Antiliaans Dagblad - Sankofa of Computer (Sankofa or Computer)

5 July 2006 |  by Stanley A. Brown

Sankofa is an Akan word that means, "We must go back and reclaim our past so we can move forward; so we understand why and how we came to be who we are today."

Writing in his weekly column in Curacao's Antilliaans Dagblad newspaper, poltical catalyst Stanley Brown provides some keen insights into some unresolved issues over slavery and its aftermath through some interesting contrasts between Jacob Gelt Dekker's efforts through Childright to free black slave children from black slave owners in Africa to the local debate over reparations.

This week, somewhere in Africa, Jacob Gelt Dekker is liberating  black slave children from black slave owners, and at the same time  on Curacao, an exhibition opened its doors  commemorating our slavery past  and the liberation of black slaves from white and black slave owners by the Netherlands government of 1 July 1863.  Gelt Dekker informs that in Burkina Faso an estimated 30,000 black children are sold to black slavers, who exploit them on the cacao plantations in Ivory Coast. At the same time, in Curacao black reactionaries demand apologies from the Netherlands for the slavery past and payment 'for reparation' and damages up to five billion  for unproven  inherited slavery traumas  and unpaid salaries.

A few of these conspirators, many of them with  very dubious backgrounds and always  blowing with the prevailing  winds,  renamed the New Market, Independence Market.
kinds of acrobats who express the cultural differences between the white and black  Dutch. That  while black and white have been Dutch for more than 300 years, and emphasizing national, cultural and religious differences are the cradle of all wars,  worldwide and historically. Tombstones and monuments will never serve the general interest. Self indulgence of an egocentric  few prevails over economic industriousness or improvement of education and health care.  We collectively, spent too much energy, emotional  and intellectual effort on the past, while the present urgently demands  decisions and offers solutions, such as the Province model or UPG.
I admit, both are necessary but with our limited resources, the future has priority. Papiamento poetry, exhibitions, monuments and artistic expressions are luxury products, we can only afford at the expense of the Netherlands taxpayer. It is time we produce some value for that tax money in the name of our common future interest, in stead of wasting it on narrow minded nationalistic interests of a few ego trippers. During the sixties, propelled by two competing mega-powers and ideologies, both with nuclear arms, in an atmosphere of narrow minded nationalism, without  computers,  globalization and free markets, without massive migration,  graying populations, with very limited scientific and historic knowledge, we had different priorities. In those days I was in then forefront with my blood drenched pen yelling: "this is my country, all hands off! We want self rule. We want a socialist independence . We want Papiamento in education. We want to nationalize ALM. all hotels, banks and the DOK ."
Independent from racial or anti-communistic sentiments, with Cuba and Haiti in the frontline, all independent black and socialistic countries have proven not to be able to clear the job. Korea and Malaysia made it, but in Kenya and Tanzania  people die from hunger, caused by corruption and diseases like malaria and AIDS. In spite of some late skirmishes of Socialism  in a few South American countries, socialism clearly lost from capitalism .  Nevertheless I am optimistic that things will work out due to the 'polder fever' of  Curacao men and the  jungle fever of Dutch women. Mixed offspring of slave owners and slaves will understand that Sankofa, looking backward, makes  less sense than looking forward . May be we finally develop two tracks,  one studying the past and one wild river stream  thundering into the computer future. It is high time that a new generation takes over from the obese impotent politicians who only obstruct the future