Overview

The Ethnic Complaint Hotline was a website created by a right-wing Dutch political party for Netherlands residents to register complaints about specific ethnic groups. Shortly after its launch in February 2012, the anonymous platform was immediately met by public criticism and backlash for promoting discrimination and led to the creation of several other parody hotlines.

Background

On February 8th, 2012, the Dutch political party Partij voor de Vrijheid^[1] (Party for Freedom) launched the website Meldpunt Midden en Oost Europeanen^[2], or Hotline Middle and East Europeans. On this site, people could submit complaints about guest workers currently living in The Netherlands who hail from Middle or Eastern Europe. The project was spearheaded by the party's leader, Geert Wilders.^[17] He had been previously known for his hatred of Islam^[18] and was put on trial in 2010 for hate speech against various ethnic groups, including comparing the Quran to Hitler's Mein Kampf. Though in 2011 he was ruled not guilty.^[19]

The site provided a list of subjects a person could submit a complaint about including noise, parking issues, and drunkenness. An explanation for why the complaint was submitted or the submitter's name and email address were not required.

Immigration Issues in the Netherlands

The Dutch Law on Integration^[24] requires most immigrants who are not citizens of the European Union, Switzerland, Turkey, or countries in the European Economic Area to learn Dutch and pass an exam on the language within a few years of moving to the country. Implemented in 2006, this would require many people to pay for language classes or textbooks. In June 2011, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his cabinet began putting together a bill to revoke resident permits for immigrants who do not pass the Dutch proficiency test within three years of moving to the country.^[25]

Development

On February 8th, the launch of the website was advertised on the homepage of the Party for Freedom.^[3] It was also covered by various Dutch news sites such as the NRC Handelsblad^[4], the Volkskrant^[5] and the Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation.^[6] In its first day, Dutch news sites the Volkskrant^[7] and the Algemeen Dagblad^[8] reported that the site had received over 14,000 complaints. Eight days later, the site had registered over 40,000 complaints.^[23]

Reaction

Parody Sites

The same day the complaint site launched, the Dutch-Polish rapper Mr. Polska^[20] responded with his own hotline, Meldpunt Waardevolle Gezelligheid (Hotline Valuable Sociability).^[9] Instead of complaints about Middle and Eastern Europeans, Meldpunt Waardevolle Gezelligheid was a platform for people to share positive experiences with Middle and Eastern Europeans.

"I am sick of the constant crying about people from the Eastern Bloc. The PVV pops a magnifying glass on something small so that people join them. If you are on a birthday in a room full of people whining about something, you automatically join them. That's how it works, but it says nothing about the real problem."

Mr. Polska's parody site also got featured on various Dutch news sites such as 3voor12^[11] and the NOS.^[12] The site also served as an advertisement for his new album Waardevolle Gezelligheid (Valuable Sociability), and the top five submissions to the site would receive an autographed copy.

On February 9th, 2012, the Meldpunt Limburgers (Hotline Limburgians)^[10] was launched as a platform for Limburg residents to complain about Geert Wilders, since he hailed from the area. One of the images used on the main page of the website was the base photo from Sheltered College Freshman with a white background. By February 16th this site had been shut down as the owner Niels concluded that the site had made its point and had received several offensive comments.

Various other hotlines also were created as a protest or satire of the original hotline, including ones for Belgians^[13], the town of Middenbeemsterhorken^[14] and the Party For Freedom^[16] itself. The rise of parody sites was covered by the Dutch newspaper the Volkskrant.^[15]

Political Response

On February 15th, 2012, Ambassadors from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia came together to compose an open letter^[22] of concern over Meldpunt Midden en Oost Europeanen. The letter stated that targeting a specific ethnic group is "clearly discriminatory and degrading in its intention and purpose."

Following this, the European Parliament asked^[23] Prime Minister Mark Rutte to come speak to them on March 13th, 2012 to explain the site and why he has allowed its existence.

On the 10th of April, Flamish nationalist party Vlaams Belang opened the 'Hotline Illegality' in Belgium^[26]. With this website^[27] Vlaams Belang wants to index all criminal activities surrounding illegal immigrants.

On Twitter

On Twitter, discussion of the hotline was centered around replies to a dummy account @meldpunt^[21] and the hashtag "#meldpunt." The tweets were not limited to criticism and ridicule of the hotlines, but included support for the party's actions as well.

External References