In the Netherlands, a volunteer organisation is placing refugees in private homes where they enjoy the warmth of family life instead of the impersonal anonymity of life in a huge centre. Inquiries in the first month alone exceeded all expectations, and the first friendships have blossomed as well. 

11 months spent living in Holland. And 11 months spent without meeting any Dutch neighbours or acquaintances, and never even seeing a Dutch school from the inside. This is Maja’s story. In 1994, she fled the violence in Sarajevo with her mother and little brother. War had broken out in Yugoslavia and the family sought refuge in the Netherlands.  

Like every refugee who arrives in Holland, they were initially housed in a large “refugee centre”. Nicknamed “the island” by those who lived there, life in the centre was completely isolated from the outside world. “There are no fences, but there are these invisible fences around,” Maja recalls. “You don’t have the capability, the money or the language skills to move forward.”

A 30-minute bus ride into the closest town cost 5 euros at the time, a luxury for Maja’s family. “We went for ice cream once a week because that’s all we could afford,” Maja says. For the first year, this was her only point of contact with the country she would ultimately grow up and go to school in, the country that is now her home. “In the refugee centre, you don’t have any concept of the outside world. You can be in the Netherlands for more than a year, but still feel you could be anywhere.”

Since 2015, thousands of refugees arrive in Holland every month. They share Maja’s experience. Newcomers are initially housed in a refugee centre until their application for asylum is granted and the state assigns them a flat of their own. 

“This situation is really hard to imagine for most people,” Maja explains. “You’re on your own with people sharing the same situation, the same feelings of anxiety and pressure. You’re just waiting. And then, once you get a letter that you have the permission to stay and work here, you have to wait again – for the apartment.” The housing process can take up to a year as well. 

It is a step into the unknown for both parties, and refugees have a lot of unanswered questions as well: What will it be like to be a guest in a stranger’s home? Do I have to follow their rules? What is expected of me? 

Volunteers known as “matchmakers” work very hard to carefully match each host-refugee pairing to ensure the best possible experience. The matchmakers are volunteers from similar fields – such as psychologists and social workers who match children with foster families. They assess the applications, organize interviews, and put a great deal of thought into who might get along best with whom. Each pairing then starts with a ‘test’ weekend where both parties get to know each other while the refugee lives in the host family’s home for the weekend. Then it’s time for the big decision: Do both parties want to live together for the next three months?

Walking in the park and celebrating Carnival

At the end of February 2016, ten refugees have moved in with their new host families and 10-15 parings are getting ready to take the plunge. So far the project has been a resounding success: “All ten have made close friendships with their host families,” Maja reports. “They cook together, bike together, and some went to the Carnival celebrations in the south of the Netherlands.”

“You will always have a room in our home.”