The Chinese of Amsterdam and the ‘banana generation’ standing up against race stereotypes
- Amsterdam projects an image that it is a free and tolerant city. But that’s not always the case, according to the some of the city’s ethnic Chinese
- Their experiences have been captured in new book by journalist Pete Wu
Second-generation Chinese in the Dutch city of Amsterdam are standing up against racial stereotypes as they navigate the contradictions of their traditional upbringing in one of the most permissive societies in the world.
In doing so they are forging their own unique voice. So while many still follow the traditional immigration path from the restaurant kitchen to finance and similar professions, a new breed of artists, writers and other Chinese creatives are also emerging.
Their experiences have been captured in a new book, Banana Generation, by 34-year-old Sino-Dutch journalist Pete Wu.
“My mother and parents of other Chinese Dutch always call us ‘bananas’, because they say you look yellow, but you are white on the inside,” Wu said.
“At the same time, I’ve always felt people treat me differently because I look different. I wanted to write the book to show what it is like living between two cultures and also to find answers for myself.”
There are well over 100,000 Chinese people living in the Netherlands, according to the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics. If you count illegal migrants and those of mixed heritage, the real number could be double that.
