ST. EUSTATIUS / 24 March
2024 / -- St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance
The St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance kicks off the
family heritage project “Remember Statia: Tracing Our Origins” on Tuesday evening
March 26 at 7 pm in the public library on St. Eustatius. It is a public event
where people can walk in, ask questions about the project and watch the documentary
“A Story of Bones”.
After this introduction meeting, on April 2, 3, and 4, the Center for
Family History from the Netherlands will give three workshops on relevant
archival sources and how to search in the archives. On April 10 and 17,
educator and writer Marvin Hokstam who has long worked in St. Maarten as a
journalist, will host two workshops on how to craft a personal story with the
information found about our ancestors. A maximum of 35 people can join the
program, whether on location in St. Eustatius or online.
Researching and reinterpreting marginalized histories
Marvin Hokstam who did a similar program with the Surinamese community: “The
Black community has a wealth of untold stories. Beyond enslavement, marginalization
and hardship, our history is full of great stories, of heroism, of love, of
entrepreneurship. Black people have a pre- and post-slavery history as well with stories that
live on in the oral tradition of families, but have been conveniently ignored
by Eurocentric historiography. Many Black people are unaware of the wealth of
rich material in archives waiting to be uncovered and turned into engaging
ancestor stories.”
Retaking our history, rewriting our narrative
Getting the names of our ancestors from archival sources and making them
known is important to change the narrative. Our ancestors were not just
enslaved, they were people with a name, a face, a profession, a story. They
came from different countries of the continent of Afrika, they had knowledge,
values, and traditions. They survived the crimes and horrors of the Middle Passage;
our ancestors virtually live in us. There was also a large free Black community
in St. Eustatius that we know little about. We have to get ancestors out of oblivion, where
they were at best extras in the history of the colonizers, while it was them who
actually built the Americas.
“Participants do not necessarily have to research their whole family tree
going back centuries," Cuvalay explains. “You can write your story about someone
who has been very inspirational to you, for example.” The Alliance is very much
looking forward to the results of the project, and it trusts the stories will
capture the heart and soul of the strong-willed Statia people, with heroic
whaler captains, highly skilled tailors, carpenters, midwives, artists,
musicians, healers, teachers, and what have you. The Alliance is preparing a
special tribute to Statia’s very own Congo man, Mr. Eric Henriquez, who passed
away in November 2023.”
About the project
The Dutch Slavery Memorial Year's Mondriaan Culture Fund Open Call
partially funds the project. It is still possible to register for the project.
If you have roots in St. Eustatius and are from the Afrikan (diaspora)
community, you are welcome to join via https://bit.ly/statia-ancestors. All
stories collected will be published.
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Information for the Editor
Contact: Kenneth
Cuvalay, President of the “St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance”
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Phone/WhatsApp
St. Eustatius: +599 3194975
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WhatsApp Netherlands
+31 6 29014308
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Email: steustatiusafrikanburialground@gmail.com
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Website http://steustatiusafrikanburialground.org/
(or: https://afrikanhistoryandconsciousness.blogspot.com/ for older content)
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Facebook www.facebook.com/groups/steustatiusafrikanburialgroundalliance/
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Instagram @steustatiusafrikanburialground
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X https://x.com/SE_ABG_Alliance
About
the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance (SE-ABG Alliance)
The
SE-ABG Alliance came about as a result of the protests against the excavations
on the 18th-century burial ground of enslaved Afrikans Golden Rock that were
started by a team of international archaeologists in June 2021 in St. Eustatius
(see https://www.change.org/LeaveOurAncestorsInPeace).
The protests were initially led by the political party Ubuntu Connected Front
Caribbean. Located in St. Eustatius and with allies around the world, the St.
Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance broadened the scope of the
struggle focusing on other Afrikan burial grounds in St. Eustatius such as the
Afrikan Burial Ground Godet Plantation St. Eustatius (Godet/Fort Amsterdam).
One of the aims is to further broaden the scope of our struggle to the
Pan-Afrikanist level, connecting with and working with Afrikan-centered
organizations and movements that are also fighting for the preservation of our ancestors’
endangered Afrikan burial grounds around the world and taking control of our
narrative that has been distorted. Among them are Annina van Neel, CEO of the
Tiekie Box Project, and protagonist of the awarded documentary “A Story of
Bones,” and Peggy King Jorde, consultant and defender of marginalized histories
and Afrikan burial grounds.
About
BIgi Bon Foundation
The
projects of Bigi Bon foundation's focus on inclusion. Bigi Bon means Big Tree
in the Sranan language, which refers to its philosophy that Big Trees provide
much Shade;
The
foundation aims to improve the position of immigrant communities in general and
especially the Afrikan diaspora communities, through knowledge generation
through media related activities and providing learning support. Also:
increasing the opportunities of people, especially young people from the
aforementioned communities.
Founder
and President Marvin Hokstam is also an educator, writer, journalist, and
founder of Afro Magazine. His latest initiative is the Broos Institute, which
offers various studies up to academic level from an Afro-centric worldview. Website
https://broos.institute/
Project
Memre: https://afromagazine.nl/nieuws/project-memre-met-afro-magazine-op-jacht-naar-verhalen-die-de-geschiedenisles-negeerde
For the Alliance is Afrika spelled with a “k” instead
of a “c” based on the following insights:
- It is a Pan-Afrikan spelling which
relates both to the Afrikan continent and to the Diaspora;
- It reflects the spelling of “Afrika”
in all Afrikan languages;
- It includes the concept of “ka,” the
vital energy which both sustains and creates.
--
Kenneth Cuvalay.
President
St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance/President Monuments
foundation St. Eustatius/Primary founder Mental Health Caribbean (MHC)
for psychiatry and addiction care on St. Eustatius and Saba.
Instagram @steustatiusafrikanburialground
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