On the right bank of the mighty Suriname river, on a 125-acre plot of land
There survives a lone Big Tree
It marks the outer border of Bigi Bon, Grote Boom in Dutch, Big Tree in English
Bigi Bon was the plantation my ancestors were enslaved on in Suriname
Ironically the official name of this slave camp full of people who had no freedom, was La Liberté, The Freedom.
I found my great-great-great-grandmother hidden deep in the archives of this place
I also found her children and her grandchildren
Their friends
Their relatives
Their neighbors
All enslaved Africans
People with no autonomy, stripped of their past, their future uncertain
But with only their pride and their resilience to cling to
They did something amazing
My great-great-grandmother figured out that she herself could be a Bigi Bon
That she could stand proud and rise victorious over centuries of efforts to quell the spirit of her people
As we do
She purchased the plantation
And turned this place that spelled marginalization for her ancestors
Into an investment for herself and for the generations that would follow after her
She planted the Big Tree
And handed it down to her children
My grandfather raised his family here
With his wife, my grandmother, the grandchild of the unbending Granman Broos, king of the Baka Busi suma who lived upriver at Rorac
King Broos was a Big Tree in his own right
I honored him in Ghana this year
But that’s another story for another day
My mom, her sisters and brothers were born at Bigi Bon
They were raised In the shade of the Big Tree
Bigi Bon is still in our possession
Once there were two Big Trees that marked its border on the banks of the mighty Sranan River
One survived
Imagine what all it has been witness to …
I named our foundation Bigi Bon
In honor of the ancestors
The Big Trees
They watch over us all
Just like every Big Tree provides shade, food, protection and housing to other beings that it towers over
And just like the current generation should provide protection and care and guidance to the next generation
A buncha words to express my gratitude to you
For your support
Your counsel
Your contribution
Your participation
Your involvement
Your understanding
Your involvement in Weekend College
Your addition to AFRO Magazine
Your workshops at OZOSchool
Your love
Or something else some other time
Either way
You helped make the mark
You helped clear the path
We’re all Big Trees
We zijn allemaal Grote Bomen
Unu ala mala na Bigi Bon
A buncha words to say “HAPPY HOLIDAYS”
Stay the Big Tree you are
What is Christmas without?
Marvin Hokstam
Journalist, writer, educator
