frumiousb

I went to have a fitness test/intake today so that I could put together a program to structurally work on my blood pressure. So this morning I went to the gym for an appointment with a trainer who works there.

Now, I've been going to the same gym in this neighborhood on and off for years. There is an aerobics instructor there who has been working there as long as I have been in the Netherlands. He was in the lobby, looking shaken when I came in.

As it happens, today when he was walking to work, he got randomly stopped by a policeman in front of the supermarket. The policeman told him that "he looked suspicious" and stopped and held him until all his papers could be checked out. After holding him for 15 minutes with no response, the police officer remarked that since he seemed so polite then he could just go.

The instructor is as Dutch as B. His only crime was having the misfortune to have a Turkish parent(s) or grandparent(s) or great-grandparent(s).

The worst thing was that as he was telling this story, there was actually some obnoxious Dutch woman who started defending the cops.

"Maybe you looked like someone they were looking for," she protested.

"No," he said shortly. "I asked, but it was just that 'I looked suspicious'."

"But what were you doing?" she persisted.

"Walking past the supermarket carrying a backpack."

She looked stubborn and unconvinced, while everyone else looked at her, appalled. She has been going to the gym a good long while as well. But she would still rather believe that the police had a good reason and that he had done something wrong than to accept the incident for what it was-- a clear abuse of power.

This country should be deeply ashamed of itself.

Okay, so this milestone is not so big in the Netherlands. But it's still the point where a fetus is generally considered to have a reasonable chance at viability.

The reason that it is less relevant in the the Netherlands really pisses me off. They have a policy here that they will not treat babies less than 25 weeks-- they only give them palliative care and let them die. Between 25-26 weeks it is up to the doctor to decide whether to attempt to save the baby or not. It is only at 27 weeks that they will definitely attempt to resuscitate. This is all regardless of whether the baby would have been likely to survive or not.

To give you a sense of the numbers-- something like 50% of babies born at 24 weeks can survive. Of those who do survive, 50% will have some degree of disability ranging from physical to mental. That means of the babies that they have decided to let die, 25% would have likely to be healthy. Those numbers aren't perfect, but they are roughly correct.

I get the reasons for the policy. They have to do with the numbers and the odds, and-- oh, yeah-- let's not forget the costs.

Probably unsurprisingly, I think that each case should be decided on its own merits and together with the parents. Not as fiat by doctor.

What bothers me the most is that if you read the letter of the agreement about care of premature babies in the Netherlands, the doctors must not make these decisions without participation of the parents. For instance, when it comes to the 25-26 week grey area-- the decision is supposed to be made together with the parents. However, in my case when they thought that I would miscarry at 18 weeks, I was simply told that they would not resuscitate before 27 weeks. Even though I am at risk for preterm birth, nobody has ever offered to discuss these policies with me. Nobody has ever explained the rules. Nobody has ever presented anything like real options to me. Now, this isn't how it is supposed to work, but I suspect that it is how it actually does work. In general, I found the doctors uncommunicative about options, and inclined to use the full latitude of their powers to push through the solution that they think best.

I've discussed this policy with several of the midwives and residents, and have heard the strong undertone from them that a child likely to have disabilities would be better off dead anyhow and that the parents aren't really objective enough to be part of the decision. Ouch. And ouch again.

Before I moved to the Netherlands, the policy on euthanasia here was one of the things that I really liked. I remember when a friend at work had a dying father, I thought it was great that they could schedule his death so that the whole family could be there.

I actually still think that there are really good things about how euthanasia is approached here, but aspects of it have started to bother me. I've seen several cautionary magazine articles lately about how "selfish" cancer patients are who don't arrange to hand over power of euthanasia to their family. The logic? Selfless people wouldn't burden their family with their care. I've also seen several very disturbing articles about patients who do the right thing and give up on a hopeless fight to free the people around them. There's a tone there that I don't like. Something about cost efficiency and "be normal". As though it were somehow bad manners to try too hard to live.

Just a little thinking on what should be a milestone for me. But I'll wait two weeks for the Dutch version of same.

I'm waiting for the doctor to call me back, so I thought that I would translate a letter that I received this morning regarding our block goose problem.

To the persons who live on the Valentijnkade.

Moving the Valentijnkade geese: changes in date and manner.

Dear Sir/Madame,

A few weeks ago, I informed you about the upcoming removal of the geese from the Valentijnkade. There have been a few developments which require changes to this removal plan. A portion of the residents have informed us that they find the presence of the geese very pleasant--a bit of nature in the city which they would like to see left alone. Furthermore, the risk of bird flu and the accompanying requirement to protect fowl has caused a change in our plans. Hobby farmers, children's farms, and other common locations for fowl are now less prepared to take new animals onto their property.

The city districts Zeeburg and Oost-Watergraafsmere have now created a new plan of approach.

Changed Removal Plan

After hearing the neighborhood reactions we have decided, in discussion with the animal protection agency, to change the removal plans. The geese along the Valentijnkade will now be moved in a maximum of five different moments to locations where they can grow old in peace. We will make certain that families are not separated from each other. In the end, we will leave a small group of between 10 and 20 geese that cannot be removed to new locations. We will continue to shake the eggs of this group in order to prevent a new goose population explosion.

Using this plan, the difficulties caused by the geese will be lessened in a way that takes both animals and residents into account. The first group will be removed during the first half of December. The last group will be removed in March 2007. The precise dates will be made known via the Zeeburgjournal in the city paper and at www.zeeburg.amsterdam.nl.

Please Don't Feed the Geese!

An large part of the problems is caused because people leave far too much bread behind for the geese. When the birds eat too much bread, they become lazy and lose their natural eating patterns. They should be grazing 90% of the day. Geese who do not graze and eat too much bread have serious heart problems due to too much fat. Furthermore, a great deal of bread remains on the ground and in the water, leading to serious pollution problems. We also have many rats who eat the bread, and then go on to enter the houses looking for food.

We would therefore ask you to no longer feed the geese and ducks. If you see any of your fellow residents doing so, could you please explain the potential problems to them?

The extra bread can be better offered to the children's farms, such as the nearby Youthland. Please ask first if they need the bread, because it is not always possible to use large amounts.

You do not need to worry about the geese and ducks: they can find enough food, just like they do in the wild, by eating water plants and other tasty things.

In the end, we hope with your help in this way to improve the situation on the Valentijnkade. If after this letter you still have questions or would like to react, please get in touch with M---- van L----, telephone xxxxxxx or per email.

With kind regards,
Dennis Straat
Responsible for public spaces.

Luckily they are Dutch geese. If they were Turkish geese, nobody would be concerned about keeping families together.

The Dutch government has fallen after D66 pulled out of the coalition. They insisted that Verdonk be removed, even if it cost the whole cabinet. Harry Potter refused, so they pulled the plug.

I hope this means she goes and stays gone, but it doesn't work that way in horror films.

edit: Some people are having trouble with the Expatica link, so see if this story at the BBC works any better...