Why Discrimination?

By William Anthony

He had two problems. The first included a number of factors: He was black, he was creative, he was intelligent and he was opinionated. The second: He wanted to do his job and advance at the GVB—the Amsterdam municipal public transport company. But it would and could not happen, apparently. Although he succeeded time and time again on the exams, a permanent position in official service of the municipality of Amsterdam was formally thwarted.

Why, you ask?

Because those in a position to give leadership on all levels at the GVB allowed that he was bullying and blackbiting by colleagues, repeatedly. Hate, in short—in, according to them, his most virulent way. The management of the GVB made a strange choice. They failed to show the personnel realize that what they were doing was wrong, and demand they stop. Instead, the GVB management took the side of the offenders and declared the victim guilty. I guess someone needed to show them, too. This finally turned out to be an almost ridiculous—but no less sad—embarrassment, in which hundreds of man hours and money were spent by an Amsterdam public service on the question:

“How can we discharge this stubborn immigrant?”

Although he tells his story with humor and stoicism, it is, in fact, a horrible history.
Why Discrimination? describes the agony of an allochthon, who just wanted to be kind and do his job.

– Pierre Heijboer –

• Language: English
• Publisher: William Anthony
• Release date: May 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310495939

William Anthony

Julino Willem Anthony werd in 1956 te Bonaire geboren. Onder de naam William Anthony heeft hij op verschillende locaties als zanger opgetreden. Ook schnabbelt hij soms als acteur en (edel) figurant in Nederlandse televisieproducties. Dit doet hij naast zijn reguliere baan. In dit boek blikt hij terug op de muziekbeoefening op Bonaire en geeft hij een samenvatting van zijn artistieke belevenissen. Dit is de tweede editie van Musika Maestro; de artistieke autobiografie van William Anthony waarin hij terugblikt op de plezierige momenten als artist. Daarnaast besteedt hij aandacht aan de muziekbeoefening op de eilanden Bonaire, Curaçao en Aruba.

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INDEX

Titel

Copyright

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Will You Be One Of Us?

Meeting

Blackbite

If You Don't Like It …

Reports, Reports

Arguments And Signals

Nothing Seen, Nothing Heard

The Group Standards

A New Opportunity

Passed, But Not Yet

A Busy Month Of December

Mailroom

A Decision

A Note From The Deputy

Mediation

Metro

And Then Fired

Come What May

About The Author

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Why Discrimination?

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William Anthony

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Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

Published by Julino Willem Anthony at Smashwords.

Copyright

© 2016

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DEDICATION:

To my endowment with such qualities of character, spirit and mind.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to those who have been of help, to those who have adviced me and to those who have commented on the manuscript. I also want to thank Franklin Dominico (Boi) Antoin for the cover image, Gert Oostindie for bringing me in contact with a group wonderful people, Debra Forthman, Ph.D. for the applause and James Dryden for showing a bit of his editing. I am very grateful to Daan Nijssen who corrected the English with dedication.

And also thanks for the lovely compliments:

This looks like an interesting story ... I was drawn in by your tone and honesty and wanted to find out more about what happened. – Jane Edwards;

You have an important story to tell, and I would be honored to help you ... – Laura Kenney;

... you have a lot of strength, determination, and heart. – Andrew;

Your work seems very interesting and is written in a very lively fashion. Best wishes. – Rosemary Robson.

Many thanks to all of you.

Rozen

INTRODUCTION

This story is written from my artistic and creative qualities. The judge named them qualities of character, spirit and mind. I consider the statement of the Tribunal as praise to my personal characteristics, although by definition this is not what you call a nice story. It’s about discrimination, a form of discrimination which we wish no longer existed in the Netherlands, but in our hearts, we know better. I have personally experienced how it is still very much alive, and I wrote this book.

In the period 1988—1993 I was employed at the municipal public transport service in Amsterdam, the GVB. That’s where it all happened. The content of this book is based on reports, letters, decisions of the judicial authorities, and other documents.

As carefully as possible, I give the facts of the complaint, how the GVB dealt with the decision of the commission, how it thought to resolve the discriminatory treatment after the first notice of dismissal and what the judge has said of the second dismissal notice. The GVB interpreted that legal decision incorrectly, as the judge said that they should have done it in a different way. And the third dismissal decision was a hit. According to the court, it was up to the unfavorable circumstances in which I found myself.

The civil employment agreement also comes up at the end. This was next to the permanent appointment as public servant. In 2010, I brought it to the courts, again showing the quality of character, spirit and mind that I possess.

Discrimination and racism in the Netherlands are difficult to investigate and understood through numbers. However, in different ways, anti-discrimination agencies try to collect data on discrimination and racism.

It is hidden. And in my opinion, a kind of weakness.

WILL YOU BE ONE OF US?

There was an ambitious recruitment campaign going on for subway inspectors: Will you be one of our 100 new cabin stewards? I often traveled by subway and watched the inspectors doing their job. These were not always the most pleasant moments, but still … The inspectors would stop and chat with the passengers – a talk here and there – and where necessary fine a fare dodger. It seemed to me a nice job so I responded to the ad.

I was cordially invited to attend an information meeting on Monday, January 11, 1988. The meeting focused on a number of topics: the public transport company as an employer, the contents of the job and the training. There was a slide show. I listened intently and looked around the room. I had already noticed a light-skinned woman who was now standing nearby. She was the one to whom I had to report earlier, when I had first arrived. I’d met her once before at one of the seminars at the Open University and now I discovered that she was working for the subway on the Human Resources Department. Her name was Tanya. An appointment was made for an interview on January 14, 1988, with the head staff. I was asked to take along a number of documents, including diplomas, certificates etc. Perhaps it would have been better not to have mentioned that I was doing a basic course in Dutch law. The person in charge of the selection seemed unimpressed.

Somewhere we have to delineate, he said and suggested that it might be better if I continued with my studies.

I study employment law, he added.

I guess what he meant was that they probably had to set a limitation to the qualification—or something else—of the candidates.

Another man dressed in a blue uniform was sitting at the table but said nothing. The interview lasted about 45 minutes and ended with the usual comment: You will hear from us. I left the hall. The man in charge of the selection process came hurrying after me. He said something like: You shouldn’t do it. These people are ... He left the sentence hanging in the air. It seemed like they didn’t want me to go any further and to withdraw the application procedure. But why? All that was required was an education level set at MAVO / LTS-C. I had more than that. So what was the problem?

A few days later I received a call for a medical examination on Monday, April 18, 1988, at the Company Health Service in the monumental Scheepvaarthuis (Shipping House) in Amsterdam, the headquarters of the Municipal Transport Company of Amsterdam (GVB). I was present in good time and went to the Human Resources department, where I received a form on which I had to fill in some information needed for the medical examination. So far, so good. I did not suspect there was a surprise waiting for me.

My hearing and eyesight were checked. Everything was fine. Finally, I would be examined by the medical examiner. When I entered his room, I didn’t see who he was right away. I took off my clothes—except for the underwear—and sat down on a bed. The doctor gave a few taps on my knees and asked: How is Onno? I sat up straight and thought: Who is this again? Right then I remembered him. For me it was a pleasant surprise, but apparently not for him. His body language spoke volumes.

It was Peter. A couple of weeks prior to the examination Onno and I had visited him at his house. That visit didn’t last long, however. We hadn’t yet properly entered the house, when we were directed out again. Onno and Peter knew each other. Peter had a drag act in Onno's ‘Antonie Theater’. Anyway, we had a common friend, so the medical exam will be fine, or so I thought.

Do you practice any sports? he asked.

No. I replied.

Unhealthy, he said.

It felt a bit like a cold shower, but still I didn’t notice anything hostile in him against me. I would be confronted with that much later.

After the medical check-up, a psychological examination was planned. That was the next day, January