Saïd Ben Azouz - social worker since 1991
Saïd Ben Azouz fled to the Netherlands when he was no longer allowed to raise his voice against the Moroccan regime. Every day he helps people stay afloat in the complex and sometimes hostile environment that politics and society can be.
Working for ideals
"It was a difficult period in Morocco," says Ben Azouz. "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." Most Moroccans in the Netherlands are Amazigh, and many of them came here as migrant workers. Ben Azouz 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. "When the economy was down, many first-generation Moroccan migrants 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."
Hands and feet
And so Ben Azouz was sucked into training at the Social Academy in Amsterdam, so to speak. In 1991, after graduating, he joined De Regenboog as a field worker. Back then without the addition of "Group. "With hands and feet I did the job interview, but I was hired," he says. He became the youngest employee and also the first employee with an immigrant background. He still had a lot to learn, but his colleagues helped him with love. After a year he was well settled in.
Involved for everyone
Ben Azouz initially focused on clients of Moroccan background. He saw first-generation immigrants who struggled with agencies and letters. He spoke to their children who were not well prepared for life in the Netherlands and heard about the problems at home. His clients' lives played out on the margins of society. "And you know what there is to get in the margins of society: Alcohol and drugs, gambling and ways to make quick money!" Slowly, Ben Azouz learned that other groups in Dutch society had the same problems as his compatriots. People may be responsible for their own problems, but when things go wrong, the cause is often the same: They don't understand the system they live in. It is too complicated. Improving this is what Ben Azouz is working on to this day.
"When the economy was down, many first-generation Moroccan migrants were laid off. They were often illiterate and didn't understand the Dutch system. Then I thought: I do want to understand the system, so I can help these people."
Sharp eye for the system
The best thing he can do as a social worker is to transfer his knowledge to his clients so they understand the system better. That's how Ben Azouz sums up his work. But he also keeps a keen eye on the system in which the problems arose. In the 1990s, politicians noted that the welfare state was becoming unaffordable. The participation society was launched. According to Ben Azouz, we overlooked something: "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. While that assisting each other was one of the pillars under that idea of participation."
Loose from the rules
Aid workers are always on their client's side. Ben Azouz believes it is unfair for social workers to be seen as some kind of enemy of the government. "In a participatory society, care workers and civil servants should instead join forces to allow people to participate in society." In doing so, he wishes officials more freedom in dealing with the rules. "I recently saw a father with five children. There was no abuse and no mistreatment in the family. The root of the problem is that the family has no home. There were 12 social workers involved with the family. In my opinion, it was enough to provide them with a home and maybe one person for counseling. In order to do that, you have to break free from the rules for a while. If we trust each other and work together, a lot more can be done and it costs a lot less."
Speak up and be heard
Ben Azouz is still the boy who fled Morocco because his voice was not allowed to be heard. "There are also more and more social protests in the Netherlands. 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 never felt that something was not allowed to be said."
Saïd (right) in 2002
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