During the years 1960-1970 a large number of foreign workers from mainly Turkey and Morocco came to the Netherlands. Most of the men came from rural areas and were poorly educated. In the seventies wives and children came to join their husbands and fathers. A lot of ths 'first generation' of men and women are now unemployed. Bad health makes it impossible for them to work. Their children and grandchildren are growing up in the Netherlands and quite a number of them are not benefitting fully from education and as a consequence do not have good opportunities in the job market. The legal circumstances for foreigners are very complicated. The many changes in their legal status create a feeling of continuous insecurity about their residence here. Most of the migrants have a low social-economic status and as such are at risk with their health. The older migrants mainly wish to return to their own country, but feel that they are obliged to stay with their children in the Netherlands. Most of the migrants came to the Netherlands in order to work, earn what is to them a substantial income, return home with their savings and start a business or settle in their own country. Their current situation in the Netherlands makes it very difficult for them to attain this ideal.

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Ethnic Groups Turkey male Turkey (republic) ethnic group health status Netherlands female Emigration and Immigration social class ethnology statistics Article human Humans Morocco migration legal aspect