Delano Veira points at the name of a Surinamese sailor who died sailing under the Dutch flag during WWII.
AMSTERDAM–As the Netherlands is set for its annual solemn May 4 commemoration of its victims of World War II, a controversy has erupted that has annoyed anti-racism activists.
“It’s these types of things that make me understand why people are using the hashtag #Geen4MeiVoorMij (#noMay4forme),” activist Mitchell Esajas reacted on his Facebook page on Thursday, after reports that the association Ons (Our) Suriname has severed ties with the Association of Former Royal Dutch Sailors KNSM.
The two organisations used to organise the wreath laying ceremony at the KNSM monument in Amsterdam, but when KNSM appeared to dictate to Ons Suriname that it should not mention the Dutch slavery past, Ons Suriname backed out of the commemoration. This means that Surinamese and Dutch Caribbean representation – that Ons Suriname always arranged – will not be part of the commemoration the year.
It appeared that KNSM had taken offence to Esajas’ speech last year, in which he called for more attention for the cruelties of slavery. “I always found it strange that in school I learned that WWII was a crime against humanity, but little about the other crime against humanity that lasted hundreds of years.”
Mentioning Esajas by name, KNSM instructed Ons Suriname on January 16 to “steer clear of any hint or sentence structure that refers to slavery or associated subjects.”
Ons Suriname director Delano Veira said on Thursday that a round of consultations followed, but to no avail. “It seems it’s impossible to commemorate together. The stance KNSM is taking is hurtful, deplorable and disrespectful. It violates the spirit of the commemoration. Them forbidding us to refer to slavery is censorship and we will not accept it… (that is why) we are not taking part in the commemoration this year,” Ons Suriname wrote in a press release.
The association regretted that this would disappoint people from Suriname and the Dutch Caribbean, whose relatives’ names are inscribed in the WWII monument at the KNSM wharf. Veira
Esajas, a university teacher who now runs the Black Archives in Amsterdam, found it a ridiculous turn of events. “Surinamers and Antilleans are not welcome at the commemoration, if they want to talk about slavery? So they want to commemorate victims of Nazism and fascism, but at the same time they want to instruct others what to say and what not?” he wrote.
The #Geen4mei hashtag has gained prominence – among especially people of colour – in recent years. A growing number of people have been pointing out that during WWII it was not just white Dutch people who died and that the commemoration reeks of double standards since the Netherlands refuses to formally acknowledge the atrocities of slavery.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/76297-no-dutch-caribbean-presence-at-may-4-commemoration-in-amsterdam-this-year
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