some Scandinavian.
@@-_YouMayFind_- True. If only some dickheads would accept that. But more mixing is better in my view.
@@-_YouMayFind_-yeah there isn't "pure blood" but a lot of people still think that way here in Europe unfortunately & that's where you have a lot of discrimination that still occurs but people don't want to admit it here in the NL b/c tolerance is somehow equated with being non-racist
the dutch english accent is the best XD
I can recognize the dutch english accent a mile away now haha XD
She is so attractive lmao, so i"m not surprised by the reaction from the guys on the beach
Dit heeft alles te maken met hoe jij bent.
im half indonesian and dutch too🤪🤪🤪
Were there things you could relate with?
Not Indonesian ! We were kicked out of Indonesia after the independence. The Indonesians saw us as foreigners there. Many of us were killed. Our parents lost there everything.
I am half dutch and half italian this gife me a laugh
Me too, Dutch mother and Italian father, born in Italy, moved to the Netherlands with 6 months, living there my first 6 years and then living for over 10 years in Germany, hence I feel myself European. ;-).
@@ingridcapezzuoli3271 you had a dutch name and italian last name. My mother is italian and my dad dutch! Vivo a Maastricht. Dove sei?
@@Gianluca-ROTTERDAM Actually I am living in Italy at Carate Brianza some where between Milan and the lake of Como, but I still feel more European rather than italian or Dutch ;-)) It was however my Italian father who choose my Scandinavian first name since my full name would be Ingrid Maria Silvana Capezzuoli.
@@Gianluca-ROTTERDAM im from Simpelveld, Limburgers!!! Geboren in Gelderland, maar voel me meer Limburger dan wat anders 😅🤣
@@teaser6089 haha dan zijn we provincie genoten. Ik woon in Venlo.
Why do people always think of who I am ? In HK , we are always asked by journalist that you are Chinese or HKger.
Thanks for sharing Kenice. How do you feel when you get asked that question in HK-Chinese or HKger? I think for some, identity plays a big role...especially as we grow up and especially if you grow up looking different than everyone else.
@@hidavidwen thank you,David. I never think of you will reply a simple Q so genuine and fast. Will share more of my think when I have time. (now is in a hurry). i like your topics. Big thx and support.
Future wife David 🤔?
If you have to choose between the girl next door or you have to drive half hour for this girl, who would you take?
Girl next door.
Weird ass question go grap some grass
The amount of energy you put into trying to get this wonderful woman to “admit” that she’s dealt with some kind of “racism” or “discrimination”, was nauseating. I had to smile every time you tried to push her there and she shot you down. Each time is was pretty much, “No American, I understand that you’re brainwashed, but I simply didn’t encounter racism.” I definitely felt your US (California) indoctrination resonate throughout the interview. She’s talking about love and happiness, and you’re trying to make it “anti-white, racism and hate”. Typical American.
That is the american for ya, no real culture or identity and thus obsesses over race. Grievance culture and racebaiting is their primary export in 2023.
uhm half of NL is half dutch :P
Only a few % is actually.
sh'es beautiful woman.
she IS a typical dutch girl.
Yes she is!
Ti amo bellisima
I think one thing that's helped her is that she's very attractive, and relatively young so the times have changed. Eddie Van Halen (who's also half Dutch half Indonesian) and his family experienced so much racism here they moved to the US.
That was in 1950.
Are you sure the fact that the Dutch government had to commandeer rooms in private home's to house all the people who lost their home in the war and all the refugees from the bersiap era had nothing to do with it?
pretty sure that this is inaccurate.... also take account that the WW2 also happened 😑
Should take your shoes off when sitting on someone's sofa 😂
Oh I didn't notice but yes, I should know better =)
Dang u are pretty
What a BS..... If you look like someone it just happens to be that way and has nothing to with race or whatever. Take the compliment and continue your life.
Pov je bent geboren in nl maar bent half nl
being half dutch in the netherlands means , you are constantly whining about your position in this country and feeling discriminated against. thereby avoiding , that it is not other people that make your life, but it is yourself that has to do it. just because you have 2 nationalities, does not mean that you get to be half a person, and that you get to obscure from your responsibilities. and the rest of us have to cater to your needs.
Thanks for sharing. I like what you said about the fact that we all have to take control of our lives.
Single? By choice?
It would have been a better interview about mixed race if you got European with (northern) African. I can imagine that those people encounter racism more than European-Asian people.
🖐Don't underestimate Asian hate caused by Covid.
Thanks Anette, that would be an interesting one to explore
Anette but then it would almost be like he’s specifically hunting for stories about racism in the Netherlands, and not sure if that would be good motivation, would it? It’s all so much about identity politics these days. What I liked about this lady is how ‘unity’ and ‘building bridges’ shines through in all her answers, which in my opinion should be the focus, and not polarization. Not saying that discrimination in not a real problem in society: because it is and it should be addressed. But I’m all for addressing discrimination by leading by example of building bridges and unity. Those kind of stories we need to hear more often.
I think people are way too focussed on racism. If you focus on it you will find it everywhere. As racism is not just coming from white people which should be said too.
@@OprechtLetterlijkBizar Exactly
where did you forebears come from? let me guess, China?
I seriously doubt these numbers in the beginning. 1/10 mixed race? I very highly doubt that. Most Ethnic Dutch prefer other Ethnic Dutch, just like how Ethnic asians usually prefer other Ethnic asians. I just looked up the numbers and I think you are confusing the marriages with foreigners with "mixed race", but this number also counts Germans, Belgians, British and French as foreigner, so they are clearly not mixed race. The real number of "mixed race" marriages in NL is MUCH lower than that.
I think genetic research would show that almost everyone is mixed
"Most Ethnic Dutch prefer other Ethnic Dutch" 🧚♀LoL that's just your assumption/reasoning, cauz once love enters the picture it throws reasoning straight out of the window. "I just looked up the numbers and I think you are confusing the marriages with foreigners with "mixed race", but this number also counts Germans, Belgians, British and French as foreigner, so they are clearly not mixed race." 😏LoL you just listed nationalities where for example a French woman might be of Asian descent so if she married a Dutch caucasian guy or girl it clearly is a mixed race marriage.
Not my Dutch mother and Moluccan father making me and my sister xD
@@TrickyD i dont see 2% Asian ancestry as mixed race.
@@TrickyD I'm Dutch i know my people. I speak for experience.
Asian's are famous for good cooks. Ehm.. come again?
No? Well, I think she was also referring to the fact that Asian food is world-renowned for its cuisine. (Though I am Asian but definitely not a good cook...)
she's nice but what a lost young woman.
She is nice. I don't know about lost...but is being "lost" a bad thing? She is exploring life. Aren't we all? =)
@@hidavidwen yes we all trying to figure out what the hell is going on, arent we? :) it's just in my experience so far in life, people who talk about vibes, energy and what not are very lost confused people. that's all.
There is no such thing as a half dutch. Sure people wil entertain your delusion but that is just good mannerism.
What do you mean
@@asdawasda That being dutch and having a dutch nationality are not always the same thing. If a dog gets born in a horsestable that does not make it a horse.
lots of bountys too ...coconuts !!!