Dear Editor,
There is little doubt in my mind, after seeing how the debates unfolded in the Tweede Kamer and their refusal to set a social minimum in the Dutch Caribbean, that our status is one of second-class citizens.
They say it cannot be done because the prices on our three islands are different. Convenient that one of the world leaders in finance, and the originators of the stock market, have forgotten how to use their calculators. Convenient that the ones bragging about the efficiency of their bureaucracy cannot seem to administer three different policies. Convenient that three parties (D66, CDA & CDU) who, two years ago as members of the opposition, were all for establishing a social minimum but now that they are in power have turned their backs on us. Like a member of GroenLinks said: this is a matter of human rights. But alas it doesn’t matter. To them, we do not seem to be human.
How can the national government claim to be serious about tackling poverty when they don’t even want to establish where the poverty line actually is? Sure, the minimum wage and AOV have been raised by 5 per cent but how can that help when my mom’s electricity bill has gone up by 50 per cent in the last year? How can it help the many who work for more than the minimum wage but can only afford bread and butter at the end of the week? How can they be so bold to claim to care when they condemn thousands to live in worsening poverty at the same time that the national GDP has been steadily increasing? The belly of the Dutch government is full, but we hungry!
This is what neo-colonialism looks like.
