Also published in The Daily Herald of April 25, 2022
When will the disrespect end, as it relates to the Golden Rock African Burial Ground site on Sint Eustatius?
ST. EUSTATIUS / 24 April 2022 / -- Ubuntu Connected Front
Buried in an article of The Daily Herald of March 25, 2022, “Parliament again asks to accelerate Statia process” concerning a resent debate of the Second Chamber of the Dutch government, where various Members of Parliament express their views on the speeding up to restore democracy on Sint Eustatius. It is quite ironic that the process to enact a law, in the second week in February 2018, when the then State Secretary of Kingdom Relation, passed the law, based on the so call Wise men Refunjol-Janssen, not forgetting the main unmentioned author the forgotten Jenny Thunnissen, report, through both Dutch Parliaments, with unanimous consent, signed into law by the King, traveled to Sint Eustatius, with military support, to take over a defenseless island, all within the time frame of three days, but it have to take divine intervention, to speed up a process that have lasted over four years. The state secretary, van Huffelen, referred to the Dutch Slavery past as “a shame in our shared history” and it was very important to give account for it, but on the other hand the prime-minister, who apparently have a degree in Dutch history from the Leiden University, still believes that an apology would create a risk that will cause society to further become more polarizing. Based on apologies that he has muster up the courage to give in the past months, they still seem to be lacking some elements of what a proper apology should be regarding the Afrikan people. They should at least have some elements of, acknowledgment, remorse and empathy, and the most of all, restitution on grounds of reparatory justice. If one should dissect the historical behavior of colonial powers, they tend to enact laws, or skillfully make statement, that might make terms like “War Crimes” and “Crimes against Humanity” as incidents of history, that will be easily forgotten as time go by, without any proper form of restitution or accountability.
The project if the Construction Airport Boulevard which is scheduled to commence the second quarter of 2022, seems to have the plans in full swing. Apart from having a presentation of the report from the Statia Heritage Research Commission (SHRC), in relation to the excavation that was done at the Afrikan Burial Ground site in questioned, it might seem like all the relevant boxes have been checked off, like community engagement, and all is well. Specifically, in the notice of the project, is mentioned about “the Bend at the One Link supermarket” and is noticeable from the video clip, that is circulating, of the Airport Boulevard project that some sort of construction will take place through the Afrikan Burial Ground site in question. Apparently there seems to be a major traffic congestion issue and by constructing roundabouts that “will improve the safety of road users immensely.” We would like the local government administration to publicize, the past reports of these incidents, that is disrupting the flow of traffic, that took place in the last four years. If one should use the same argumentation provided for the placements of these roundabouts, practically every intersection on the island would qualify for one.
Another very important moment in time is, since the matter of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonialism, that has been classified a crime against humanity, by the United Nations.
As a consequence of the UN decision the following developed, the European parliament, with the full endorsement of all the EU parliaments members that represents the coalition parties that supports the present fourth Rutte cabinet, with a pending apology which might happen sometime this century the fundamental question can be ask.
With the possibility of this Airport Boulevard project, with the placement of the roundabout destroying the 18 century cemetery of our enslaved Afrikan ancestors, the second biggest in the Caribbean after Barbados which in itself is disrespectful is that not become part of a crime against humanity?
Taking the most recent roundabout, that still have people wondering why it was constructed in the first place, and why you still have those mobile guardrails with the sign “Road to Jeems Road Closed” place on one of them, when practically on a daily basis you will see motorist entering the roundabout and making a left turn because it seems more practical to do so.
It seems quite easy for motions to be presented, and carried in the Dutch parliament, often giving vague and general instructions, but that have not come to the realization that the main issue, that is the common unmentioned cause of the majority of the problems, as it relates to its colonies have to do with racism. The “BCN” issue with students coming from the colonial part of the kingdom are basically being racially profiled and are categorized as foreigners with the Dutch passports. How is it possible that practically overnight, sanctions on the oil and gas trade from Venezuela can be implemented with the full support of the Dutch Government, with the full knowledge of the economic ramifications that will result thereof for the colonial part of the kingdom, including other Caribbean islands, then questioning the abilities of the islands to run their own affairs, because of the lack of sufficient financial means follows by intention to further take away any form of autonomy that they believe to have. On the other hand, it seems to be a very difficult pill and bitter to swallow, to implement similar oil and gas sanctions when the European part of the kingdom, including Europe might suffer the economic ramifications of such a move. Also resent you have the COHO elephant taking up a lot of media discussion room that comes as a subtle form of terrorism.
The Emancipation Act of July 1, 1863, although the decision was made in 1848, when the Netherlands abolish slavery, didn’t come without the usual concerns, like it even took many more years after for the enslaved Afrikans to be free because of a mandatory 10-year transition phase in Suriname. Some might say that those responsible for the Transatlantic Slave trade are no longer alive, so what use does an apology serve? The answer to that question reveals it self through a system that seems to repeat itself. Although with the introduction of the Charter of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1954, that should have ended the Dutch ownership of colonies, which turns out not to be true. When it comes to matters of freedom the Dutch Government still seems to drag things out endlessly, and referring to self-made laws, but in the interest of development and fabricated safety and congestion issues, the placement of a roundabout trumps a cemetery of our enslaved Afrikan ancestors that apparently was not the final resting place, even after enduring the horrendous and barbaric Crimes Against Humanity.
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Information for the Editor
Kenneth Cuvalay, chairman UCF Caribbean / St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance
The St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance protests the excavations of Afrikan free and enslaved Afrikans at an 18th-century Afrikan burial ground in St. Eustatius (see https://www.change.org/LeaveOurAncestorsInPeace).
Afrika is 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.
About Ubuntu Connected Front (UCF)
Ubuntu Connected Front is a political party in the Netherlands founded in 2017. It participated in the 2021 Parliamentary election and although it did not receive enough votes to win a seat in the House of Representatives, it was the most popular party in St. Eustatius, receiving 50,8% of the votes. Motto: “Equality is a human right, not a privilege”. UCF focuses on equal rights for people of Afrikan descent.
Ubuntu means "humanity" in Afrikan Bantu languages. It is often translated as "I am because we are", or "humanity towards others". It is Ubuntu Connected Front’s core belief that all people have rights, which promotes equality of treatment and eliminates marginalization and deprivation.
Black Agenda. The 'Black Agenda' of Ubuntu Connected Front (UCF) can be found in the "Manifest for NL Transformation" at the UCF website (Chapter 5).
The Black Agenda consists of three pillars:
1. Recognition concerns the impact of our slavery past as a crime against humanity.
2. Justice is about historical restoration of rights.
3. Development aims to achieve equal development opportunities for everyone.
