“We can’t stay here, it will kill us,” Davan heard her father say when she was a child. She and her family had to flee Cambodia because of the war. “We fled on foot toward the border with Thailand.” She and her family stayed in a refugee camp there for a year and a half.
The family had hoped to go to America, where they already had relatives. “But we failed the admission test,” Davan explains. Coincidentally, a representative from the Dutch embassy was present that day. He saw the pile of rejected files and decided, “Then I’ll take these people to the Netherlands.”
My own choices
Davan came to the Netherlands in 1987, when she was only two and a half years old. Davan’s parents were very liberal in their parenting. “I was always allowed to make my own choices. That probably wouldn’t have been possible in Cambodia. Different rules apply there, especially for girls.” They ended up in Apeldoorn (Gelderland), in a shelter with several families. “It was a house full of children, so for me as a child it was fun.” They then moved to Roosendaal (North Brabant). “I just followed my parents. Everything felt new and exciting, but I enjoyed myself.”
Love for Rotterdam
It was only later, during her studies, that Davan moved to Rotterdam. “I immediately liked the city. Especially because of the food! So many cuisines from all over the world. And as a student, I also enjoyed the nightlife, of course.”
What really struck her was the diversity in the city. “In Roosendaal, I was often the only Asian person people saw there. So people were very curious about me. Not in Rotterdam, where you see people from all over the world and nobody bats an eyelid. This is where I really felt at home.”
What does Davan appreciate about Rotterdam? “The ‘don’t talk, just do it’ mentality. I can relate to that. I like to get things done, just like the people here.”
Between all cultures
Although she feels at home in Rotterdam, her Cambodian background remains important to her. “We still celebrate Cambodian New Year in April. We invite a monk, prepare food, and commemorate our ancestors.” Davan also celebrates Chinese New Year, because she is a quarter Chinese. “My colleagues sometimes joke, ‘Another party?’ But that’s the beauty of it: I get to enjoy both cultures.”