Publisher: LM Publishers / Editorial Charuba Book and cover designer: ADCTRA - www.adctra.com Printing Press: Drukcase ISBN: 978-94-6022-461-4 @2017 Artwell Cain. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form of any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the proprietor.
Colophon 2
Irene Peterson
46
Introduction 5
Irvin A. Hazel
48
Alberto Klaber
Jeffrey Brooks
50
8
Content
Antoni Gario
10
Leonardo E. Philips
52
Candice Pompier
12
Luciano Milliard
54
Charee David
14
Mario Browne
56
Claudius Philips
16
Mercedes Hodge
58
Collins John
18
Nicole Godett
60
Curtis Fraser
20
Olga Buckley
62
Cynthia Clark
22
Ortencia Richardson
64
Deborah v/d Berg - Alexander 24
Raymond Richardson
66
R. Dimitri Halley
26
Robin-Ann Didder
68
Donald Baly
28
Sanju Daryanani
70
Earl Euson
30
Selinna Illidge
72
Elton Lioe-A-Tjam
32
Sharon Paul
74
Emi-Lienne Baarh
34
Shirley Pope
76
Errol De Freitas
36
Sonny Richardson
78
Erseline Principaal
38
Theodore Johnson
80
Giannis Croes
40
Victoria Gibbs
82
Glenda Heyliger
42
Viola Letren
84
Gregory Richardson
44
Conclusions 87
Introduction
This book was chiefly motivated by the fact that over the past years persons from the English speaking community in San Nicolas and other areas on Aruba have been over heard in conversations placing themselves outside the framework of Aruba’s national identity. Statements such as: “You know how those Arubans are” are often heard. Who are those Arubans? Who determines which person is an Aruban and who is not? Do some Arubans due to cultural structures and spoken language construct personal, social and cultural identities, which are not compatible with being an Aruban? Is there an issue on Aruba regarding who belongs and who does not? Is it reasonable to say that many persons in the community are caught up in an identity crisis? These are questions which have not been included in the national discourse relating to the national identity of Aruba. In actual fact this study which consists of this book and a documentary is an attempt at stimulating knowledge production and discussion regarding migration history, identification and self-representation of Arubans. Right up to the 1920s many Arubans found their livelihood by migrating to other islands such as Cuba and even Curaçao in search of seasonal employment. The arrival of the Lago oil & Transport Co. Ltd. in the period around 1924 brought about drastic changes to the livelihood of Arubans and their families. This was compounded by the arrival of immigrants from the English speaking Caribbean islands, Surinam, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia and other countries from 1920s onwards. The migration of various persons and families from the English speaking Caribbean to Aruba in the 20th century can be viewed as one which was propelled by the desire for better living conditions and life chances. This book, ‘Multiple Narratives of English speaking Arubans; Migration, Identification and Representation’, facilitates a discourse articulating a sense of belonging on Aruba. A central issue in and outside of academia is how relevant is ‘identity’ in the 21st century in the sense of an instrument of social analysis but also as a social status identity marker? What is the link between personal and cultural identity with a sense of belonging? The ‘sense of belonging ‘ on Aruba is crucial and even indispensable in the context of the way in which people identify themselves as Arubans and identify with Aruba. The core of the matter is the feeling of well-being and at the same time the feeling of being at home and selfcategorization. It is generally taken for granted that identity is something felt or experienced in terms of self-identification or subjectivity but it is also seen as something which is partly imposed on a person by others irrespective of how one feels about him or herself. Obviously one can also speak about identity in terms of individual identity but congruently also about collective or group identities. Other forms of identities are constantly constructed. Identity is not as transparent or unproblematic as we think, it is always an ongoing process of wanting to become. The constitution of a cultural identity really matters. Identity as a concept and in reality includes but also excludes. Many will agree with us that there is a big difference between “My identity is” and “I identify with this group or that country”. This is what is often referred to as identification Representation is an essential part of the process by which meaning is produced and exchanged between members of a culture. In essence it is the manner in which Arubans give meaning to their sense of self and the “other” within the Aruban culture. Does one see him/herself on billboards, flyers, etc? The Aruban culture can be classified as multi-cultural. This also entails that language is an important element of the way of life and is constructed through Papiamento (the lingua franca), but also San-English (a qualification employed by many in Aruba who speak this creolized language), English, Spanish and Dutch. Due to diverse reasons and developments many of the first generation migrants remained on
Aruba even after the Lago refinery experienced a down turn in its activities. Who were these persons? Why did they choose to remain on Aruba instead of returning to their home countries? How did they experience Aruba in their early years after arrival and how much have their views of Aruba and other Arubans changed? Do they categorize themselves as Arubans? In the case of their offspring who were born and reared on Aruba how do they experience themselves and Aruba? The ultimate objective of this project was to gather information from about 39 persons from the English speaking community on Aruba and try to answer some of the above posed questions. These persons were sought and identified on the basis of gender, age and personal history. Their narratives were subsequently recorded for reproduction on the one hand in this illustrated book with portraits and on the other hand for a short documentary. The short documentary of a duration of about 40 minutes takes the narrative further by interviewing some respondents on location in relation to their social and economic circumstances and leisure time in their community. The approach in the gathering of information and the presentation of our findings consists of a combination of methods. We are of the opinion that there is a dire need to have sound and solid insight into the manner in which respondents represent self. We invited them to step out of the zones of silence. They were given the opportunity to narrate their stories in a dialogic manner. All interviews were recorded on film. A number of 39 persons were interviewed. We were interested in the gender divide so we searched and found 20 females and 19 males. The various age groups were of salient importance to us due to the fact that we strove for a reasonable representation of views. We spoke to 9 respondents between the ages of 18 and 33. The respondents between the ages of 34 to 50 years were 12. The biggest group of 13 respondents was in the category 51 to 65 years old and in the category of respondents above 65 years old there were 5 persons. 29 of the respondents were born and raised on Aruba. 3 were born on Curaรงao but were raised from babies to adult life on Aruba. 3 others were born on Sint Maarten but came to Aruba early on in their lives. 3 others were born respectively in the Netherlands, Grenada and Trinidad & Tobago and came as teenagers to live on Aruba with their parents. They also classified themselves as Arubans. 1 person was born and raised on Saba and came to Aruba as an adult to live and work. He identifies himself as an Aruban. In terms of educational background there were 19 persons who went to school and or finished their education on Aruba and this is within a trajectory of primary to university level, with a few making it to the university level. 12 persons studied in the Netherlands at college and university level and came back to work on Aruba and 5 persons studied at university level in the United States. A majority of 32 persons had parents who lived in San Nicolas while they were growing up. The others lived in various areas not too far from San Nicolas. The parents of one respondent lived in Oranjestad and the parents of another lived on Saba. The three persons who came to Aruba as teenagers got their education outside of Aruba. The respondents had their say regarding many of the questions posed above. Some had astonishing answers, remarks and ways of looking at self, classifying self and others. Obviously they had a great deal to say about Aruba then and now and articulated what they felt for or about Aruba. All in all this is a book which can be deemed indispensable and as a starting point in the conversation of understanding who or what is an Aruban.
8 Migration My ma was born on Aruba and my father on Curaçao. That is where my ma met my dad. As I was told my ma was a very picky person. She eventually picked him. My dad happened to be an alcoholic and after they got married the domestic problems started. After three violent attacks my ma took her three children and we flew to Aruba. I was about seven years old. I was raised on Aruba from age seven to nineteen. I then went to Holland to study. I came back after nine years and I am still here. My father remained on Curaçao. He came to Aruba once for carnival but my ma filed a restriction order at a police station at the airport and he could not enter Aruba anymore. After twenty years he came back when I got married. In Curaçao where I lived for seven years we spoke Papiamento. When I came to Aruba I started speaking English and later on when I went to Venezuela I switched to Spanish and in Holland I had to learn to speak Dutch. That is how I became fluent in these four languages. My ma spoke English at home with us. Most of our cousins spoke English as well. I spoke Papiamento on the streets and when I visited Curaçao. Identification I consider myself a creative person in the world of sports. I focus a lot on the sport that I do, which is Taekwondo. I also take a lot of pictures for Taekwondo internationally. My life revolves around Taekwondo. I am a professional landscaper but also a Taekwondo person. I claim to be an Aruban. When I went to Holland to study in 1985, there was a lot of violence involving Antilleans around that period. When I was confronted by people who asked me where I was born and I answered Curaçao I got comments like “there you have another Antillean”. So to keep it short I started to say I was from Aruba. So when I was asked where I was from or where I was born I replied “Aruba”. Just to keep that negativity far away from me. Even now when I travel and I am asked where I am from, I say “Aruba”. I do not consider myself from Curaçao. I came to Aruba as a child. From the age of seven, my entire childhood and my youth I lived on Aruba, in San Nicolas. I have always lived my life as an Aruban. In Holland I lived in Haarlem but moved up North because I trained Taekwondo in Groningen. For me it was easier because my family lived in Herenveen. It was a sacrifice, but I do not regret it, because after being in the Dutch national team for six years I fought at a national level, for the European championships, World championships and also in competitions with Holland versus South Korea. These are opportunities I will never forget. I think that an authentic Aruban is someone who was born and raised on Aruba. For example, someone from the Village, who was born there is an authentic Aruban. I feel I am an authentic Aruban but when you go down to the roots, people will say that I was not born on the island. I travelled a lot because of Taekwondo and saw different things all over the world that people who never left the island would never see. I think we are all equal but there are differences in the things we do. Aruba has done a lot for me. One of my ambitions from childhood was to study abroad. So I got a scholarship
A sense of belonging...
from the island to study abroad. When I came back in 1993 I looked all over the place and could not find a job so I spoke to Geraldo de Veer and the next day he gave me a job at Sonesta. I worked there for three years and then started my own business. I was once nominated for the sport person of the year on Aruba. I have done a lot for Aruba, training kids at Brasil Taekwondo Foundation. We travel a lot because I want to see them become whatever they can be in life. We do not rely on the government for any help whatsoever. We go out there and we sell car wash tickets, we sell calendars and do other activities so we can collect money so that these kids can become somebody big in the world a couple of years from now. One of our biggest achievements was going in 2015 to South Korea with eight athletes and coming back with eight medals from the other side of the world. That was a big accomplishment for me and the kids. Representation When people speak on behalf of Arubans, they are speaking for me as well. It makes me feel involved, especially when it is at an international level. That is why wherever we go we try to keep Aruba’s reputation high. Right now Aruba has some problems but we are trying to make the best of it and focus on the positive things. When you are a team, you are a team. We have two Jamaicans on the team, but they do not consider themselves Jamaicans. One was born in Jamaica and one on Aruba, but when they are asked where they are from they always say “Aruba”. No matter where we go and fight we are a team. My view on life is: What is for you is for you. You have good and bad people. Some will try to pull you down, while others will help you. I feel very comfortable where I am at the moment and wherever I go on this island. Aruba to me is home. I like Miami. I blend in there with the people. I have never been treated badly in Miami. I would like to go back and forth from Aruba to Miami, however Aruba will always be my home.
Name:
Alberto
Last name:
Klaber
Date of birth:
22-09-1964
Place of birth:
Curaçao
Place where parents lived :
San Nicolas
Highest education attainment:
MISVS Haarlem NL
Profession:
Landscaper
Alberto
10 Migration My parents referred to themselves as “Caribbean people with an accent on Curaçao”, which brings it closer to an African heritage because my great great grandmother was still a slave. Her name was Maria Gario. Therefore we continue the link. This is my mother’s side of the family. Perhaps they felt slightly Aruban but they upheld their Curaçao culture, with the food they ate and also the way they dressed. The origin of my parents is Curaçao/ Aruba and that of my grandparents is Curaçao/Saint Kitts. They simply maintained the Curaçao part of their heritage. To a certain extent they were Curaçaoleans living on Aruba. Identification with Aruba I often refer to myself as an African because I believe in the roots, which is what I use as my ethnic background. I lay claims on being an Aruban. I even gave a speech on the rights to belong and a sense of belonging a few years ago. It is always a struggle as an Aruban and a struggle as a black Aruban to have the codename Aruban in front of your name or at the back of it. It is based on the ethnic divide that exists on the island. There is a double divide if you are black and you come from San Nicolas. So that is like double jeopardy. It takes you farther away from the Aruba, that the Arubans call Aruba and also farther away from its ways and traditions. I had a rude awakening a few months ago. I was invited to participate in the singing of the Aruban national anthem which was recorded in New York. Most of my beliefs and my philosophies greatly changed and shifted because of the way I was accepted in New York and the bond that we experienced among the Americans and Aruban artists. There were artists such as Claudius Philips, JR, Janiro and many more local artists that participated in this event. While participating in the singing of the national anthem a nostalgic feeling came over me, which I felt deep down inside of me and this feeling made me reflect on my beliefs regarding being an Aruban. With that said I will say that I am Aruban now more than ever. It was not part of a government project. It was a private project. When we came back it gave me an additional sense of belonging. I can say perhaps my conceptions were wrong and I had a wrong concept of my participation on the island of Aruba. Perhaps I was self-centered or it had to do with the way I was brought up: always with that hint, the idea that we are going back, that we are not really from here, but we never left. My ma now suffers from dementia. I am taking care of her in a nursing home. She would be perhaps flabbergasted about the new me because we always spoke about our place in the Aruban community and where we belong and what we were. For example, in the past when I was a kid we would go to a party and if this party was in Oranjestad, Santa Cruz or anywhere else but San Nicolas, it would be an issue. She would say “make sure you eat before you go to that party I do not want to see you playing hungry in the people place.” I would refuse snacks. I would refuse drinks because I did not want to offend my mother. I was not an Aruban. I was black. I would be very reserved and I would not even stand in line to take sweeties (candies) because I
A sense of belonging...
did not belong. The way I now fight for the island, I fight as an Aruban. When I have anything to say I voice my opinion in correct Papiamento. I am an Aruban and this is my flag. I guess the sense of pride now is prevalent. It is now 180 degrees from what it was. I attribute that to the national anthem which we sang a while back. An authentic Aruban is one that feels Aruban and fights for this place and especially San Nicolas, the sunrise city San Nicolas. I am a San Nicolas Aruban and a proud one. We Arubans share the same island. We share the same culture and I have personally been part of the construction of our culture. I could also say that the most special thing I have done in the neighborhood is to take care of a lot of kids, especially boys, twelve or thirteen of them. Today they are all big men and drug free. I have been very active in carnival for over thirty-five years. I directed the carnival stage and the calypso stage for three decades and more. Anyone that shares these bits and pieces of the island is definitely an Aruban. Representation Everybody speaks about Aruba the way they think it is correct. There is no real format how to speak about Arubans. There are different angles relating to what is spoken. It all depends on what is said, which determines whether they are speaking on my behalf or not because I have my own set of values. At the same time, much does not apply to me. I will feel specifically Aruban if there is any fight or something that has to do with the national security of the island or if San Nicolas is under threat. I will go more ballistic for situations in San Nicolas than any other district. I do not think that is wrong because it is my home town. I have been granted fair chances but I did not make use of all of them or most of them. Aruba is my true home. My development, my education, my talents, all these things have their roots here. Perhaps I have a special bond with the universe where a port opens up and I am furnished with information. It does not matter where I am, I will get the same information. These are my talents, they belong to my soul, but had it not been for Aruba, a lot would have been different. I have to say thanks to Aruba for a lot of things.
Name:
Antoni
Last name:
Gario
Date of birth:
07-07-1969
Place of birth:
Aruba
Place where parents lived :
San Nicolas
Highest education attainment:
High school
Profession:
City inspector
Antoni
12 Migration I was born on the island of Sint Maarten. When my mother was six months pregnant she went there on vacation and I was born. I have been living on Aruba from six months onwards. My mom came to Aruba at the age of fourteen. She is ninety-three now, so she has being living here for eighty years. My dad came when he was seventeen years old and he lived to the age of eighty. They have lived here most of their lives. They consider Aruba their home. I would refer to them as Arubans. We spoke English at home. My mom spoke all the languages, Papiamento, Dutch but mainly English. Identification with Aruba I consider myself Aruban. I am familiar with most of the stories about Aruba and very few about Sint Maarten. Basically I do not know a lot about that island. I consider myself a real Aruban, a San Nicolas girl. My heart is here in this place and I have stories to tell about when I was growing up. This is home for me. I think the authentic Aruban is the person who carries Aruba in his heart. No matter if you were born on a different island but once you start to live in a place and feel at home there, and you feel as if you are a part of the culture, the food and everything else that is what makes you a part of the island. Maybe a lot of people think I am not an Aruban but to me I am. I think it is very hard to describe what an authentic Aruban is. Sometimes we do not know what we have in common with other Arubans until we are on foreign soil. Then I realize that I have adapted to certain things that we do on Aruba, things that are done differently in other countries. On Aruba people notice the difference in color. When I meet people, tourists or whoever, usually one of the first things they ask me is “where are you from?” They assume right away that I am not Aruban because of the color of my skin. People with a lighter complexion, the color Arubans ‘should’ have, are considered Arubans. Arubans come in different colors. One thing that was very upsetting is the fact that after I had spent so many years on the island (from 6 months old), graduated from high school, went away to study and when I came back I was labelled a foreigner. Just because I was born in Sint Maarten, I had to go through the whole procedure to get a permit to stay here. That was a terrible feeling. I was gone for eighteen years and wanted to come back and establish myself here with my family and I was a foreigner according to the Aruban laws. My parents were still living here and all my brothers and sisters were all born here. I was very hurt. I left the island at eighteen to study. And in the meantime Status Aparte was granted to Aruba in 1986 and many laws were changed. For this reason I was labeled a foreigner. I had to file a petition to live here. I owned a book store in the Main street in San Nicolas for ten years and did a lot of voluntary work as well. I am a born again Christian and I felt that one of the things that the Lord had placed in my heart to do was to return to the island where I was brought up and share the gospel. I had been registered in the census office for so many years and then all of a sudden I was a foreigner. Our family contributed a
A sense of belonging...
lot to the development in the Village. Everybody knows us. My mom had a bakery. Many times we would give bread to people who did not have food to eat or whatever. A lot of people knew my mother. They called her Cheese and Bread instead of her surname. Coming back with my two sons was a horrible experience, because my kids are Americans. They were also treated as foreigners just like me. Many times I was tempted to go back to the States or Sint Maarten, even though I did not know much about that island. But since this is where I went to school and this is where I had my friends, I went ahead and I fought. It was a challenge. The new law that was introduced after Status Aparte alienated people who had been here for years. I get along fine with other Arubans but sometimes I feel there is an invisible wall because somehow they feel I am not the real thing. Black people are treated differently. We are never the real Arubans. Representation I do not feel that when people speak on national level they are speaking for me. Like I said before there is a separation just like the separation between San Nicolas and town. People do not come right out and say it but it is there. The best moments of feeling that I am an Aruban are when I am away because then I can answer questions about Aruba. Once I am back on the island again I am not really Aruban in the eyes of those who consider themselves to be Arubans. We have a small island and people came here from various places and established themselves and from these developments the Arubans originated. If a genealogy is conducted, it will become clear that even the people who were said to be here from the very beginning were also from somewhere else. I have had moments when I felt I was being judged because of my color. In Aruba we do not really discuss or say there is discrimination. It is something we do not really want to say, but there is. There is discrimination. In spite of everything Aruba is my home. I love Aruba.
Name:
Candice
Last name:
Pompier
Date of birth:
24-09-1955
Place of birth:
Sint Maarten
Place where parents lived :
San Nicolas
Highest education attainment:
university
Profession:
Retired
Candice
14 Migration My parents refer to themselves as Arubans. They were born and raised here according to the ways of their cultural backgrounds. Sometimes they may have different ways of expressing themselves. I have to adapt to their culture and sometimes it is a bit different because there is a generation gap. I am not accustomed to the way they were brought up. My grandparents were also born here. Actually they are very strict with their rules. The way my mom brought me up is maybe different to their upbringing. What their grandmothers did not tolerate from them, they will not tolerate from us either because they were not brought up in a modern way. I live with my grandparents from my mother’s side, my grandfather speaks Papiamento and my grandmother speaks English. My grandfather was raised in Noord, Hato and my grandmother was raised here in San Nicolas. That is the reason why I speak both languages at home. Identification with Aruba I refer to myself as an Aruban and I am proud because I was born and raised in San Nicolas and can speak both English and Papiamento. I was born with a golden spoon in my mouth. There are so many things I can identify myself with. I do not have to stress about what will come after I graduate from Havo (high school education). I can go to Holland or any other place in the world. I am blessed because I was born here and I have the Dutch passport. I guess the authentic Aruban will be the people I originate from and those people they originate from. I am an authentic Aruban because I am part of the Aruban history. What I have in common with other Arubans is the fact that our nationality is the same, our food is the same and we speak basically the same languages. I live in San Nicolas and other Arubans live in other districts, in perhaps a bigger or smaller house with bigger or smaller families. Right now there are Arubans taking the name of Aruba on an international level. They are showing that even though Aruba is small we could be big internationally. I do volunteer work and that is something special I give to Arubans. I like to help our elderly people as well and I love to work with children, I am surely doing something special for Aruba. I am of the Christian faith, I am a protestant. I do not really feel bound to it but I believe I am doing what I was taught, which is praying and believing in the Lord Almighty. The language I call my own is first Papiamento and then English as second.
A sense of belonging...
Representation I do not feel represented at all times when politicians speak about Arubans on a national level because I do not always agree with what is said. The following is a political issue. The LGBT law that was passed on the 8th September is something that I do not agree with, but it is a law now. But my voice was not heard. That is why they cannot speak for me. I do not agree with this law. Actually I feel I am a true Aruban on holidays; Christmas, carnival, 18thMarch and Betico day because everybody gathers together and I can feel the warmth. We eat, we party and things like that, that is when I feel the warmth. I think I have a fair chance on Aruba. There are opportunities but I just have to go for them. I was a member of the Youth Parliament for about four years. I have been to various courses. I had the opportunity to take part in different events on Aruba. I learned public speaking, how to be a team player and how to work with people and how to communicate. Aruba is truly my home because if I go abroad to study I would love to come back. All my loved ones are here. If I had to choose another island to live, then it would be Curaçao because it is similar to Aruba in many ways. Actually I want to go there to study when I graduate from high school. There are several similarities, such as the language, the culture and the food. Carnival belongs definitely to Aruba, everybody loves it and it has been here for a long time.
Name:
Charee
Last name:
David
Date of birth:
09-10-1993
Place of birth:
Aruba
Place where parents lived :
San Nicolas
Highest education attainment:
High school
Profession:
Nursery school assistant
Charee
16 Migration My parents are from Sint Maarten. Ma is from the French side where they speak Patois and French and my father is from the Dutch side. I guess since they came to live on the island of Aruba they accepted the Aruban roots, but my parents never forgot where they came from because they always went back to visit. However, they blended into the Aruban culture completely. They came to Aruba at a very young age. My father worked at Lago oil refinery. I think deep down they always considered themselves as people from Sint Maarten but they adapted to the Aruban way of life. At home we spoke English, which was our native tongue. At school we learned to speak Papiamento, Dutch and Spanish. Identification with Aruba I consider myself an Aruban. I remember in the old days as a black boy coming from San Nicolas and hardly making visits to Oranjestad I was only involved in the culture of San Nicolas. An African culture as we call it, so I blended in completely. San Nicolas had many cultures so I found myself in a varied situation where I spoke Papiamento, Dutch and Spanish next to English. I was like a multiple tasked person. I call myself Aruban because I was born here and raised with the Aruban culture. All national and cultural festivities that are celebrated on Aruba were instilled in me as a born Aruban. I consider myself a complete Aruban in all aspects whether it is the celebration of the culture, the way of living, or the way of thinking. I do not think that there is an authentic Aruban. There were a lot of people who came from various islands, especially the English islands. They came to work here for different reasons, whether at the refinery or somewhere else. We were born here from people who adapted to the Aruban culture but were originally born someplace else. So what is a real Aruban? I do not know if such a person even exists because in the past everybody came from somewhere else. Our ancestors came from different countries. I think you can call yourself a real Aruban if you were born here. However, once you are living here you are also an Aruban. One of the things we have in common is that we speak different languages then, so we can communicate with different races and cultures. We were fortunate in our upbringing and in our schooling. The fact that we are able to speak so many languages is one of the main characteristics of Aruba. From my point of view there are no differences but maybe someone else has a different opinion. Long ago there was a clear distinction. You were either from town or from San Nicolas but nowadays that is not the case anymore because the kids speak English just like the people from San Nicolas. At the end of the year a recognition award is given to certain people for certain achievements. Two years ago I was also given such an award due to my dedicated participation in calypso festivals for many years. That is one thing Aruba has done for me. Other than that I have never gotten anything. Do not ask me why. Actually I got more recognition on Curacao. I have dedicated my entire career whether it was by representing Aruba abroad or doing something here. I do
A sense of belonging...
something special every week. I work in the main industry on Aruba, which is tourism. I entertain the guests and try to share some of our culture with them. I was raised within the Methodist church in San Nicolas. Actually that is where my career started. My career started at the tender age of nine or ten, playing the piano in church. The church upbringing taught me norms and values and later on my musical career as well. I just did a special rendition for someone, which took me back to the church where I started. My motto is: It is always good to know where you are going but do not forget where you came from. I try to instill in the youths what I learned back then from the elders of the church. Opening a club in San Nicolas was one of the ways I gave back to the community. Representation I think most of the times when some people speak about Arubans on a national level they are speaking in a tourist marketing kind of way. It is the same thing you see on a brochure which does not depict what Aruba really is. When they speak they are not usually speaking for me. Aruba one happy island is the slogan. It is a marketing slogan but does that really depict who we are as a people? I do not think so. I think that I am an Aruban every day but especially when I am not on the island. In my case when I hear my music being played in another country and then it really gets through to me that that is me, my music. I am an Aruban. As they say “Nobody is king in their own country”. I am more appreciated off the island than on the island. I cannot say that I have always had a fair chance on Aruba. I have to be quite honest to myself that there is a preference pool not only in music but I guess in everything. Some people might refer to it as discrimination. There are times when I sat and thought I could have had that chance. Why didn’t I get that? Is it because of my color? A lot of things go through my head at such a moment, but I am a person who does not give up. There is discrimination everywhere but I am an optimist. I never look at the glass as being half empty, I always look at it as half full. Aruba is my home but it will have to share the spot with Curaçao because I do a lot of work there and I am appreciated more there.
Name:
Claudius
Last name:
Philips
Date of birth:
08-04-1964
Place of birth:
Aruba
Place where parents lived :
San Nicolas
Highest education attainment:
High School
Profession:
Musician / entertainer
Claudius
18 Migration My father is from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and my mother is from Carriacou. That is a small island next to the Grenadines. They called themselves Grenadians or Vincentians. They never called themselves Arubans. I could remember especially my mom when she was living here, she now lives abroad, never spoke Papiamento even though she lived here for thirty-eight years. She only spoke English, which was not the San Nicolas English it was the Vincentian English. My mom never lost her identity when she was here. She lived here but the way she cooked, the way she dressed, the way she talked and everything else was Vincentian, Grenadian and Jamaican, including her friends. I cannot refer to my parents as Arubans. They just lived here for the better opportunities that they had. I can remember on Sundays when we went to the family, they played calypsos and soca music. There was nothing Aruban at these gatherings. My mom mostly spoke to me in Papiamento because she wanted me to learn the language and become familiar with the Aruban culture. She tried her best to speak Papiamento but it was mostly English. Identification with Aruba I refer to myself as an Aruban because I was born and raised here. I speak mostly Papiamento but when I am around my people, Caribbean people, I feel at home. Culturally speaking, the Arubans who call themselves authentic Arubans most of their families are from Venezuela, some from Holland and those in the San Nicolas area from the islands. I cannot say because someone’s family name is Croes or Maduro he is a real Aruban. Because if he goes back and talks about his grandparents and his great grandparents were not born here, they too would have come from abroad. I cannot say that there are real 100 percent Arubans. If I get in a discussion with someone who has a real Aruban surname Croes, Maduro, van der Linden and Oduber and we are talking about who is the real Aruban, they will get offended if I tell them “you are not a real Aruban because your forefathers are not from here”. I would feel uncomfortable telling them that also because then I am not a real Aruban either. I was born here, but deep down my culture is not Aruban but mostly that of the island people. I like calypso, soca, chutney. I like Aruban food but I prefer Caribbean food. When I think about it, I really identify with an English speaking Aruban from the islands. On Aruba we have the Papiamento language in common and perhaps the culture and the carnival as well. Carnival is a language. You can bring people from abroad who know about carnival and they will enjoy it. Arubans like to party. They like to drink. They like to have a good time. I can also identify with that. The other Arubans and I see life differently. We were brought up differently. When I was growing up and we had history classes I felt very uncomfortable in those classes when the teachers spoke about the shons and the black slaves. I could not understand that. I lived a while in New York and I attended classes about Black Lives Matter during the Black History Month in February which had a great impact on me. That is where and when I understood what culture is all about. When
A sense of belonging...
I came back to Aruba I understood why I did not feel like a real Aruban at times. I got the opportunity to continue my education here, a free education and I am thankful for that. At the same time I give back a lot to the community. I am an assistant teacher at Colegio Hilario Angela elementary school and I try to give back to all the kids. I like to do social projects and social activities especially in the vacations. I am also active in sports, I coached a baseball team, I helped with taekwondo and I still help in every way I can. I like to see self-development and I believe everybody has the potential to grow and I really push everybody to reach their highest potential. I was christened an Anglican but I started to go to the Sunday schools of the Pentecostal church when I was small. My mother always pushed me to go to church. Now that I am grown up I realize how much of a good impact it had on me and I really appreciate that. It made me want to give back to the people. I just want the community in the Village to prosper. Representation I say yes and no to others speaking on my behalf. It all depends. I still see a lot of discrimination in sports, especially when young black kids want to try and move forward in life. They do not have the opportunity or the financial backing. They cannot get the proper training or the proper guidance to reach their highest potentials. The people who benefit from the advantages are the ones who have little cash and their moms and dads have connections here and there. They are actually white Arubans and black Arubans mostly stay in the back. I am really not okay with that. While growing up in San Nicolas I saw a lot of potential in young boys and girls who could make it especially in sports. Sports can take you out of poverty and give you at least a decent education. When these talented boys and girls reach a certain level and they need the guidance to take them to the next level they have to take two steps back. When those in authority see where these boys and girls are from, they tell them that their parents work normal jobs and do not have ‘strong’ surnames on Aruba. To be earnest, it sucks! It hurts inside. I hope that will change in the future. I can say that Aruba is truly my home because I have not lived more than six months abroad but I cannot compare New York to Aruba. When I was in New York I still missed home.
Name:
Collins
Last name:
John
Date of birth:
14-12-1990
Place of birth:
Aruba
Place where parents lived :
San Nicolas
Highest education attainment:
High school
Profession:
Assistant teacher
Collins
20 Migration My grandfather and grandmother from my mother’s side of the family came from Statia and my father’s parents came from Grenada. My parents referred to themselves as Arubans because they were born here. I never asked my grandparents any questions regarding their nationality and ethnicity. We all grew up as Arubans. My father had some siblings living in Trinidad, so that connection was always there as well. My family is very family oriented. There are fourteen brothers and sisters on my mother’s side of the family. About four times per month there were always parties at family members. We all grew up close to our extended family. We also received information about our family on Statia, but we all referred to ourselves as Arubans. Identification with Aruba I describe myself as an Aruban with a Caribbean background. However, I have also noticed that a lot of things Arubans call their own are similar to other Caribbean countries. For instance, Tambu and even the donkeys travelling with the water from the wells are not unique to this island. We can find all these things in the Caribbean. My claim of being an Aruba is based on the fact that I was raised among Arubans in an Aruban environment. We played baseball from the age of five, so we were exposed to town or Playa as the people call it. In Playa there are more Papiamento speaking Arubans and people who claim they are real Arubans. We were always exposed to the Aruban culture, the Aruban friendliness, the music and everything. Around Christmas time when we were in Trinidad we had Parang, but when we were on Aruba we had Dande. No matter where we were we always upheld our Caribbean heritage and Caribbean food, lots of it. There is a lot of dishes that are just Caribbean and we did it our way whether it was cook-up rice, or ‘aros moro,’ which are about the same thing and we also had the Aruban fish and funchi. An authentic Aruban according to me is someone who loves Aruba and does everything to better his island. Maybe this is not the precise definition of an authentic Aruban, but what I mean is that we should accept the heritage of our island and together we must work to carry it forward. If you are a good Aruban, you will accept anyone from a foreign country with their heritage and learn to live together. I always refer to the Romans and the Greeks. They said they were great societies because they were culturally rich. They conquered a whole lot of countries and they took the best from those countries and merged it into their cultures and then they became a great culture. Some folks say this is the Aruban culture and you cannot change it. I say no, a culture does not stagnate. A culture evolves. What I have in common with other Arubans is the love for the island, the love for its culture and the intent to keep the development ongoing. The friendly way we treat foreigners and also the four different languages that we speak are things we have in common. We are always willing to please. I think the differences lie in the various backgrounds. Everyone comes with their backgrounds, either Afro Caribbean, Latin American, or even Dutch background
A sense of belonging...
and beliefs. And obviously the language we speak at home is also different. The fact that Arubans go away and then return to the island and we all still live peacefully together is something very special. We are friendly to one another. I sacrificed my time to help build the country. I had a nice job working in the private sector but I always felt I should do more. The first thing I did was to go back to teaching and help the youths of San Nicolas and now I work at the ministry of culture. We work after regular office hours trying to get San Nicolas alive once again in terms of our heritage and culture. Actually we are working and learning more about ourselves because the more we know about our history and heritage, the more we can empower ourselves. I sacrificed my top salary in the private sector to work in the public sector to help my country move forward. I am a Methodist but that did not have a particular influence on my sense of being or who I related to. The biggest influence in my life was my family. Even though we were popular and knew a lot of people we still felt we did not need friends outside the family. Representation Many spokespersons of Aruba think they are referring to all of us, but most of the time it is not so. It takes an outsider to show you that. My aunt, my father’s sister, often visits us from the US and while we are watching TV she will say it appears that there are not any black people living here. Then a light goes on in my head and I start looking at the commercials and other things and feel that she is right. Or a politician will be speaking in general terms and will say that the people of the island hold a certain belief and I will say “no, I do not hold that belief, neither do my friends and cousins”. Yet I feel that I am an Aruban. The best moments are when I am abroad and meet other Arubans. It is then I feel super. Everyone has the opportunity to look for a fair chance on Aruba. On Aruba who you know is important. In the US your color is important. On Aruba most people in power are of another ethnic background than the Afro-Caribbean background, so we might start with a disadvantage. I think your work has to speak for itself and if it does not happen, then it was not meant to be. Social networking is very important. I cannot imagine living anywhere else than Aruba. I visit other places but I always come back to Aruba.
Name:
Curtis
Last name:
Fraser
Date of birth:
11- 01-1981
Place of birth:
Aruba
Place where parents lived :
San Nicolas
Highest education attainment:
University
Profession:
Civil servant
Curtis
22 Migration My mom’s father was from Sint Maarten and her mother from Anguilla. My father’s parents are both from the Dominican Republic. My mom was born on the French side of the island, Saint Martin, but for more than sixty-one years she has not lived there. She came to Aruba when she was eighteen. She refers to herself as an Aruban. My father has never lived in any other place than Aruba. He was born in Curaçao but never lived there. He speaks Spanish because of his Dominican mother. Other than that he refers to himself as someone who was born here. Personally, I will say that my mom is very French in a lot of her ways. My father is really into Spanish even in his music choice but his heart belongs to Aruba. We spoke English at home. I learned Papiamento when I came to work in town. Identification with Aruba In terms of identity I will say I was born in Aruba. Do I feel I belong and that I am an Aruban? Yes I do. I was discriminated against a lot when I was young and did not know what a sense of belonging was all about. Actually it was only when I got older I learned that most people living here came from some other place. Then I understood what a sense of belonging was all about. Personally, I feel happy to be born on Aruba because of the possibilities that I have. Born in San Nicolas we never experienced discrimination until we came to town. I am an educator. I have worked at different schools and the different type of acceptance I experienced on the job all depended on the district where the school was located. Now that I am older things are different. I remember when I was young the name callings and my mom teaching me how to survive and not to get into unnecessary fights. I did get into some fights due to the name callings. These were names like stinking N… plus black and ugly. To be honest I always thought back then that black was ugly. Until one day I was working at the department of education and I saw a calendar portraying some black African faces and I thought “Wow, they are beautiful”. It was my first experience of black as beautiful. Then I started to see things differently. By then I was older than twenty. Even though we had dance groups, the YMCA and other activities in San Nicolas, the constant name calling scarred me. Going to Sint Maarten also boosted my selfesteem because there once more I experienced the “wow” feeling related to us, black people. We have this special build and we look good. In San Nicolas I was tired of hearing “sanka grandi” (big behind) but in Sint Maarten I could walk down the road and shake it. Then I started to accept myself for whom I am. Now I can truly say I am an Aruban. Before I used to say I am God’s child, and I still am, but now I know that I am also an Aruban. Actually I have learned to live here. I have three daughters and they are going to school in town. Personally I wish I could send them to school in San Nicolas. In the schools in San Nicolas you are one of us. There is not much difference between black, white, Spanish, etc. Going to school in town my daughters are asking to have their hair relaxed because it is so different. I talk to my daughters and explain that their hair is beautiful and that it is just different
A sense of belonging...
than the rest. My oldest daughter has gone natural. She is happy now and she noticed that many people are embracing it. Aruba belongs to all of us but I do not feel that all of us are treated equally. The people living on Aruba come from all over the world. The issue of the real Aruban is actually about what you feel for Aruba. Where do you want Aruba to be tomorrow? What do you want to leave as a legacy for your kids? When you think like that, I will say you are a person who loves Aruba and I will call you an Aruban. There are a few people who helped me to be a teacher today. They were Arubans. One of my very best friends is an Aruban and she has never let me feel that I was nothing else than her friend. What most Arubans and I have in common is that we care and want to do good for the island. I was raised according to several religious denominations. We started off as Catholics and ended up as Jehovah Witnesses. Right now, at age fiftyfive, I believe I belong to God. I am very grateful for where I am in life today. Aruba and Arubans supported me. Representation Sometime politicians speak for me but sometimes they do not. It depends. If they say that all Arubans will get a pay raise, I know that they are referring to me. There are certain things I do not do. I do not celebrate Dera Gay. I just do not feel it. That national festivity is not my thing. I do celebrate 18th March and the Day of Betico. Now and then I take the kids in my fencing classes to San Nicolas, because they do not know this city. I also take them to the grapefield and Zeewijk. They learn in their history books about Zeewijk and the tankers going to tank there but they have no clue where it is. When I go on nature walks I really feel that I am an Aruban. I love the walks. I was blessed with a group that went walking at five in the morning. We went several places. Places I never knew existed. I prefer to say that I was always lucky. I was taken care of on Aruba. I do believe I have had very good opportunities and privileges. Aruba is truly my home. I guess I do not know any place else. I know who my people are. I love everything about Aruba.
Name:
Cynthia
Last name:
Clark
Date of birth:
24-03-1961
Place of birth:
Aruba
Place where parents lived :
San Nicolas
Highest education attainment:
College
Profession:
Teacher
Cynthia
24 Migration My parents are from the West Indies, Grenada and Carriacou. They refer to themselves as Carriacouans but since Carriacou does not have its own national status, the island falls under Grenada. They call themselves Grenadians but yet they do not consider themselves Grenadians because these are two islands with a different history and culture. Although my dad was born here on Aruba as a baby he was sent to Carriacou. He spent his summers on Aruba and Grenada. When he eventually came back to Aruba to settle he was twenty-five years old. He was an established and mature man and the same goes for my mom who came along. Naturally after living forty years here they have embraced the Aruban culture, but they still do not let go of their true heritage. In their childhood years most of their friends were born to immigrants who were working on Aruba. These kids were shipped back to the islands for their upbringing. They all knew they were born on Aruba but what did it mean to be an Aruban? This is what they came back looking for, especially my dad. He also had a dream of prosperity which was associated with Aruba.
that any more. I sometimes say they all look alike but Dutch people say the same about us. Who is the real Aruban? I think the Arubans are not sure. Maybe it is bad that we do not know but I also think it is good. We have revolved. We are embracing several and more cultural attributes. The authentic Aruban is someone who has heart and soul for this island. What I have in common with other Arubans is that we love Aruba and we have the ‘one happy island’ mentality, which is the joy mentality. The differences are actually the baggage which each person has. However, there are more similarities than differences. Aruba did a lot for me and helped me to be who I am today. Actually you start appreciating it as you get older. I give back to the community through my work at the University of Aruba as the coordinator of the Centre for Life Long Learning. I am proud of my work. Because of the activities we organize I am able to have an impact on the community and also share knowledge with the community. In our Anglican church the followers were connected because of their West Indian heritage and the sense of belonging was cemented by the English language. People understood where you came from because of your parents and that made you feel at home.
Identification with Aruba I am a mixture of everything, a mixture of Grenadian, Aruban and I feel I am Dutch because of my marriage. I also identify with England and Spain because of the time I lived in these two countries. I am a bit of everything. This past year I have embraced the fact that I am just unique. I feel the same as my parents, even though I lived in Holland and I have embraced everything I experienced in those years I still have a bit of Aruban and a bit of Grenadian in me. At home we spoke first and foremost English. Since my parents were about twentyfive years old when they came here and I was born two years after their arrival on the island, there was nowhere that their Dutch was going to be perfect. So they spoke English. I went to a Protestant school, so at home I used certain words like ‘potlood’ (pencil). It was strictly English at home, Dutch at school, English on the school playground and Spanish on TV. I learned Spanish from the TV. Papiamento, on the other hand, is a language I started to speak when I went to high school. It even changed me when I went to Holland. It was then I realized that Papiamento was one of my languages and I began speaking it more frequently. My best friend in Holland came from Curaçao. We spoke Papiamento when we got together, but we corresponded in English. I started speaking Papiamento when I was twelve but there is still more room for improvement. I think in terms of identity I am an Aruban/ Grenadian or a Grenadian/Aruban. It all depends on what you prefer. When I am in Holland I say I am an Aruban. When I am on Aruba I say that my parents are from Grenada. Cultural identities might clash at times. A good example is the discussion pertaining to the West Indian way of dealing with the after birth and the Dutch way. At the birth of my daughter I eventually chose not to follow the West Indian way. The community is battling with the issue of who is an authentic Aruban. Thirty years ago we would have said someone with light skin, who looks a bit like an Indian and has nice soft curly hair but nowadays when you look around you do not recognize
Representation Politically, I would say that on a national level politicians and commentators speak on my behalf. My dissatisfaction is when I see billboard ads or advertisements wherever and I do not recognize myself. Then things do not speak to me. I think that not much has changed in the past thirty years. The light skin tone and the light brown skin tone are both represented in advertisements, but where is the dark chocolate represented? My question is why not? Anyone living on the island is an Aruban, whether they are legal or not. The minute they choose to settle here they have to embrace what it means to be an Aruban. Politicians speak on my behalf when it concerns taxes and anything that has to do with Aruba. I think at times I did not get a fair chance because of my color. Due to my color people perceive me in a certain way. It is a way of unconsciously judging me. When it comes to beauty regarding young AfroCaribbean women in high positions things have changed. When I was growing up there were no Afro-Caribbean role models, so I was deprived of that opportunity. But at the same time we can and should create opportunities and turn things around in our favor. There is no other place than Aruba where I would rather be. Aruba is our home.
A sense of belonging...
Name:
Deborah
Last name:
v/d Berg - Alexander
Date of birth:
20-11-1979
Place of birth:
Aruba
Place where parents lived :
San Nicolas
Highest education attainment:
University
Profession:
Manager
Deborah
26 Migration When I was asked the question regarding my forefathers I thought I’d better fill in the whole world because my ancestry is very diverse, which I think is the case with most people on Aruba. I am a psychologist and when I was in Holland I was part of a research group which studied multicultural identity. We found that most of the theories in Holland were not able to grasp the spectrum of our backgrounds. My parents see themselves as Arubans but if you look a bit deeper you will find that my dad’s background stems from Sint Maarten. He identifies a lot with the people from the area of the Simpson bay. A lot of the San Nicolas people are also from this area in Sint Maarten. Actually, it is complex because there are a lot of identities mingled with each other. My mother has some forefathers from Surinam. Her ancestors originally came from Europe and mixed with the indigenous people there but she also inherited other Caribbean backgrounds. Identification with Aruba My identity is quite interesting because I see myself as maybe one of the first persons who genuinely can call himself a white black man, because I really have all of that in me including the cultures. My ancestry is both white and black. While growing up in San Nicolas my best friends were black. I am a San Nicolas boy. It was a special thing to be able to call yourself a San Nicolas boy in our group. This whole black and white thing is not true, empirically. What I came up with is that there are 50 shades of brown, starting from very light brown to very dark brown. So I do not subscribe any more to the racial categories. At home we spoke diverse languages but English was the core followed by Dutch and Papiamento. One of the big discussions on the island is about the mother tongue. We have a big problem at school with languages because the kids have to work at school with a language they do not speak at home, which some people feel is basically the cause of the low academic performance on the island. I have been one of the voices from up here to state that there is no one mother tongue. Actually we speak several mother tongues. This has given Aruba something special. We speak four languages. English is an international language. San Nicolas has played a very crucial role in the development of the tourism industry, which was to a large extent built on the fact that San Nicolas people are able to speak English and this also goes for the refinery. This is one of the things that should be credited to the San Nicolas people. I do feel that I am an Aruban but maybe I can be described as a new Aruban due to my multicultural background. Some people feel that someone is an Aruban when he has four or five generations living here. That is not so. All Arubans came from abroad. It is the same as in the US. Nobody originates from Aruba. You are an Aruban when you deeply feel that you love the place, the people and the languages. It is a feeling thing and not a blood thing, as some people say. It is not how many years your grandmother was here and all of that. It is something symbolic and there are as many definitions as you need. There should be room for the authentic Aruban,
A sense of belonging...
if you feel that is what you are. We should not become too rigid about definitions. One ought to be free to define himself as he pleases. There is a massive influx of Latinos. The Latino has now become the new Aruban. Of course there are many differences but this signifies diversity. Without diversity things become boring. It is the same as with food, for example. Food offers us the vast differences for each and every one of us to enjoy. Aruba has done everything for me. The love that I get from Arubans everywhere I go is amazing. Arubans are very spiritual people. They provide Aruba with a sense of spirituality. I do and have done a lot for Aruba and Arubans. I am a psychologist. I studied in Holland but I understand the Aruban culture. We are an ex-colony. A lot of people go to Holland to study and when they come back they use the Dutch framework. In my case, it is not like that. I have developed a whole new psychology to suit our people. This is twenty-five years of pioneering and it is very essential to our people. This is what I have given back. It is something that the typical European psychologist will not understand. We are doing justice to the mind because culture is very important in mental health. The cultural filter is what gives meaning. God is very important to Caribbean people but in Europe God is dead. Representation I am a very critical person and I believe in individuality. You have to be your own self. Should anyone voice my opinions? I do not think it is really necessary, I speak for myself, but I do not watch TV, listen to radio and all of that. Aruba and politics: I feel that we can do a much better job at bringing people together. We are not so far as yet, that we value our opposition and differences. However, there are very good politicians that I like a lot and I think some are very good people. I think I have transcended party lines. I do think the politicians have failed to create a unity to protect the nation. I feel I am truly an Aruban when I mingle with the Aruban people. Arubans are very kind. They are very humble, too humble some will say. To me it is the people that are important not a song or a flag or anything like that. I think you create your own chances. I think the way you look at things helps you to create your opportunities. Aruba is my temporary abode. Probably a big part of my mission will not only be on Aruba.
Name:
R. Dimitri
Last name:
Halley
Date of birth:
31-03-1967
Place of birth:
Aruba
Place where parents lived :
San Nicolas
Highest education attainment:
University
Profession:
Psychologist
Dimitri
28 Migration My mother and father are from Sint Maarten and my grandparents as well. My father was from the French side of the island and my mother was born on the Dutch side. I was also born on the Dutch side. My father came to Aruba to work when Largo was just starting up. Actually my oldest sister was born on Aruba in 1930. In that same year they returned to Sint Maarten and then my father came back again followed by my mother and five children seven years later. We have since lived in San Nicolas. My parents were not Arubans. The story of their children is interesting because only two are Arubans. Both my oldest and youngest sisters were born on Aruba. All the others, including myself, were born on Sint Maarten but were raised on Aruba. We spoke only English at home. Identification with Aruba I describe myself as an inhabitant of Aruba. It is often said, where you are born is where you belong. You do not have the nationality of the place you live except when you were born there. However, I have done many things here and feel comfortable here. It is as if I am an Aruban. I have never had any problems because I was born on Sint Maarten. The only problem I had was in 1953 when I finished the trade school, I was thirteen years old then and schoolchildren were being picked to work. At that same time Lago was reducing its older employees. There was a law which said that only those who were born on Aruba would have preference to be employed at Lago. That is the reason why I did not get a chance to work at Lago. However, I worked for the government at the telephone services. Some countries have laws which state that when someone has lived in that country for a certain amount of time, then that person can claim his rights as a native. This is not the case on Aruba. What I have in common with other Arubans is that I socialized with them, I worked forty-one years with them and I never had any problems with them. In sports this was the same thing. I believe that as an outsider you are supposed to adapt yourself and not that the natives have to adapt to you. You need to get involved and start feeling as the natives. You live here so you do everything that you think is right and to the benefit of the country. Aruba has done many special things for me, because it is here I got my formal education. Everything I know, I learned on Aruba. When I came here I was two years old and now I am eighty-one. If you have been living seventy-nine years in a country, then you ought to feel that the country did well for you. Otherwise you should have gone somewhere else. I have done a lot. For years I have trained children in sports, whether it was baseball, softball or ping pong, I was involved in most of the sports. I really tried my best to keep the children off the streets and got them to participate. I see the results now because many of the children I trained have good positions these days and they are doing well in the community. A few weeks ago I met one of them who is now a big manager. He told me that he was glad that he passed through my hands especially because of the discipline he was able to develop. From birth we were Methodists but later on we went to a
A sense of belonging...
Catholic school, hence all of us were raised according to the Roman Catholic teaching. I also got married in the Catholic Church. My wife and all my children are Catholics but to me it does not make a difference. There is only one God. Representation I am part of Aruba, so I always feel that I am included in whatever is said about Arubans. To be honest I cannot truly be an Aruban because I was not born here. As an outsider I have to comply with the desires of the Aruban population and also be nice to everybody that comes to the island. As far as I know I have had a fair chance on Aruba. That incident that I experienced earlier on in my life I understand because since I was not born here I had to accept the law of the land. I have to be honest. It is true that I was not born on Aruba. However, I was still given the opportunity to work here. I made Aruba my home. I hardly know any other place. In all these years I went to Sint Maarten only three or four times on vacation. I have spent most of my living years on Aruba.
Name:
Donald
Last name:
Baly
Date of birth:
18-12-1934
Place of birth:
Sint Maarten
Place where parents lived :
San Nicolas
Highest education attainment:
Primary school
Profession:
Telephone services
Donald
30 Migration My parents are from Aruba and Curaçao. My father was born in Curaçao and lived there for about one month. In his passport it states that he was born in Curaçao but that’s about it. He was raised here. If I had not seen his passport, I would not have noticed a trace of Curaçao in his behavior. He considers himself an Aruban. That goes for both of my parents. My mother was born on Aruba. My grandparents were born in Sint Eustatia. We spoke and still speak English at home, San Nicolas English. Identification with Aruba I see myself as a person who was born on Aruba. If I were to classify Arubans and that term became an official term, I would call myself an Afro-Aruban. When I look around Aruba I see different cultures and different indications of cultures but they do not cater to the way I feel and think so that is why I do not participate in Dera Gai. I am an Aruban but I am a dark-skin Aruban. There are differences among Arubans hence I classify myself as an Afro-Aruban. When looking at the history of Aruba, there are different types of people with different types of complexions and of different races on Aruba dating back from a very long time ago. Yet I was told in the past “You are not a pure Aruban” even though I was born here. I was forced to make a distinction based on these types of remarks. A distinction was made among the Arubans. Some Arubans were classified as being pure and others impure. It is then I said “I am an Afro-Aruban”, just like Afro-American or Afro-Caribbean. The classification is kept alive with certain remarks. For instance, when I speak English I get comments such as “Why don’t you speak Papiamento, you are on Aruba”. I am confronted with the fact that my heritage, my culture and my language are different than the main stream. There are distinctions like Chocolate city, English people, people ‘Pariba di brug’. I did not create these distinctions, I just live by them. What I have in common with other Arubans is the fact that we speak various languages, we eat the same types of food and the culture is more or less the same. I know about Betico Croes day, carnival, the political parties and the things that Arubans in general know. The differences lie more or less in our heritage. I speak English but I can also speak Papiamento and Dutch. However, I behave like an Englishspeaking person. Another important issue is advertisements. When I look at advertisements in the newspapers and on TV I do not feel represented. I always see people with another complexion than mine in television programs and in certain jobs in the government. My people are not represented in certain positions. The only thing Aruba did for me is when I was forty years old I came here because IPA needed teachers within my field, so after a long process I was given the job. I remember I tried to apply for a scholarship to become a biology teacher. I had the highest score among the graduates. I had a nine on my diploma but for some reason I did not get a scholarship. I got a Dutch scholarship though. When I graduated from the university I applied for a job on Aruba but I never received a reply. It took longer than the average years before I was given a job. During the last general elections I
A sense of belonging...
wrote an article referring to dealing with differences on Aruba and it appeared in the newspaper. In that article I wrote about the Afro-Caribbean issue. It was to inform the people of the island that discrimination does exist on Aruba. I used examples from Venezuela and Mexico to show that saying that there is no discrimination does not mean that people are color blind. The central theme in the article was to invite people to look around and see if certain types of people are represented all over. I called the director of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and told him “You always hold these censuses (surveys) and you are always asking general questions but why don’t you distinguish between types of people to see whether they are developing differently or the same like other countries do?” His answer was ”It is Aruban politics”. They do not want to reveal the truth because certain policies might cost money. People told me I was brave to write that article or even address the subject. I am a Catholic on paper due to my mother and father but I do not practice religion. My sense of belonging lies in the fact that as a young child I saw and realized there were differences. Even in my early teens I saw advertisements with children brushing their teeth and none looked like me. Or I would open magazines and there were children speaking about being proud of their fathers but none looked like me. Representation Like I said before I do not consider myself a main stream Aruban so I do not know if politicians are talking for me. I have a hard time singing the song ‘Aruba dushi tera’ for example. I do not feel that way. Aruba neglected me when I wanted a scholarship to study. In those days in the 70’s when you got a scholarship it was based on picking and choosing. It was not based on merits. It meant your political affiliation and the way you looked. I said if I am an Aruban why should I be treated that way? Only around carnival time and the calypso contest I feel like I am an Aruban. I only had a fair chance when I obtained my university degree. They did not have a lot of choices. There are not many people with a university degree on Aruba and in those days only two percent of the population had that and half were not Arubans. At the IPA the management is made up of people placed there by the politicians. I lived twenty years in Holland and did not know whether Holland was my true home. When I go to Statia or Sint Maarten I feel at home perhaps because of the English spoken there. I do not know whether Aruba is or is not my home.
Name:
Earl
Last name:
Euson
Date of birth:
08-03-1959
Place of birth:
Aruba
Place where parents lived :
San Nicolas
Highest education attainment:
University
Profession:
Lecturer
Earl