“From the first moment I was in Rotterdam, I felt like I had found my place,” says Fré-tnel from Haiti. He was adopted by Dutch people and came to our country at the age of eight with his sister. Not immediately to Rotterdam; he lived in many different places. But eventually, through a draw, he got the chance to view a house in the heart of Rotterdam. “I grabbed that chance with both hands. when I came to view the property, I didn’t know yet that this house would become my home. I was lucky: the first candidate didn’t show up and I moved to the top of the list as a result. From the first moment, I felt like I had found my place. I embraced this city and that’s how it became my home.”
The reason he found his place here is because of the many nationalities that come together in the city. “That diversity makes me feel seen, that I belong somewhere. I experience the multicultural atmosphere here as particularly pleasant – it’s in the people, in the streets, in the food and the sounds of the city.”
Dishes, music and wisdoms from home
But he also carries his Haitian background with pride. “I regularly cook Creole dishes, listen to Haitian music and live by the wisdoms I inherited from home. Such as: ‘Piti piti, zwazo fè nich’ – little by little, the bird builds its nest. And, ‘Sak pa touye, sa fè w grandi’ – what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Those proverbs help me live with patience and strength.” He is now learning to relearn the language from his native country. ‘That feels like coming home on another level.”
Embrace the city
He likes to share his advice to new Rotterdam residents. “Get out and about. Take the metro to Hoek van Holland, walk down Witte de Withstraat, admire our beautiful city hall. Visit a Feyenoord match. Embrace this city and its people. Don’t talk but clean! – and remember: even if a monkey wears a gold ring, it is and always will be an ugly thing.”