Students and young professionals from the Afro-Caribbean community in the Netherlands
gathered at the Hogeschool Rotterdam for the first in a series of four dialogue sessions to
exchange thoughts on the continued effects of the slavery past in Rotterdam on Monday
evening. (Photos by Ptah Ankh Re Photography)
ROTTERDAM--“We often think we are done with slavery and colonialism, but slavery and colonialism are not done with us. We still live in a system in which our lives are defined and we define our own lives according to our past without even realising it,” said Curaçaolenean tambú artist Rincho X on Monday evening at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences.
Participants at the slavery past dialogue session made much use of the opportunity to voice
their views and to pose questions to Minister of Education, Culture and Science Robbert
Dijkgraaf and State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitisation Alexandra van
Huffelen.
Spoken word artist Britney Lindo from St. Eustatius moved all present at the slavery past
dialogue session with her poem about her emotional connection to slavery.
Legal professional and educator Carlvin Brooks from St. Maarten pointed out the many opportunities in digitalisation that could contribute to the development of the Dutch Caribbean islands.
Here, Afro-Caribbean students and young professionals aged 18-40 and other stakeholders discussed the lingering effects of the Dutch slavery past with Minister of Education, Culture and Science Robbert Dijkgraaf and State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitalisation Alexandra van Huffelen. Also present were official representatives of St. Maarten, Curaçao and Aruba. The event, part of a four-part tour, was an initiative of Izi Solutions, Nederland Wordt Beter and The Black Archives.
Participants engaged in a dynamic debate concerning the slavery history and contemporary racism and discrimination within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, complete with Caribbean snacks and performances by Afro-Caribbean artists such as Statian spoken word artist Britney Lindo, a tabu band led by Rincho X and spoken word artist Zaire Krieger with Surinamese heritage.
“It does not help to see the government as our enemy,” said a young woman in response to a young man from Curaçao who argued that Van Huffelen and Dijkgraaf should not be calling the shots. “I don’t think that you understand my pain and that of my ancestors. I don’t think you can dedicate yourself to our cause as a person of color could. I would rather not see a white man leading this debate [in the political arena – Ed.].”
Dijkgraaf and Van Huffelen partially agreed with him. “I indeed cannot feel your pain,” Van Huffelen said. That is why she encouraged descendants of the enslaved to make proposals for projects concerning slavery past, racism and discrimination. The State Secretary also argued that
it is of utmost importance to have more persons from the black community in policy-making positions. According to Dijkgraaf, totally dismissing the involvement of the white community is not beneficial to the cause. He said that the white community needs to become more conscious of the Dutch involvement in the history of slavery. “I understand the emotion, but ultimately we have to work together. We can’t discuss the emancipation of women without men either. I think we are on the same page in more ways than you think.”
The youngsters also had many concrete ideas, such as revising the historical and literary canon as much information regarding the issue is missing or inaccurate; or appointing a new minister with an Afro-Caribbean heritage who would focus solely on the contemporary effects of slavery history. Others voiced their concerns about the continuity of the efforts to acknowledge and solve the effects of slavery history in case the political tide takes a turn. A few participants spoke about the lack of digitalisation on the islands. One of those voices belonged to Carlvin Brooks, a legal professional and educator from St. Maarten. He argued that, though he understands that many students from the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom wish to return home after their studies to use their skills and knowledge to better their country, there are many possibilities to do so without having to return physically. “We can do so much in terms of digitalisation – from the Netherlands or wherever – but we do way too little. The islands are small in terms of scale and territory, but there are limitless digital possibilities.”
Some participants had a different view, such as the woman who stated that the islands shouldn’t be so dependent on help from the Netherlands. Others plead for more collaboration within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, such as St. Maarten Minister Plenipotentiary Rene Violenus. When asked about his opinion regarding collaboration to ensure equal opportunities for everyone within the Kingdom, he said that “Equity means that everyone gets their fair share, but if the others don’t know what a fair share should look like, we have to give our input.” Van Huffelen agreed: “We don’t always understand each other, so we have to learn to listen to one another.”
The audience also had the opportunity to pose questions. One of the participants asked the government officials about the controversial reparations for the descendants of the enslaved. Van Huffelen said that the Dutch government wants to contribute to the development of the countries affected by slavery history, but will not pay reparations to individuals. “That also has to do with the fact that we have no clue how we would do that and where we would begin. But ensuring the development of the islands as part of the Kingdom is something we would really like to discuss further,” she said.
The session concluded on a relatively positive note. When asked about the government’s plan to tackle the issue, both officials seemed hopeful. Dijkgraaf, who is also responsible for emancipation, said that the recent developments concerning women’s rights and gender equality make him hopeful in dealing with discrimination. “Sometimes there is a shift in society. To tackle racism and discrimination, we need the same movement. I don’t know where we are in terms of that movement, but I can feel that we are gaining momentum,” he said. Van Huffelen said that much has changed in the past years, but she hopes much more can change much faster – which, in part, she hopes will be made possible by the 200 million euros reserved for policies and initiatives focused on slavery past. “We have much work to do. We say, let’s do this step-by-step, but let’s make sure we can change this in our generation. We have to make sure this becomes an irreversible movement.”
