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oa Vrijheid in verbinding
De Surinaamse gemeenschap en de slavernijherdenking op Curaçao, van de beginjaren tot 1970
- Amsterdam University Press
- Source: Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis, Volume 137, Issue 4, Dec 2024, p. 394 - 404
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- 01 Dec 2024
Abstract
Freedom in connection. The Surinamese community and the commemoration of slavery in Curaçao, from the early years to 1970.
This article examines the role of Surinamese people in the commemorations of slavery in Curaçao, from their arrival as migrant laborers in the early twentieth century until 1970. It highlights how these commemorations have contributed to the national narrative surrounding identity and provided deeper insight into the shared history of Surinamese and Curaçaoans. In Curaçao, Surinamese people continued to commemorate July 1, as they had in their homeland. Although this was a form of coming together to remember their heritage, the event was also open to the local population. In contrast to the annual commemoration of slavery in Suriname, the observance in Curaçao was not an annual event for a long time. It wasn’t until the radical youth of Curaçao became more engaged in the 1960s that the significance of these commemorations began to grow, particularly their focus on the commemoration of August 17, 1795, rather than July 1. Nevertheless, some of these individuals found a platform in the Surinamese organization JPF, which also contributed to raising their consciousness.