Welcome to Walburg Group 4 page!
Group 4 Introduction video~
Story of Migration~
Mawadda, Eva and Trang chose to do interviews.
Why did we choose to do interviews? We were interested in as to why our family members decided to move to different countries and what the reasons behind it were. And since we all chose different countries we can compare them with each other.
Interview 1
Who are you?
Hello! I am the mother of Mawadda.
Where are you from?
I’m from Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.
What was your life like there?
I have nine siblings. As you can imagine I had a very big family. I was the youngest one. My father had a carpenter fabric. We lived in a very big house, which my father built by himself. My father used to work all day and every day. His fabric was next to our house, so it was pretty nearby. There was a war during the time I went to high school and college. When the war started, life was very difficult. Three of my brothers fought in the war for five years. I studied mathematics in the Baghdad University of Science. I loved to study and finish college, and so I did. After I finished college, I began to work as a teacher of mathematics first and then I worked as an accountant at an insurance company. During the time I worked, I got engaged and married. After I got my first son, I stopped working so I could take care of him. Two years later I got my second son. And then when we moved to the Netherlands, I got my third and only daughter.
Why did you choose to move to this particular country?
We didn’t have a preference for a country, but we did want a country that was safe. Our main reason why we fled was because we saw so many dangers in Iraq. We also wanted a better future for our kids. In Iraq you don’t know what the future holds for you, so we wanted to prevent that and live somewhere where we knew our children were in safe hands.
Are you satisfied with your current life here?
Yes, because we live in safety and the future of our kids is bright. And that is the most important thing for us.
Conclusion: I’m satisfied with my current life here. When I see all the issues happening now in Iraq, I feel very sad to see that kind of stuff happening in my homeland. I’m thankful that my family doesn’t have to go through that. If Iraq was safe and all the issues and problems weren’t going on, then I’m willing to go back and live in Iraq.
Interview 2
Who are you?
I’m Frits Eva’s uncle.
Where are you from?
I was born in Deventer, my parents are both from Rotterdam and moved to Deventer
For my father’s job. I was born in this period, in 1962.
How was life in the Netherlands before you moved to Australia?
We didn’t move to Australia because we had to flee from anything or anyone. We moved there because we had been to Australia before, while we were travelling across the globe. And Australia had impressed us.
Why did you choose to move to Australia?
We had multiple reasons to go there. We wanted something new, maybe this has to do with our love for adventure. It was a challenge for us to start something new and because we just had our first daughter, we had the feeling it’s now or never. We then got a so called permanent residency visa.
Were you happy in Australia?
Most of the times yes. Although it was very busy after our second daughter was born. We had a lot of great moments. Especially the first 9 months, when we crossed the country with a camper.
Why did you choose to move back to the Netherlands? When we decided to emigrate my ex-wife had second-thoughts. So we decided beforehand that when one of us was getting homesick, we would return to the Netherlands. After 3 years, my ex-wife felt a certain type of loneliness. The life there is different. Dutch people are overall very open, but Australian people are more closed. For this reason we moved back to the Netherlands.
Interview 3
Who are you?
Hello, I’m Trang’s mother!
Where are you from?
I’m from Tuyên Quang in North-Vietnam.
What was your life like there?
Back then we were very poor. Everyday was hard work and we didn’t have all the privileges we do have now. My mother was a nurse and my father fought in the war. Where he, as you already know, died. We lived in a small village in the mountains. Our house was small and we lived with our whole family in one place. We had our own animals and were surrounded by farms. We were self-sufficient, but relatively poor. Since being a nurse is still a higher class job, we weren’t the poorest out there. I went to a school nearby. I studied as hard and as much as I could. Since I lived in poverty I had to work hard to climb up. For the better future. I met your father in middle school there! Everyday was hard, my mother was working and father in war. I had to take care of myself and my little brother since they mostly came home late, or not at all. I did the house holding. I cooked, cleaned and washed the clothes. We didn’t have a washer, we had to do it by hand. I had to do everything and at the same time I had to keep up with my studies. School there was no joke. You had a lot of homework and the subjects you got were hard. And since the teachers weren’t that good either, you had to do it yourself.
Why did you chose to move to this particular country?
Well I didn’t move to the Netherlands immediately. We moved to Czech first where we studied. That’s where I reunited with your father and in the end married him! Later on we moved to the Netherlands to escape the politics in Czech. The biggest reason for moving out of Vietnam is simply for the better future. If we wanted a better life we had to move to a richer country. Where better paying jobs where available. If we could get more money we could send some home and also start a family without having to worry about my kid’s future, so your future! We didn’t really have a particular reason why we chose to move to the Netherlands.
Are you satisfied with your current life here?
It’s better than what we had before of course. But living so far away from Vietnam isn’t as nice. Our whole family is there, we can almost never see them. And if something happens to them, we can’t just fly over. It’s way too expensive. For now we just hope our kids will have a good job later on so we can maybe move back to Vietnam when we are older to stay with the family. So you and your brother better study hard and get a good job!
Conclusion
If we could we would’ve wanted to be close to our family and friends in Vietnam but our current lifestyle in the Netherlands is alright and for now we are satisfied.
Why did we choose to do interviews? We were interested in as to why our family members decided to move to different countries and what the reasons behind it were. And since we all chose different countries we can compare them with each other.
Interview 1
Who are you?
Hello! I am the mother of Mawadda.
Where are you from?
I’m from Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.
What was your life like there?
I have nine siblings. As you can imagine I had a very big family. I was the youngest one. My father had a carpenter fabric. We lived in a very big house, which my father built by himself. My father used to work all day and every day. His fabric was next to our house, so it was pretty nearby. There was a war during the time I went to high school and college. When the war started, life was very difficult. Three of my brothers fought in the war for five years. I studied mathematics in the Baghdad University of Science. I loved to study and finish college, and so I did. After I finished college, I began to work as a teacher of mathematics first and then I worked as an accountant at an insurance company. During the time I worked, I got engaged and married. After I got my first son, I stopped working so I could take care of him. Two years later I got my second son. And then when we moved to the Netherlands, I got my third and only daughter.
Why did you choose to move to this particular country?
We didn’t have a preference for a country, but we did want a country that was safe. Our main reason why we fled was because we saw so many dangers in Iraq. We also wanted a better future for our kids. In Iraq you don’t know what the future holds for you, so we wanted to prevent that and live somewhere where we knew our children were in safe hands.
Are you satisfied with your current life here?
Yes, because we live in safety and the future of our kids is bright. And that is the most important thing for us.
Conclusion: I’m satisfied with my current life here. When I see all the issues happening now in Iraq, I feel very sad to see that kind of stuff happening in my homeland. I’m thankful that my family doesn’t have to go through that. If Iraq was safe and all the issues and problems weren’t going on, then I’m willing to go back and live in Iraq.
Interview 2
Who are you?
I’m Frits Eva’s uncle.
Where are you from?
I was born in Deventer, my parents are both from Rotterdam and moved to Deventer
For my father’s job. I was born in this period, in 1962.
How was life in the Netherlands before you moved to Australia?
We didn’t move to Australia because we had to flee from anything or anyone. We moved there because we had been to Australia before, while we were travelling across the globe. And Australia had impressed us.
Why did you choose to move to Australia?
We had multiple reasons to go there. We wanted something new, maybe this has to do with our love for adventure. It was a challenge for us to start something new and because we just had our first daughter, we had the feeling it’s now or never. We then got a so called permanent residency visa.
Were you happy in Australia?
Most of the times yes. Although it was very busy after our second daughter was born. We had a lot of great moments. Especially the first 9 months, when we crossed the country with a camper.
Why did you choose to move back to the Netherlands? When we decided to emigrate my ex-wife had second-thoughts. So we decided beforehand that when one of us was getting homesick, we would return to the Netherlands. After 3 years, my ex-wife felt a certain type of loneliness. The life there is different. Dutch people are overall very open, but Australian people are more closed. For this reason we moved back to the Netherlands.
Interview 3
Who are you?
Hello, I’m Trang’s mother!
Where are you from?
I’m from Tuyên Quang in North-Vietnam.
What was your life like there?
Back then we were very poor. Everyday was hard work and we didn’t have all the privileges we do have now. My mother was a nurse and my father fought in the war. Where he, as you already know, died. We lived in a small village in the mountains. Our house was small and we lived with our whole family in one place. We had our own animals and were surrounded by farms. We were self-sufficient, but relatively poor. Since being a nurse is still a higher class job, we weren’t the poorest out there. I went to a school nearby. I studied as hard and as much as I could. Since I lived in poverty I had to work hard to climb up. For the better future. I met your father in middle school there! Everyday was hard, my mother was working and father in war. I had to take care of myself and my little brother since they mostly came home late, or not at all. I did the house holding. I cooked, cleaned and washed the clothes. We didn’t have a washer, we had to do it by hand. I had to do everything and at the same time I had to keep up with my studies. School there was no joke. You had a lot of homework and the subjects you got were hard. And since the teachers weren’t that good either, you had to do it yourself.
Why did you chose to move to this particular country?
Well I didn’t move to the Netherlands immediately. We moved to Czech first where we studied. That’s where I reunited with your father and in the end married him! Later on we moved to the Netherlands to escape the politics in Czech. The biggest reason for moving out of Vietnam is simply for the better future. If we wanted a better life we had to move to a richer country. Where better paying jobs where available. If we could get more money we could send some home and also start a family without having to worry about my kid’s future, so your future! We didn’t really have a particular reason why we chose to move to the Netherlands.
Are you satisfied with your current life here?
It’s better than what we had before of course. But living so far away from Vietnam isn’t as nice. Our whole family is there, we can almost never see them. And if something happens to them, we can’t just fly over. It’s way too expensive. For now we just hope our kids will have a good job later on so we can maybe move back to Vietnam when we are older to stay with the family. So you and your brother better study hard and get a good job!
Conclusion
If we could we would’ve wanted to be close to our family and friends in Vietnam but our current lifestyle in the Netherlands is alright and for now we are satisfied.
Esmee and Lisa decided to write about a picture.
So we think this photograph describes the term migration because these 2 men are walking with a suitcase to their yet for us unknown destination. They could be on their way to the airport, the train station, they could be on their way to anywhere. Maybe they are planning to go to college, maybe they are going to move out of the country because of their rights, they for instance could be in love with each other. In some countries it is not accepted for two men to be in love with each other, so that could be a reason to move somewhere else. If the 2 men are moving into a country it’s called immigration, if the 2 men are moving away from a country it’s called emigration. You can make up any story about the photograph, but eventually all the stories will lead to migration. There are other reasons to migrate but marriage rights. Things like war, water shortage, family, work, literally anything. We could think about a hundred reasons why these 2 men are migrating, but this was the shortest way to express ourselves!
So we think this photograph describes the term migration because these 2 men are walking with a suitcase to their yet for us unknown destination. They could be on their way to the airport, the train station, they could be on their way to anywhere. Maybe they are planning to go to college, maybe they are going to move out of the country because of their rights, they for instance could be in love with each other. In some countries it is not accepted for two men to be in love with each other, so that could be a reason to move somewhere else. If the 2 men are moving into a country it’s called immigration, if the 2 men are moving away from a country it’s called emigration. You can make up any story about the photograph, but eventually all the stories will lead to migration. There are other reasons to migrate but marriage rights. Things like war, water shortage, family, work, literally anything. We could think about a hundred reasons why these 2 men are migrating, but this was the shortest way to express ourselves!
Reacting to quotes/statements about migration!
“Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” -Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Migration
Migration is a way to get away.
To get away from all the terror and fear.
Migration is the reason how you have come here.
Why people immigrate from their country you say?
Because people don't want to live not knowing whether today is their last day.
So let's welcome everyone with open arms.
And not do them any harm.
Migration
In ancient history we were all part of a big mystery.
This mystery was about discovering new land
and so it was all planned
Many of us moved to a new place
these people were immigrants
and had to be embraced.
So I think it’s not fair to say to new immigrants
‘don’t you dare invading our land’
When we are in no place to be talking about being banned
So I agree on Roosevelts quote
and think we should treat immigrants like family
and no like a goat
Migration "Elfjes"
Remember
Remember always
All of us
Are descents from migrants
Migration
Migration
Migration is a way to get away.
To get away from all the terror and fear.
Migration is the reason how you have come here.
Why people immigrate from their country you say?
Because people don't want to live not knowing whether today is their last day.
So let's welcome everyone with open arms.
And not do them any harm.
Migration
In ancient history we were all part of a big mystery.
This mystery was about discovering new land
and so it was all planned
Many of us moved to a new place
these people were immigrants
and had to be embraced.
So I think it’s not fair to say to new immigrants
‘don’t you dare invading our land’
When we are in no place to be talking about being banned
So I agree on Roosevelts quote
and think we should treat immigrants like family
and no like a goat
Migration "Elfjes"
Remember
Remember always
All of us
Are descents from migrants
Migration