Cabinet approves €200 million fund for history of slavery social programs, education
There will soon be a fund for social initiatives to help people to memorialize and process information and about the history of slavery, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said during a speech in The Hague on Monday in which he apologized for the Dutch role in slavery. Intent to compete initiatives in Aruba and Sint Eustatius have already been announced, and additional money will be released for a committee to annually oversee a larger project.
A total of 200 million euros will be paid into the fund, which will be enshrined in law, the Cabinet wrote in a letter to the Tweede Kamer on Monday. "The aim is a low-threshold and widely accessible fund." The details of the fund will be established "in close dialogue" with relevant communities in the Netherlands and the Dutch Caribbean islands. An attempt is also being made to involve Suriname in the initiative. The South American country left the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1975.
Half of the fund is intended to pay for social initiatives. The other 100 million euros will be used to finance measures in the field of awareness and involvement. For example, the money may be used to pay for a research program to gain more insight into the impact of the history of slavery. The fund was one of the recommendations from a report published last year by the Slavery History Dialogue Group. It also suggested that the government should apologize for the country’s history involving slavery.
The Netherlands contributing to a monument to Aruban people who revolted
The Netherlands is contributing to a monument in Aruba for Virginia Dementricia, a woman who was born into slavery and revolted against her Dutch slave owner in the mid-19th century. State Secretary Eric van der Burg announced this during a visit to the country on Monday, where he offered remarks after Rutte’s speech in The Hague.
"The Netherlands bows its head in shame and extends its hand to those who still feel the consequences today. We do this with thanks to the statements of people and groups who have campaigned for recognition for years. Without it, the government would not have come to the conclusion that this is correct and necessary,” according to Van der Burg.
In his speech of apology, Rutte mentioned the names of other insurgents in the former colonies, such as Tula on Curaçao, Jolicoeur, Boni and Baron in Suriname and One-Tété Lohkay on Sint-Maarten, and of the Surinamese writer Anton de Kom. "I grew up in the Bijlmer [neighborhood in Amsterdam], and lived there for forty years. Then those names are in your being. But they are all men. That's why I mention Virginia. She was way ahead of her time," Van der Burg said.
As a slave, Dementricia herself put on her mistress's clothes several times, which was strictly forbidden. She was given forced labour. She also tried to run away. A street has been named after her in Rotterdam, and a street will soon bear her name in Amsterdam.
Van der Burg also announced that the Netherlands is contributing to the reprint of a book by Luc Alofs about the history of slavery in Aruba. This can then be used as teaching material in schools. The Netherlands will also help with the digitization of the archives in Aruba. "People in Aruba should be able to gain an easier and better insight into their own past, their own family history."
One of the speakers asked the Netherlands to also apologize to Africa, because the enslaved people were taken away from there. Van der Burg made no promises, but said he would convey the message to the Cabinet.
Monument intended for Sint Eustatius
A portion of the fund will be allocated to the construction of a monument on Sint Eustatius, confirmed State Secretary Marnix van Rij in his speech on the Caribbean island. He spoke shortly after Prime Minister Mark Rutte's apology address regarding the role of the State in slavery.
The money means "that we want to fulfill the wish to establish a memorial for the ancestors who have been unearthed - in a respectful and appropriate manner for the next of kin," said the minister. Van Rij was on the island for a reason: Between 2020 and 2021 he was the government commissioner of Sint Eustatius. In the creation of the memorial "it is paramount that you - the Statian community - determine how and where this monument takes shape.”
Van Rij said he felt "honored" to have the first conversation with Statians after the apology. Many of them are themselves descendants of enslaved people. "The past is not gone from your stories and from your personal history - for those who can and want to talk about it," said the state secretary. He emphasized that the apologies are just a starting point. "After all, a process of healing and reconciliation takes time," says Van Rij.
Extra money for new committee
In addition, the Cabinet will release 8 million euros each year for a Memorial Committee that has yet to be established. That committee will be tasked to "supervise the implementation and organization of a grand, dignified commemoration of the history of slavery,” according to the Cabinet.
Reporting by ANP