Board of NL association in Hua Hin wants foreigners as members
Do and Hans in conversation with ambassador Remco van Wijngaarden
There is trouble in the Dutch community of Hua Hin and Cha am. The board of the NVTHC wants to admit foreigners to the association and this has aroused indignation among a number of old faithful. Thailandblog consulted Hans Bos, vice-chairman and secretary of the association for more than eight years until January last year.
Peter: “Hans, what is going on in Hua Hin?
Hans: “We can certainly speak of commotion. In fact, this concerns changes proposed by the current board in the new (draft) internal regulations. These make it possible for non-Dutch people to become members as long as they have a positive attitude towards Dutch culture. Not everyone agrees with that. Founder of the association Dingeman Hendikse and long-time chairman Do van Drunen have already resigned, while I myself have been expelled for unclear reasons. Criticism is apparently not tolerated. I was the architect of the applicable version of the regulations. We have nothing against foreigners, but the NVTHC was founded as an association for Dutch speakers and their partners”.
Peter: “How did it get to this point?”
Hans: “At the last NVT Christmas gala, tickets were sold to approximately 40 foreigners. They then automatically became members of the association, approximately a quarter of the total. This is contrary to the applicable regulations. The board will try to correct this at the General Members Meeting on Friday, January 26. The problem, however, is that the audit committee is of the opinion that the foreigners' income has been incorrectly recorded. You can't justify any money for membership if people can't in fact become members.
Last year, after the AGM, the board drew up new regulations that applied immediately and in which the board assumed all power. I warned about this at the time. It now appears that the concept has been changed several times in the meantime, the last time with the admission of foreigners. They have been able to go to the multicultural MCC in Hua Hin for years. I expect that even more members will throw in the towel and have no desire to exchange ideas with the French, Germans or Japanese at Dutch drinks evenings.”
Peter: “And now?”
Hans: “I understand that the board wants to return from the wrong path. The idea is to make the new members 'guest members'. That doesn't solve the problem, because then they can participate in everything, just not vote. The AGM with board election on January 26 will therefore be extremely fascinating. The elected secretary had the knife stuck in the pig two months after election, I have not heard anything from the second secretary, while the chairman is in Europe.
When electing the board, this is only possible as a team, contrary to the regulations. Other rules in the regulations have also been violated. For example, the documents for the meeting on January 26 must be in the possession of the members 10 days in advance. That didn't happen. It shows that the board has no regard for rules, including its own. It only does what it likes.
This has led to a number of members already starting preparations to set up their own club. Only for Dutch speakers and their partners. That is actually a sad development.”
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and a lover of good music.
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Hans, I would like to emphasize that I find it scandalous that the new board just expels you and throws you in the trash. You have worked selflessly for the Dutch Association in Hua Hin for years and convinced many people to become members. And what do you get? Thank you so much from a number of types who are quite ambitious and consider themselves more important than the general interest. Such regent-like behavior has no place in a social club.
Completely agree
What I miss is which language is spoken on said drinks evenings.
Do those 'foreigners' all speak Dutch or Flemish? Because if they are so integrated that they speak NL or VL, what is the problem? And if not, they will automatically walk away if you don't use their language that evening...
Or is it that those drinks evenings are only intended for 'farmer boy curmudgeonly' fun? Isn't emigrating also broadening your perspective?
What does this have to do with emigrating and broadening your horizons? This is a Dutch association, just as there are associations for other nationalities. There are Dutch associations worldwide that enjoy being among each other again and if you want to broaden your view, there are international associations for that. And if you want to broaden your view because you have moved to Thailand or are staying there regularly, you broaden your view to fellow Thai people. Another story is that if they speak the Dutch/Flemish language, they are of course welcome. I think you should take a closer look at the concept of Dutch association.
Strange that someone who has been away from Thailand for years thinks he should get involved in this discussion? Which language will surely not be spoken at NL evenings of a NL club in TH? Correct. NL. Because those Dutch Nationals like to spend time with each other in their NL style. So let them sort out their own affairs and don't interfere.
Dear Henk, so in your opinion someone who has been away from Thailand for years but probably has more knowledge of Thailand and Dutch people in Thailand than all those new members combined should not interfere in this discussion.
I wonder who you are to set the rules here?
Dear Erik, the NVTHC is open to Dutch speakers and their partners (often Thai). You can read this in the current internal regulations. On drinks evenings, people come for fun, a snack and a drink. Emigrating is indeed broadening your view, but preserving your own culture is a great asset within a Dutch association. After all, you are where you come from. So we usually speak Dutch at the drinks evenings. That is a bit easier to speak than French, German, Spanish or Russian.
I'm sorry for Hans, but, “Whoever bounces can expect the ball”
Jan
Mr. Verkade.
I can't make sense of your comment.
I think that the old/current association has little future and that there is little point in continuing to beat a dead horse. It requires less energy to continue with a new association. Using new communication techniques, that does not have to take much time.
Some are more equal than others?
Dear Hans, I share your surprise and perhaps anger. From the freezing Netherlands I send you much wisdom. Distribute it among the people as best as possible and, especially, let the new board members drink to the full from that source.
Kind regards, Rieks
Rieks Holtkamp, fresh reaction from a cold Netherlands where the temperature prevents overly emotional reactions.
Well, how lucky that you don't also get an anonymous response of 'don't interfere' like I got from the gut of a certain Henk, someone who has apparently never heard of free speech.
Rooster behavior! I have the impression that this also applies to the Hua Hin region. I have been corresponding with Hans Bos for 22 years now and I have yet to read his first unruly word...
What is described is why I have never liked sitting in a club with fellow countrymen. It is often written on Thailandblog that Dutch retirees do not feel like contacting other Dutch people. Well, I belong to this category. In the Netherlands itself you also see that the elderly are not able to live/work together harmoniously. Cocky behavior, wanting to make a statement before death in order to end up in the annals, stirring up conflict through one-sided authoritarian behavior, giving a shit about the regulations, expulsions and terminations: just read this article about how 50Plus and other pensioners' interest groups interact with each other, and negate the interests of and towards each other because of their own chest-bokito-flapping. https://www.montesquieu-instituut.nl/id/vlj4i9k32nec/nieuws/ruzie_in_de_tent_een_rommelige
In the end everything is destroyed and all that remains is that in the annals all those “initiators” will be remembered as rioters. We have a lot of that in the Netherlands. If you had stayed there you could have joined them.
Hans Bos expelled by the board? Is that possible without an independent committee that investigates the issue at the request of the board? That (draft) regulation on the NTVHC website is rattling on all sides.
I propose to nominate Hans Bos as a member of merit via a petition of at least 40 members (regularly!). He has made a special effort for the association as co-founder over the past decade.
Never thought that Thailandblog and its editor Peter would lend themselves to such a tendentious and one-sided 'interview' with Mr Bos. This is just sentimentalism and the principle of adversarial hearing should certainly have been applied here. Undeniably, Mr Bos has a long track record within the club. However, it is the old board itself and therefore also Mr Bos, who have made their board position available for a new board to be elected. However, from that moment on the turnips were done and Mr. Bos never spares a moment to criticize and sow division within the association. For me, among other things, a reason to give back my board position because this nonsense did not give me a positive feeling. So I now have to compliment him for having managed to get Thailandblog behind his cart as well. Congratulations! Demonstrates genuine commitment to the Dutch community and the NVTHC. As I suggested to him much earlier, find another nice club and take your supporters with you. I am convinced that many of the (new) members will also be happy when the short-sighted nitpicking and nit-picking stops! For the record, the current enthusiastic and active board has no knowledge or involvement with this response.
“I never thought that Thailandblog and its editor Peter would lend themselves to such a tendentious and one-sided 'interview' with Mr Bos.”
Yes, of course the messenger did it, quite simplistically. Furthermore, there is a right to hear both sides, because you can respond to this article and give your opinion. You would be right if the comment option were turned off.
Believe me, Thailandblog is no match in a battle where frustrated elderly people want to pelt each other with mud. You guys do it. I am not a member of the NVT and never will be, precisely because I do not want to be confronted with this kind of nonsense. In Ukraine, people in Gaza die the same every day, and here in Hua Hin some elderly Dutch people make each other's lives miserable for nothing. What is it about? Get a life!
Too bad Rini only remembers the end of the story. Nothing is more fantastic than reality. At the end of 2022, I indicated in a board meeting that I wanted to stay on as secretary for another 1 year to facilitate the transition to the new board. The only remaining board member responded negatively to this. Everything became new, everything had to change, was the adage. My offer was not appreciated. Do van Drunen (chairman at the time) is my witness. It would be nice for Rini to delve into the truth. Partly for that reason the turnips were overcooked. Rini could have counted on his fingers that the secretariat takes up a lot of time.
I do not understand this . Where is the world-renowned tolerance of My Dutch Neighbors?
I am half Belgian and half Dutch, live in Korat city and I am a member of the RBL (Royal Briyish Legion)
This is a large British worldwide association of British veterans with thousands of members all over the world
This is actually different from a Dutch tea party in Hua Hin.
As a Belgian, I was accepted there kindly and with open arms, just like a Dutchman and an American
But it is like many of those associations such as NTVHC, there are always members of the board who after a while start to have dictatorial tendencies and think that the association is their property.
They want to rule like a despot.
I'm disgusted by that.
Actually, the world has not changed much since prehistory, everything is still “very tribal”
What makes a Dutch person Dutch?
For me, this is if I were to rank it.
1. The most important characteristic of our Dutch citizenship is the Dutch language. The language is also what connects us as Dutch people the most.
2. Other connecting factors are freedom, King's Day, Remembrance Day and Liberation Day, the national flag and Sinterklaas.
If these non-native speakers or foreigners could share the same qualities or connecting factors with me or if they had been brought up with me as, for example, our crown colonies did in the past, then they would be welcome to me.
But, I am not a member of this association and therefore have no right to speak. And the way you seem to treat each other, I wouldn't want to be a member either.
That's how I think about it as a Dutch person.
Much wisdom gentlemen,
Gr.Rick.
Alas, here we go again. There are different types of Dutch people. Where have we heard that before?
In your definition, children born in the Netherlands, with Dutch nationality, but who move to Thailand at a young age, are no longer real Dutch people?
They no longer speak Dutch, only understand a few basic words. Their language is now mainly Thai, followed by English and Mandarin (Chinese).
They have long since replaced Sinterklaas with Santa Claus.
King's Day and Liberation Day are concepts from the last century for them. They have absolutely zero feelings about it. (Same for me)
Becoming a member of a Dutch club should be encouraged to get to know what the Dutch are. The membership can then be used to maintain their Dutch skills, for example by helping them with Dutch.
Don't exclude them because they have no feeling for the Dutch royal family, but embrace them and tell them more about your norms and values.
Use membership to encourage people to get to know what it is like to be Dutch. See the people as real Dutch people, but not as another category somewhere because they probably don't support the Dutch team at some football match.
The only proof of Dutch citizenship is a Dutch passport.
All other matters are secondary matters but not essential for Dutch citizenship.
As a former co-founder of the NVTHC and after 13 years of chairmanship, I worked with Hans for 9 years in his position as secretary and vice-chairman. In those 9 years he has always shown tireless efforts, introduced many new members, and also provided excellent reporting. That is something different from the Jip and Janneke language that is used now.
He is very critical, that is true, but the good listener picks up on that and continues with it until he or she comes to the conclusion that what Hans is highlighting is not so crazy after all. I note that the current board hardly possesses the gift of listening and puts its own interests ahead of those of the members. I have also tried several times to make suggestions to the board to point out things that are not going well, without success.
The expulsion of Hans and the bringing in of foreigners without any consultation is of course a shame and is reason for me to cancel my membership. After 15 years I have not received any response to this either.
What now? Well, that has been indicated a few times already, namely back to the origin, as described on the website NVTHC.org: 'A social club for all Dutch people living or staying in Hua Hin-Cha Am and their Thai partners.”
With greeting
Do van Drunen
Co-founder and former chairman of NVTHC
The current board of the NVTHC is greatly appreciated, is very active and the membership base has almost tripled under this board in 1 year. There are many “foreigners” who want to become members. This is only possible if they are committed to Dutch values and culture. You can read this in the internal regulations that can be found on the NVTHC website. Hans Bos resigned as secretary of the previous board and since then he has used his keyboard to attack the new board on social media, Thailand blog, emails and other publications and to spread untruths. You can read how harmful this can be for the NVTHC in the comments here on this blog. This behavior of Hans Bos, as can be read in his own internal regulations, is reason for termination of membership or expulsion. And that is exactly what happened to him. The hole he created/dug in his internal regulations is something he himself fell into.
Too bad, with a cooperative, positive and loyal attitude, the NVTHC would be very supportive of him because he would definitely be an added value with his capabilities.
Who the hell is Hurm? Can't you respond under your own name? Or does your pseudonym serve a dark purpose?
Whether the current board is so highly appreciated will have to be seen at the General Members Meeting. When the current board took office, the NVTHC had 102 members. It is not known how many there are at the moment. The chairwoman recently spoke of just over 200. That includes the 40 foreigners who are not actually allowed to be members. A growth of just over 60 members is not a threefold increase in my opinion.
That untruth is the hole you dug for yourself, dear worm.
The internal regulations you are referring to are a concept. Non-Dutch speaking members must first be ratified by the AGM.
Does anyone have any idea why it is interesting for the board to get foreign members?
hello eric,
I think that is a very good question. Could it be because:
– the number of potential Dutch members is steadily decreasing (simply fewer expats)
– the Thai partner of the Dutch expat often comes from other regions of Thailand and wants to settle there and not in Hua Hin (no family, no network, price)
– Hua Hin is no longer a favorite place to live for Dutch people who want to live in Thailand
– such an association does not offer real added value on top of the contact options via the internet
– many Dutch people do not feel like contacting other Dutch people (we are not always pleasant company).
how glad I am that I never connected myself to such an "interest group". Although I am quite old myself and have set up various interest groups/'groups in my active life/honored myself with my membership, I have never succeeded in lowering myself to such nitpicking that is certainly not in the interest of an association but only gives an outline of the ego of the actors.
Dear Hans,
You have been continuously discrediting the current board for a year now.
Out of spite because you are no longer the secretary of the NVTHC? Get a life! Do something more useful
with your energy.
Your many untruths, as mentioned here, only lead to one thing, as stated earlier in a response: anyone who digs a pit for someone else falls into it themselves.
Dear Hermie,
I would like to hear from you what untruths Hans Bos has told on this page and discussion.
I'd love to hear it. Curious.
Hermie: discredit? The board doesn't need me for that. You apparently have a bad memory. If you have your board members draw up new internal regulations shortly after taking office without consultation and approval of the AGM, you are making a cardinal mistake. I even called it a coup at the time. Do you remember that?
And you apparently don't know that, before you came on the scene, I offered to remain secretary for another year to make the transition smoother. And the events man then said that this was not necessary, because everything had to be different, etc
You really violate all agreements and even secretly adjust the draft HH regulations in the meantime.
Just like Jan Verkade, you should not use proverbs that could reflect on yourself. Because you yourself dug the hole, just pay attention.
What a sad situation. How difficult it is for people to work together. Am I the only one who gets very sad about this?
Isn't there enough daily misery on the news that we have to read that nonsense here?
A few individuals who can no longer get through the door together come here to express their frustrations. As far as I'm concerned, this has no added value for our blog.
Different and better please
As a former member of the NVTHC, I may not have the right to speak/write. Yet I cannot resist expressing my support for Do van Drunen. Totally agree with him. What I find most remarkable, however, is that the current chairman thinks she is doing well. I hear nothing but negative criticism of the current administration from fellow countrymen in Chaam and the surrounding area.