The Dutch Perspective
How
are
Greece
and
The
Netherlands
linguistically connected, and what keeps a
Dutch diplomat busy in Athens? Marq Riley
finds out in a conversation with Ambassador
Kees van Rij.
Seated in the residence’s lounge room having tea with slices
of homemade ontbijtkoek (gingerbread cake), Ambassador Kees
van Rij mused upon the long history of Greco-Dutch relations,
his encyclopedic knowledge being enjoyably enlightening and
revelatory. “Our oldest diplomatic mission in the world, the
first one founded by the Dutch in the early 1600s, was in
Constantinople,” explains Van Rij, “and this relationship
developed further within Greece following its independence.
” A little-known fact about humanist scholar Adamantios Korais
is that he started as a translator at the Dutch consulate in
Smyrna, and “later lived for many years in Amsterdam before
moving to Paris.” Having mastered and studied the Dutch
language, Korais incorporated some of its grammar into the
modern Hellenic language structure. “You see his name appear
many times in Dutch archives, because lots of documents from
those former consulates were moved to the Rijksarchief in The
Hague, it’s still a wealth of information about that period of
Greece’s history.”
Van Rij points out that there was even a core of Dutch
philhellenes, poets and politicians, who came to support the
independence movement in the 1820s. Two of these Dutch Byrons
are buried at the Catholic church of Nafplio, which was the
first capital of modern Greece at the time. “On an economic
level, many Greek merchants have for ages been active in
Amsterdam and we had lots of activities here.” Today the Dutch
commercial contingent is omnipresent within Greece, from
Athenian Brewery’s Dutch brand beers and Friesland Campina’s
Nou Nou dairy products to consumer giants Unilever and
Philips. A new batch of investment from producers of green
energy technologies is expected to take off during the coming
years.
“Then of course every year we have between 650-800,000 Dutch
tourists coming to this beautiful country.” According to
recent statistics by the Hellenic Tourist Board, The
Netherlands is the 5th largest purveyor of tourists. Roughly
the size of Amsterdam’s population comes to Greece annually,
mainly concentrated by direct charter flights to Crete, Corfu,
Rhodes and Kos. In addition, the ambassador describes the
thousands of Dutch living in Greece, constituting “many
marriages between mostly Greek men and Dutch women,
expatriates on a temporary basis, and interestingly we also
see a new phenomenon of people taking their pension and want
to live in a pleasant climate. We saw that of course in Spain,
France and Italy, the famous Pensionados, but now this trend
is picking up here, people who for a reasonable price can have
a reasonable house.”
There are a couple of reasons why the Dutch feel so at home in
Greece. Van Rij asserts that it starts from a young age, where
many children know a great deal about Greece from history
lessons and stories, be it in mythology, theatre or movies.
“Of course we are both seafaring nations, both oriented to the
outside world, both looking for the next horizon. A strong
comparison to make is that we are both merchant people.
Wherever you go in the world there are Greeks, the same can be
said about the Dutch”
But perhaps the largest factor uniting the two are their
differences. Greece’s sense of freedom and individuality
borders on the chaotic, while The Netherlands tends to
cultivate its collective structure, but according to Van Rij
this is part of the charm. “This is why many Dutch feel
attracted to the culture and the way of living here and I know
many Greeks like the Netherlands because it’s well-organised
and the trains run on time. Because we are so different we’re
also mutually attracted to each other.”
Visitors of a less fortunate disposition also flock to Greece,
and the Netherlands, as a member of the EU, hopes to alleviate
the acute problems related to migration. “We can support and
assist our Greek partners in taking some of the measure to
deal with this. We are quite experienced in verifying the
background stories of asylum seekers. But there’s also a need
for improving the asylum reception service. Together with
other member states we have created the European Asylum
Support Office, EASO, we work very closely together with the
Ministry of Citizen Protection to make this system function
better. Also we have helped Greek border guards and services,
particularly on the Evros border, by deploying 20 Dutch
experts in the last 4 months along with 200 from other member
states in operation Frontex, which is supported by the EU. Our
position here is that the Greek external border of the EU is
also a Dutch border. These are complex issues, the sudden flux
of migrants coming in to Greece and the EU, which you can’t
deal with overnight but by cooperating on them we’re getting
better and better at it.”
The Dutch Embassy in Athens has been a consistent supporter
of cultural exchanges,
something the ambassador takes
personal pleasure in. Its activities range from hosting ballet
and classical orchestra ensembles in Athens and supporting the
Guitar Festival of Naxos to bringing over jazz groups and
Dutch painters who study and work in The Netherlands.
Laureates of the annual Princes Christina Concours for young
musicians are frequently invited to Athens, even performing at
the ambassador’s residence.
It is however the exchange of life insights with the Greek
people that Ambassador Van Rij will cherish as a fond memory
when he moves on in two years time. “The generosity and
hospitality of Greeks when you meet them for the first time is
incredible. Greeks really reach out, you feel welcome.” And
then there’s the one weakness anyone from the sea-level nation
has, which is a yearning for mountains and vistas. “The most
impressive view that I have seen is on a spring morning from
Mistra to the plains of Sparta, it is unbelievable, I will
never forget that view. The Greeks can be proud to live in
such a beautiful country.”
Dutch Embassy in Athens