About Perets

Perets Nimpoza (1959) was born in Burundi. He studied at the University of Bujumbura and has a degree in History. He moved to the Netherlands in 2000 and took a bachelor’s degree in teaching French at the Hogeschool Rotterdam.

Perets taught French and history in Burundi. In Holland, he taught French at a secondary school. Currently he has temporary administrative and translation jobs.

Perets lives in Utrecht with his Burundian wife and five children. He is an attentive observer of Dutch society, which keeps surprising him.
 

The first office I visited in the Netherlands belonged to the COA, the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers. It’s an environment the Dutch call multiculti, where everybody tries their best to respect each other’s culture – but that can be difficult sometimes. So I was pleasantly surprised by how this organisation tried to create some basic order.

It was the first time in my life I saw one of those machines that you have to 'pull' a number out of before waiting your turn. The first to arrive is the first to be served. I really appreciate that way of working. Everyone knows and respects it, and people who don’t wait for their turn are considered rude.

It’s different in many African countries. In Burundi, the first who arrives is not always the first to be helped. Relatives, friends and VIPs have priority. Otherwise people say “I’m in a hurry because I have many things to do” before passing you. People just don’t respect the rights of others.

Another great thing is the Dutch transport system. In Holland, the trains and buses have to ride according to a certain timetable. I know a lot of Dutch people who complain about delays, but from an African perspective the trains are extremely punctual. And when there is a delay, people are informed. In Burundi, there are no trains but buses. A bus leaves when it’s full. When it is not full, you can wait a very long time before it leaves. The driver doesn’t watch the time but the number of passengers in his bus.

One day, a friend and I were sitting and waiting in a bus in Lelystad. We were off to church. The bus was full and it was five minutes before departure time. But the driver didn’t leave. My friend went to him and asked: “The bus is full, can we leave now?” The driver answered: “Hey guy, it’s not yet the time.” It was then that I understood how important timetables are in Holland.

The only thing that doesn’t work in Holland according to a timetable is the weather. You never know when it will rain or when the sun is going to shine. Even Dutch people don’t seem to know. They say it’s going to be a horrible winter, but then it isn’t. Then they say the winter is almost over, but then it becomes bitterly cold. The weather is just very unpredictable. Personally, I would greatly appreciate if the Dutch could make a working timetable for the weather.