Last week, I attended a panel discussion called "Sex and the City," which debated moral issues that face the city of Amsterdam, specifically in relation to prostitution and letting minors participate in the Gay Pride Parade. Being that the debate took place at the ISHSS (International School), the language of communication was English.

When it came time for questions from the audience a very well-dressed woman dripping in diamonds and clutching an expensive purse raised her hand. When she had the floor she began shouting in Dutch at Job Cohen, the mayor of the city of Amsterdam (also one of the panelists). She carried on for a few minutes about the terrible moral decay of the city until the moderator stopped her, noting that the discussion was in English. She said, "But I don't speak English!" He said fine, but please wrap up so he could summarize for the audience in English. She then shrieked (in Dutch) something like, "In my own country I can't even speak my own language!" I should have written down the exact quote but I was laughing in shock with the rest of the audience.

The woman left soon after, but had brought a disturbing tension to light. Is it too much to allow international organizations to hold events in English, and expect audience members to voice their opinions in this language? Doesn't speaking Dutch at an event like this - even if the event is in the Netherlands - work to exclude the international community, a community that is supposedly (officially) welcomed by the Dutch population?

Sometimes it takes an outrageous incident to give voice to an unspoken issue.