If you feel you should have an opinion on something...
I think it's very important to be able to see it from someone else's perspective as well.
With this subject, we really fail to do that in the Netherlands.
When Rutte says things like: 'I would prefer Dutch jihadists to die over there in Syria...
than to return...
I mean, I suppose it wins him votes...
but for a father in Amsterdam-North it's very painful to hear.
This father actually told me: 'He's my prime minister as well.
He's the prime minister of all citizens. He has to do what a prime minister should do:
bring his citizens home safely.
I think there are not enough people...
who understand how painful a comment like that can be...
for relatives.
The same with a comment like: 'They haven't been raised right.'
I mean, you've lost your child, in some cases literally, to begin with...
and to add insult to injury they tell you you haven't raised your child properly.
I mean, do they have any personal experience with this?
They are basically ruthlessly condemning someone. It's just wrong.
My name is Ozan, I'm 34. In 2016, I organised three meetings about dialogue.