Dear Editor,
When I was 10 years old in the fifth grade of the then Prinses Marijke School, our teacher Meneer Peyster told one of my classmates that he was “bladvulling”. Because it was a new word to me, and because of the teacher’s demeanor, I wrote it down with the intention of finding out the meaning later. My father would usually bring home all kinds of books, but we did not have a Dutch dictionary at home, so I asked my elder brother who went to the Roman Catholic school if he could find out what was the meaning of that word. I was thinking of leaf and filler but could not put it together.
When I finally got an explanation, I was told that it was used sarcastically and that it meant “useless” and that “bladvulling” used under those circumstances did not have anything to do with a leaf of a tree, but a page in a book. In order for the page not to remain as it were empty, sometimes they would add something that did not really have an influence on the story.
That word remained with me and it inspired me throughout my life to never be in a position to be considered “bladvulling”.
I can remember when during a political campaign in Aruba a now deceased politician who was a member of the Aruba Island Council ask me to support him. I told him that I was not willing to give my vote to anyone who would be “bladvulling”. His demeanor changed, but he was alert enough to know that my vote was more important at that moment than to react in a not so pleasant way, so he put a wry smile on his face. Over the years those were personal conditions set for supporting politicians, which also afforded me the opportunity to ascertain who were in there as “bladvulling”.
I will always repeat that it is never personal, but one should not pretend to be what one does not prepare to be.
Now this. Several years ago someone asked me if the Immigration Department works with DNA. So now I am asking what would be the pros and cons for the Immigration Department as well as the Census Office determining the DNA of a baby by birth?
Russell A. Simmons
