Over 2,800 receive Dutch Royal honor, including Kenley Jansen & anti-Zwarte Piet activist

A total of 2,832 people were given Royal honors on Wednesday, slightly less than last year, when the total was 3,026 people. The largest number of people given a decoration on a single day in the Netherlands is traditionally the last working day before King's Day. This year, King Willem-Alexander's birthday falls on Thursday. Among the 2,832 recipients, 1,032 are women, which amounts to 36.4 percent. That is the highest percentage in recent years.

Baseball player Kenley Jansen, Feyenoord footballer Peter Houtman, author Gerbrand Bakker, and diversity activist Mitchel Esajas, who helped lead the anti-racism movement Kick Out Zwarte Piet, were among those receiving an honor on Wednesday. Arnhem resident Marcel Lieferink also received a distinction for successfully rescuing his neighbor from a house fire. They received an award from King Willem-Alexander on Wednesday during the annual “lintjesregen” or “rain of ribbons” ahead of King’s Day. Recipients are often lured to their city hall or a similar location under false pretences for the surprise. Once they arrive, they’ll hear their mayor utter the famous words: “It has pleased His Majesty the King to appoint you as…”

Kenley Jansen plays for the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball in the United States, the most significant league in the world. He also plays for the Dutch national team, and is one of the highest paid Dutch athletes in the world. In 2020 he won the World Series. Jansen was given his ribbon not only for his sports career, but also because he is committed to helping young people in Curaçao, where he was born. He has given tablet computers and game computers to schoolchildren, and he provides assistance to families with chronically ill children.

"He is seen as a role model for the youth, as a breeding ground for talent development and as an ambassador for Curaçao abroad," said the office of the Chancellor of the Dutch Orders. Jansen is currently in the United States, where his Red Sox will play against the Orioles in Baltimore later on Wednesday. He was called with the news that he has become a Knight in the Order of Oranje-Nassau, and will receive the decoration later when he returns to Curaçao. A class distinction in the Order of Oranje-Nassau is traditionally given for meritorious service to society.

Mitchel Esajas, one of the leaders of the anti-racism protest movement Kick Out Zwarte Piet, received a royal award on Wednesday. He was appointed a Knight in the Order of Oranje-Nassau. Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema presented him with the award during a meeting in the Concertgebouw in the capital. Esajas received the ribbon “for merits in the field of diversity and inclusion and the fight against discrimination and racism,” said the Chancellery of the Netherlands Orders, which oversees the awards.

Esajas, an anthropologist, is one of the initiators and leaders of The Black Archives, a center that collects the history of Black Dutch people. He also leads the New Urban Collective, which aims to help young people of color. And with Kick Out Zwarte Piet, Esajas has been demonstrating against the blackface Sinterklaas character for years. He was also involved in Black Lives Matter protests against racism and discrimination.

The Netherlands apologized for its slavery past last year. Esajas called that a positive step but also wants reparations to follow. He also wants Keti Koti, the day the Netherlands commemorates the abolition of slavery, to become a national holiday.

Joining Jansen and Esajas as a Knight in that order is former Feyenoord football player Peter Houtman, who has been a fixture in the De Kuip stadium for many years. He was also made a Knight not only because of his football career, but also because of his commitment to his neighborhood in Spijkenisse.

Marileen Dogterom, the president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, was honored on Wednesday as a Knight in the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands, which the Dutch Royal Family said is, "the oldest and highest civilian order of chivalry in the Netherlands." There were also ribbons for DJ Johan Gielen from Tiel, television producer Roel Kooi from Utrecht and actress Guusje Eijbers from The Hague.

In Amsterdam, author Gerbrand Bakker was named an Officer in the Order of Oranje-Nassau. Bakker wrote books such as Boven is het stil, De omweg and De Kapperszoon. Boven is het stil has been translated into 30 languages, and is known as The Twin in English. His work is the only Dutch book to be translated into so many languages ​in recent decades, enabling hundreds of thousands of readers around the world to become acquainted with Dutch literature. Former Randstad CEO Jacques van den Broek was also made an Officer of that order, while Elsevier magazine's editor-in-chief, Arendo Joustra, became a Knight.

Marcel Lieferink from Arnhem received a special award known as the Honorary Medal for Charitable Relief in Bronze, because he succeeded in rescuing his neighbor from her burning home. The fire broke out on January 10 in a house on the Aagtekerkesingel in Arnhem Zuid. The resident was unable to leave on her own and a first rescue attempt failed.

Lieferink, who was on his way to do some shopping, ran home to get a ladder. With it he climbed over a shed and across a roof to the woman's balcony. He lifted the woman out of the house and brought her to safety. Then he went back to save her dog and her guinea pig.

The medal of honor was created in 1822 by King Willem I, after a soldier was rescued from a deep well in Tournai. That did not happen during a war, so the rescuers were not eligible for the Military Order of William, given for bravery. Last year, a total of three people received the medal of honor. A pilot received the award for making a safe emergency landing in 2021 with a plane full of parachutists. A man was also honored for saving someone from a burning car in 2020. Another man was awarded the medal because in 2021 he had managed to stop another car with his own car after the driver behind the wheel had become unwell.

Meanwhile, the percentage of women decorated during the annual lintjesregen has been increasing little by little in recent years. In 2019, women received 34.99 percent of the ribbons, and 35.01 percent in 2020. That rose to 35.33 percent in 2021, and 36.13 percent last year.

Women are relatively more often awarded the lowest distinction, Member of the Order of Oranje-Nassau. This mainly goes to people who do a great deal of voluntary work in their own hometown. Of all women who were decorated this year, almost 89 percent received that distinction. About 80 percent of men who were decorated were given that honor.

Men are relatively often appointed a Knight in the Order of Oranje-Nassau, which is one class higher. This award is intended for "services with a regional or even national appearance and significance." About 18.6 percent of the men and 10.3 percent of the women received that ribbon.

Last year, just over 3,000 people received a ribbon, compared to 2,832 in 2021, 3,060 in 2020, and 2,852 in 2019.