“Twelve years ago, I stepped off the train in Rotterdam and immediately knew: this is my city,” says Oksana from Turkmenistan. She now lives with her daughter in Rotterdam-South, but her journey here was long.
Oksana grew up in Turkmenistan, where until the age of 22 it was forbidden for women to travel alone. “You had to be married or travel with your parents. Two days after my birthday, I seized my chance and went to Moscow to study.” There she met her husband, with whom she later lived in Istanbul. “When he got a job with a large construction project in the Netherlands, we moved to Delft. Then we discovered Rotterdam, and everything fell into place.”
Her first impression of the Netherlands was not positive. “I arrived in Amsterdam in November. It was cold, wet, windy, and I got sick immediately. But when I first stepped into Rotterdam, I felt something different: energy, diversity, and that mix of modern skyscrapers and older buildings. I fell in love right away.”
Living in a diverse city
What Oksana appreciates most is Rotterdam’s diversity. “I come from a country where Christians and Muslims often have difficulty living together. Here you see so many cultures and religions side by side, and still there is peace. That is remarkable.”
She experiences that diversity in her work too. “At my previous job, we had about 65 nationalities. Around the table were Italians, Indians, Dutch, Germans, myself from Turkmenistan… and still, we were one team. Here people look at your experience, not your background or gender. I think that’s beautiful.”
She doesn’t speak fluent Dutch, but she doesn’t see it as a problem. “Everyone speaks English. In Turkey, I had to learn the language because no one spoke English, and I did. Here that’s not necessary. The international character of the Netherlands actually makes it easy to join in.”
Integrating and contributing
Integration was not always easy, though. “In Turkmenistan, neighbors are almost family. Here, people keep more distance. I brought food to my neighbors to introduce myself, but not everyone reacted kindly. That took some getting used to.”
With her daughter, she slowly found her place. “Through the playground, I met other parents, and step by step I built a network. I’m actively involved in my neighborhood, from cleanup campaigns to small initiatives. Everything starts with ourselves: if we keep our surroundings clean and safe, we set an example for our children.”
The future she keeps open. “Maybe I’ll move again one day, but if I stay in the Netherlands, it will definitely be in Rotterdam. My daughter always says: ‘Mama, let’s go home, to Rotterdam.’ For her, and therefore also for me, this has truly become home.”