PHILIPSBURG –– The Dutch government makes 200 million euro ($232 million) available for the slavery fund. Half of this money is earmarked for projects that contribute to awareness, healing and tackling the consequences suffered by the descendants of slaves. The other half is for policy impulses; government organizations can submit proposals for this part of the fund.
The Caribbean parts of the Kingdom are scheduled to submit their action list for this purpose om July 1, the date slavery was abolished in 1863. The conditions to qualify for subsidies will be announced on the same date.
The $116 million available for non-governmental initiatives will be equally divided between the Netherlands, the six islands of the former Netherlands Antilles and Suriname – a former Dutch colony. It is unclear how the share for the six islands that form the Caribbean part of the Kingdom will be divided. St. Maarten could claim at least a part of the maximum of $38.6 million for slavery-related projects.
The remaining $116 million is for projects proposed by government organizations.
In a committee-debate about the history of slavery last week it became clear that the majority of the political parties support the initiative, though there are two parties (the PVV and JA21) that are highly critical of it.
During the debate, Peter van Haasen (PVV) described the commemoration of slavery and the projects that are related to it as “a moneymaking scheme for a subsidy-driven victim-industry of institutions, stakeholder-organizations and activists.” According to Van Haasen they all survive on government money and they are keeping themselves alive with memorials, advisory committees and awareness-subsidies.
Joost Eerdmans (JA21) said that he has no confidence in projects financed through the slavery fund. He said it is a better idea to spend this money on better education in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom and in Suriname. He added that currently approximately 50 million people are living under modern slavery and that a quarter of them are children.
Eerdmans furthermore pointed to a motion he submitted on October of last year that stated that the Netherlands will not pay any compensation to descendants of slaves. The parliament supported this motion.
“In a round table conference a lady said that 200 million euros is an advance, while someone else said that compensation is about trillions. “One trillion is a million times a billion. That was seriously proposed. Have we gone completely mad?”
NSC-MP Faith Bruyning emphasized that slavery is a story with echoes in the present. “The pain is not only in the past but also in the way that history is being concealed, twisted or softened.”
She asked whether the minister is prepared to work on the establishment of an institute for colonial awareness, where education, research and dialogue come together.
Bruyning also stated that there is scientific evidence for the position that the impact of slavery is genetic, social and structural.
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