Migrant workers about their dreams for the future in the Netherlands ‘Little stress, a holiday home in Spain and friendly Dutch people’
Migrant workers who settle permanently in the Netherlands often also open their own company. Many Eastern Europeans start working as self-employed in construction, as a nail technician, beautician or hairdresser. Others start a shop or a restaurant. A tour through the village center of Noordwijkerhout shows that a large number of business and retail properties are occupied by Eastern European entrepreneurs.
There are two Polish supermarkets on the Marktplein and the Dorpsstraat. The overcrowded shelves largely contain the same products as in the Dutch supermarkets. Knorr soup, Lays chips but with Polish names. “Handy, because now you at least know what you’re buying”, a design of customers’ preference for the Polish supermarket. Also for Johanna, who has lived in the Netherlands for two years but does not speak Dutch, it is nice that she knows what she is buying. “I come here to buy food for my child from elsewhere. Then I immediately take some other things with me” she reports when she comes out with a plastic bag full of groceries. She has time on Wednesday morning because she works at Schiphol and therefore at irregular times.
Besides the Polish specialties, the supermarkets are also popular because they sell Polish specialties. The Polish pickles in a jar, for example, are less sour than the Dutch ones. And the Polish cold cuts but also the Polish cake and sweets have a different taste. “Once we offered something to our Dutch neighbors, we didn’t like it. Candy with plum. Originally it is a typical Polish taste”, says one of the customers.
Other herbs
Krystyna van Overloop (60) is the owner of the supermarket on the Marktplein. When she moved to the Netherlands 29 years ago to ride on friends’ children, she never imagined that she would one day run a supermarket. “My son’s friends tipped me off about Noordwijkerhout. In 2013 I rented the building on the Marktplein. I registered with the Chamber of Commerce and a few months later I started selling products from Poland. And it’s going well because I have no complaints, even though I now have competition in the village.”
It now employs eight people. She estimates that 90 percent of her customers are of Polish nationality. “Why do they come here? In Poland we use different herbs than in the Netherlands. It’s just a different taste.” She attributes the fact that the Dutch do not visit the store often due to the language problem. “Many staff don’t speak much Dutch. If you can’t read the labels, it’s hard not to ask a question.”
Barber
In addition to supermarkets, Noordwijkerhout also has a Polish barbershop. There is morning a little boy discussing his father watching. “I’m not Polish. I’ve only been living in Noordwijkerhout for a year and have a few hairdressers adjustment. My girlfriend tells me to go to this hairdresser, so I will,” he cheerfully reports about keeping the chair straight. Further down the Havenstraat is another shop selling food supplements. Here it is indicated in Polish when the store is open. In the morning the business is closed and you can only go through the shop window to the large jars with supplements. “Gyms are also popular with migrant workers. So also these dietary supplements”, reports a passer-by from Poland.
Business park
You will also find Eastern European companies outside the village center. A Polish truck just passed by on Friday evening at the Gieterij, on its way to a Polish supermarket. Frozen specialties lie behind the closed doors of the company. Owner Krzusztof Reiza has had a company in the Netherlands for 2.5 years. He himself lives in Amsterdam. He was recently checked by the police and the municipality to see if the property does not offer illegal housing. He walks to the office spaces and points to the open windows, blinded with cardboard. “If I don’t, it’s going to be way too hot in here. But you see, no beds. We are just a wholesaler.”
A little further on the business park is the property of 44-year-old Michal Urbaniak. He runs a distillery and owns a butcher shop. There he makes sausage and spirits according to Polish recipes. “In the time of communism, Poles had money, but the shops were empty. Everyone learned to make their own products. My recipes come from my grandparents. For Polish customers, it is the taste of home.”
U Gorala
Together with his 47-year-old wife Honorata Celey-year-old he Polish vodka and wine in the restaurant U Górala on the corner of Leidsevaart and ‘s-Gravendamseweg. From Wednesday to Sunday, Honorata cooks in her special for up to 250 guests. “Poles are customary to eat in the afternoon, after church service. The Dutch don’t come until after six o’clock in the evening. On Sundays, it’s full here all day,” she says. “The schnitzel and the potato pancake with goulash are favorites with Poles and the Dutch,” she says.
The couple, who started with a takeaway restaurant in Noordwijkerhout, recently opened a pub. “Dressed up with all Polish articles,” Michal recalls explorations he found in markets in Poland. “And we have even more plans, such as a terrace along the water, but that has to be allowed by the municipality. That’s something we have to get used to. It is not always clear in the Netherlands what is and is not allowed.”
The activity of migrant workers in Noordwijkerhout is no exception. You will also find companies of Eastern European, Polish, entrepreneurs in the other bulb villages. Lisse has three Polish supermarkets close together, Hillegom two, Noordwijk, Katwijk and Sassenheim one.