Introduction

As is typical of immigrant communities all over the world, Surinamese migrants to the Netherlands have formed a considerable number of associations following the time of their arrival (Rex, Joly & Wilpers1987; Jenkins 1988; Moya 2005; Lucassen, Feldman & Oltmer 2006). In this chapter we look at the factors that may explain the development of the Surinamese organising process by focusing on the policy of Amsterdam authorities and on factors related to the group itself. This chapter shows that Dutch policymakers at first reacted encouragingly, as separate welfare institutions for the just-arrived Surinamese fitted into the existing categorical policy line – which was both a result of the pillarised welfare system that existed in the Netherlands and an ad hoc result of the lack of policies concerning the integration of immigrants. But with the development of integration policies from 1983 onwards, these views changed and consequently support diminished for the Surinamese associations that already existed. More recently, resentment developed towards the role that immigrant associations might play, and they were – correctly or not – accused of functioning as fortresses where immigrants could hide from Dutch society (Penninx & Van Heelsum 2004). The attitudes of policymakers have influenced the organisations considerably. In this chapter we analyse the development of Surinamese immigrant organisations in Amsterdam between 1965 and 2000, as well as study the factors that influenced the rate at which these organisations were founded.

As we have explained elsewhere (Vermeulen 2006; Van Heelsum 2004: 12), the collective actions of immigrants are often explained by referring either to the characteristics of the immigrant population (Breton 1964; Jones-Correa 1998: 143; Moya 2005) or to the influence of the country of settlement (Olzak 1983; Kasinitz 1992; Waldinger 1996; Morawska 1996; Lucassen 2003; Koopmans, Statham, Giugni & Passy 2005). From our point of view, the two interact and both should be taken into consideration. We therefore deal with the question of how a combination of these grouprelated factors (immigrant model) and host state-related factors (opportunity model) may explain the building of an organisational field among the immigrant group that was largest in the Dutch capital during the period studied.

Firstly, we give a description of Surinamese migration to Amsterdam, outlining the history of the main organisations this group established and distinguishing between Afro-Surinamese and Indo-Surinamese organisations.