“Existing Rotterdammers should welcome newcomers with a curious and open mind. So without judgement or stigma. So that newcomers feel embraced. That way they can develop and enrich themselves better,” says Larissa from Ivory Coast. “That is important for successful integration. It comes from both sides. So newcomers should be interested in Rotterdammers. For example, go to a gym or take a part-time job to get in touch with Rotterdammers. And learn the language so that you can understand people better and reduce miscommunication.”

The Dutch language was no problem for Larissa. That is not surprising, because her mother is also Dutch. So she grew up in Ivory Coast between our language and the French language. Together with her sister, she came to Maastricht in 1993 to study. “That took some getting used to, it was a smaller city. A bit less diverse at that time.” In 1999 she completed her studies with an internship in Rotterdam. A very logical choice considering her internship was in shipping. “The connection with the rest of the world was important to me. That is why I was fascinated by the port.”

Feeling embraced
And her interest did not stop at the port but extended to the whole of Rotterdam “The environment, the atmosphere and the people from the city embraced me so much that I was able to bond well. And that I stayed here.” This migration brought her a lot. “When you come to the Netherlands, you have a certain identity. Then you arrive in another country, in another world. There you have to learn to enrich yourself without losing your old identity. It helps if you feel embraced in a city.” That happened. Larissa went to work for one of the last shipping companies in the city. She got married and had children. After their retirement, Larissa’s parents also came over from the Ivory Coast. “Because of the diversity, my father also felt more at home here than there.”