To:
St. Eustatius Government Commissioner Ms. Lady A. Francis
St. Eustatius Deputy Government Commissioner Ms. C. Toet
Members of the St. Eustatius Island Council
Tilburg, June 20, 2021
Dear Commissioners and members of the Island Council,
Via
concerned residents of St. Eustatius and through the media, we learned
of the recent excavations at a cemetery of our ancestors (former Golden
Rock plantation) by a team of international researchers. We were shocked
by this fact and to see the human remains of our ancestors widely
featured in national and international newspapers, television channels
and social media.
We understand that the St. Eustatius government
has ordered the investigation and we have been informed through the
media that there is a necessity for the excavations and that the human
remains will be moved. We have tried to get more information from the
archaeologists, but they refer us to you the island government
representatives.
In the meantime, we have received many alarmed,
angry and dismayed reactions from people on St. Eustatius and beyond who
do not approve of the exhumation of the remains of our ancestors, who
do not find the reasons for this credible and who believe that they have
been poorly informed and are insufficiently involved by the government,
which therefore as such has hampered and prevented the involvement of a
broad community and social engagement.
Cemeteries are sacred
places and our ancestors deserve to be treated with respect. Our
ancestors were once given these resting places and they cannot be dug up
and treated with disrespect without great national importance, interest
and necessary legal reasons and certainly not without structural
involvement of their descendants. We want reinternment of these
ancestral remains.
Ubuntu Connected Front, Brighter Path
Foundation, SEAD and EcoRAY are organizing the protest movement. On June
8, we organized the mini-symposium “A Sacred Space For Our Ancestors”
with experts from Curaçao, Aruba, St. Eustatius and the Netherlands. We
have also made contact with, among others, African historians in
Barbados (Newton Slave Burial Ground) and the United States (African
Burial Ground) and also CARICOM. Naturally, many residents of St.
Eustatius are also involved in this protest.
On behalf of all
these individuals, African descendants and organizations, we ask the
government, Commissioners and Island Council members the following:
- Immediate cessation of our ancestors' excavation on this sacred ground;
- The submission of a written plan about the proposed excavation and commemoration of these ancestors that includes input from the community and scholars from the African diaspora;
- Adoption of a scientific research protocol which includes a definitive timeline for completion;
- Adoption of a commemorative proposal that is distinctive and rooted in African and African diasporic history and culture. This commemorative proposal should include plans for the:
- respectful treatment of these ancestral remains;
- plan for their reburial at the original site of rediscovery;
- plan for the appropriate African centered ceremonies as selected by the descendant community;
- placement of a permanent memorial on the site of sacred ground (at the airport).
- What exactly is the assignment given to the archaeologists by the government of St. Eustatius and where can we see it?
- What are the exact research objectives and questions of the research team?
- What has been recorded about handling the human remains currently being excavated (will they stay on the island?)
- Several protocols exist for handling human remains during archaeological research. Under which protocols, regulations or laws are the current excavations taking place?
- Is there independent supervision of the execution of the excavations?
- What happened to the human remains of our ancestors exposed by erosion at the Godet site? SECAR does not provide information on this despite repeated inquiries.
- Is the Cultural Heritage Agency involved in the project, given the enormous historical significance of the cemetery for the whole world?
- The Transatlantic Slave Trade has been
recognized by the United Nations as a Crime Against Humanity. Do you
agree that an eighteenth century cemetery of free and enslaved Africans
therefore demands special attention and treatment?
Sincerely,
Kenneth Cuvalay, Chair Ubuntu Connected Front Tilburg
Xiomara Balentina, President Brighter Path Foundation St. Eustatius
George Berkel, Vice President of grassroot movement SEAD (St. Eustatius Awareness and Development Movement)
Teresa Leslie, Director Public Health Research EcoRAY
Cc
- House of Representatives Committee on the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK)
- House of Representatives Committee Education, Culture and Science (OCW)
- The Cultural Heritage Agency of OCW
