Saïd Ben Azouz (60) fled to the Netherlands when he was no longer allowed to raise his voice against the Moroccan regime. He has now been with De Regenboog for thirty years. Every day he helps people stay afloat in the complex and sometimes hostile environment that politics and society can be.
Saïd was born in Tamassint (Rif mountains) in 1961. His opposition to injustice was instilled in him from home. He is Amazigh (often called Berber in the Netherlands). Amazigh have been harshly persecuted for years. Back in 1958-1959, his grandfather was injured in an uprising by Rif residents against the central government. Saïd: "It was a difficult period in Morocco. I was active in the student union and opened my mouth about the regime. At one point they wanted to silence me. But I was faster than them and was already out of the country."
"With my hands and feet I did the interview, but I was hired."
Working on ideals
Most Moroccans in the Netherlands are Amazigh and many of them came as migrant workers. Saïd saw that they had many problems. So he became active with the Comité Marokkaanse Arbeiders in Nederland, walked in protests, but also felt he had to help individual citizens.
Said: "When the economy was down, many Moroccan people from the first generation were laid off. They were often illiterate and they didn't understand the Dutch system. Then I thought, 'I do want to understand the system, so I can help these people.'" That's how he got sucked into training at the Social Academy in Amsterdam. Initially, Saïd preferred to study something technical in Delft. But his Dutch was still too bad and he had no money for a full-time education.
In 1991, he joined De Regenboog as a field worker. Back then without the addition of "Group. Said: "With hands and feet I did the interview, but I was hired." He became the youngest employee and also the first employee with a migration background. He still had a lot to learn, but his colleagues helped him with love. After a year, he was well settled in.
Complicated for everyone
Saïd initially focused on clients of Moroccan background. He saw first-generation immigrants who had difficulty with agencies and letters. He spoke to their children who were not well prepared for life in the Netherlands, and he heard about their problems at home. His clients' lives played out on the margins of society. Said: "And you know what's on the margins of society: Alcohol and drugs, gambling and ways to make quick money!"
Slowly, Saïd discovered that other groups in Dutch society had the same problems as his compatriots. People may be responsible for their own problems, but the cause is the same: They don't understand the system they live in. It is too complicated. And that is what Saïd is working on to this day.
System criticality
The best thing he can do as a social worker is to transfer his knowledge to his clients so that they understand the system better. This is how he sums up his work. But he also keeps a keen eye on the system in which the problems arose.
Saïd illustrates, "Almost all of my clients have debts with a health insurance company. But why? A basic insurance with group discount from the municipality of Amsterdam costs 105 euros. Everyone gets 107 euros of care allowance. So the citizen earns 2 euros per month on that. If something goes wrong and you pay the money to the insurer too late, then suddenly there is a letter from the CJB (Central Judicial Collection Bureau) for the increased health care premium from the CAK. Every citizen has to be a lawyer to understand this. Then I think, 'Government don't give a surcharge, give insurance directly!'"
"If a citizen appeals for aid, he should start by proving that it is needed and that he is not abusing it."
Participation Society
In the 1990s, politicians noted that the welfare state was becoming unaffordable. The participation society was launched. Saïd thinks we overlooked something in the process: "A process of individualization had begun. It had long since ceased to be taken for granted that you could count on your friends and family."
But something else went wrong, according to Saïd. We took 'control' from the welfare state into the participation society. In the welfare state, control was required to prevent abuse. In the participation society, on the contrary, you would expect less distrust. But instead of control decreasing, it has actually increased.
In practice, this leads to delays and accumulation of problems. Said: "When a citizen applies for support, he must begin by proving that it is needed and that he is not abusing it. That process takes a long time; sometimes months. During that time, problems worsen."
He cites the example of evictions: "A large part of the evictions in Amsterdam are due to the cessation of benefits. When objecting to the discontinuance, the municipality has eight weeks to consider. Meanwhile, someone is already deep in trouble."
It is often said that citizens no longer trust the government, but according to Saïd, it is just the opposite. There is distrust from the government toward its citizens. Said: "As a government, don't start making demands. Demanding registration in the basic registration for a homeless person is nonsensical. It is an implicit refusal to give help."
No enemies
Auxiliary workers are always on their client's side. Saïd thinks it is unfair that social workers are often seen as enemies of the government. "In a participation society, social workers and civil servants need to join forces to allow people to participate in society." In doing so, he wishes officials more freedom in dealing with the rules.
Saïd: "I recently saw a father with five children. There was no abuse and no mistreatment in the family. The bottom line is that the family has no home. There were 12 social workers involved with the family in accordance with the formal agreements. In my opinion, it was enough to provide a home and maybe one person for counseling. To be able to do that, you have to break free from the rules. If we trust each other and work together, a lot more can be done and it costs a lot less."
Saïd and De Regenboog
Saïd is still the boy who fled Morocco because his voice was not allowed to be heard. Saïd: "There are more and more social protests. I think that is a good thing. It forces the government to listen to society." Speaking up and being heard are important to him. ''If criticism needs to be voiced, I do it. At De Regenboog Groep, I've never felt that something wasn't allowed to be said."
On the other hand, mutual trust is central to his vision and work. He says, "We have big lines at De Regenboog, but I experience enough room for executive workers." He gets energy from the trust of colleagues and supervisors. This makes him want to do his job even better. Saïd desires that attitude on a larger scale as well. "If the government trusts citizens, then citizens will do their best not to betray that trust."
text: Joost Slis │foto: Merlin Michon