GO TO: GOOGLE EARTH and look at Bonaire or any other place from outer space

Volume 3, no.1; September 2005

The future is here now!

Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

BONEIRU FOR DI SATÉLITE

GO TO: ‘GOOGLE EARTH’ and look at Bonaire or any other place from outer space

Oorlog tegen terrorisme

HURRICANES CAN CAUSE CARIBBEAN TSUNAMI’S

Téknika nobo pa kura kanser

ARCO le da un caballo nuevo a Hugo Chavez

Lees verder blz. 5

Read more page 9

Lesa página 18

Lee mas pagina 11.

Language Readers may be surprised that ARCO has chosen, at least for the time being, to publish articles in 4 languages. Why? ARCO aims to reflect the reality of our community. There are in fact 56 different nationalities on Bonaire. Most of them speak one, two or all 4 of the languages Dutch, Papiamento, English and Spanish. This multilingualism is both our weakness and our strength. It is very complicated, but it is what Bonaire is. We therefore have chosen to express ourselves in Bonaire’s 4 languages. None of them is superior to the other. We want to reach everyone and be a vehicle of cohesion and culture for all inhabitants. Therefore we must use all 4 languages. Please feel free to express yourself in your own language on our ‘Letters to the Editor’ page.

Idioma Kisas ta sorprendé nos lektornan ku ARCO a skohe pa publiká – por lo pronto - nos artíkulonan na 4 diferente idioma. Di kon? Ta pasobra ARCO kier reflehá realidat di nos komunidat. Tin hende di 56 diferente nashonalidat ta biba na Boneiru. Mayoria di nan ta papia un,

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dos òf asta tur 4 di e siguiente idiomanan: Hulandes, Papiamentu, Ingles i Spañó. E situashon multilingual aki ta nos debilidat i alabes nos forsa. E ta hopi kompliká, pero esei t’e realidat di Boneiru. Ta p’esei nos a skohe di ekspresá nos mes na tur 4 idioma di Boneiru. Niun di nan no ta superior n’e otro. Nos kier alkansá tur hende i ser un vehíkulo di koherensia i kultura pa tur habitante. Ta p’esei nos ta obligá di usa tur 4 idioma. Por fabor sinti bo mes liber pa ekspresá bo mes na bo propio idioma riba nos página pa remitido.

What’s in a name? We had to think long and hard what name to choose for this new magazine. There were two options, namely to give it a completely new name such as STARDUST or VISION for example, or to re-use the name ARKO. There are good arguments in favor of both options. A new name signifies a break with the

past. But using the old name signifies perseverance, which has its own merits. We have chosen the name ‘ARCO Bonaire’. The change in spelling from ‘K’ to ‘C’ is significant and suffices to make plain that a break with the past is indeed also intended. By adding the word ‘Bonaire’ we wish to emphasize that this magazine will favor and promote Bonaire, both locally and internationally.

Wat maakt een naam nu uit? Over de naam van dit tijdschrift hebben wij lang en hard moeten nadenken. Er waren twee mogelijkheden, namelijk om het een volledig nieuwe naam te geven, zoals STARDUST of VISION of zoiets, of om de naam ARKO te hergebruiken. Er zijn goede argumenten vóór beide opties. Een nieuwe naam is een duidelijke breuk met het verleden. Hergebruik van de oude naam duidt op volharding, hetgeen zijn eigen mérites heeft. Wij hebben uiteindelijk gekozen voor de naam ‘ARCO Bonaire’ De andere schrijfwijze (‘C’ in plaats van ‘K’) is bewust gekozen en maakt voldoende duidelijk dat een breuk

met het verleden inderdaad ook beoogd is. Met de toevoeging van het woord ‘Bonaire’ willen wij benadrukken dat dit tijdschrift Bonaire zal pushen en promoten, zowel lokaal als internationaal.

Un nòmber por hasi diferensia? Nos mester a pensa hopi i largu ki nòmber pa duna e revista aki. Tabatin dos opshon, es desir pa dun’é un nòmber kompletamente nobo, manera STARDUST òf VISHON òf algu similar, òf pa usa su nòmber original di ARCO atrobe. Tin bon argumento pa kada opshon. Un nòmber nobo ta enserá un kiebro ku pasado. Pero re-uso di e nòmber original ta muestra di perseveransia, lokual tin su propio mérito. Al final nos a skohe e nòmber: ‘ARCO Bonaire’.E kambio ortográfiko (‘C’ en bes di ‘K’) tin su nifikashon i ta indiká sufisientemente ku en berdat nos a opta pa un kiebro ku pasado. Anto e palabra ‘Bonaire’ ta nifiká ku e revista aki lo pusha i promové Boneiru den tur sentido.

ARCO Bonaire TA BUSKA UN REPORTERO PA SKIRBI NOTISIA LOKAL. TAMBE ESKRITORNAN I PERSONANAN KREATIVO (ARTISTA) PA HASI ARCO E MIHÓ REVISTA DI ANTIA! YAMA: 717 2427

D

FREESPECT

it woord werd geïnspireerd door een nieuw Nederlands woord, bedacht door een Nederlandse jongen (die er een prijs mee won), namelijk ‘Vriespect’. Dit nieuwe Nederlandse woord is een samentrekking van de woorden ‘vriendschap’ en ‘respect’. Toen ik het las, kwam meteen een nieuw Engels woord in gedachten, namelijk ‘Freespect’, een samentrekking van de woorden ‘freedom’ en ‘respect’. Dit nieuwe Engelse woord (freespect) is gebruikt in een presentatie die in Curaçao werd gehouden op 10 juli 2005 in Theater Luna Blou. De presentatie was een coproductie tussen de componist/musicus Erwin Prudencia en Michiel Bijkerk, getiteld: ‘Het Midden tussen Jihad en McWorld’. De presentatie zal binnenkort ook in Bonaire worden gehouden. What’s in a name indeed? And what’s in a word?

WORDS are reflections of

THOUGHT which is a reflection of

? All words are pegs to hang ideas on. (Henry Ward Beecher) Words are the small change of thought. (Jules Renard) Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.

WORDS

Waar de wereld momenteel behoefte aan heeft is meer ‘freespect’, enerzijds vrijheid van geweten (freedom), anderzijds respect voor de cultuur, godsdienst en opvattingen van anderen. Het bericht dat de kunstenaar Hiro Yamagata de door de Taliban in 2001 opgeblazen 1600-jaar oude Boeddha-beelden wil vervangen door 140 gezichtloze beelden tegen de daar aanwezige bergwand is zeer interessant. Zijn bedoeling is zijn 52 meter hoge beelden elke zondagavond 4 uur lang tegen de bergwand te projecteren met behulp van 14 lasersystemen die hun energie trekken uit windmolens en zonnepanelen. De beelden van Hiro Yamagata beogen de wereld een indruk te geven van hoe de Boeddha-beelden er ooit uitzagen. Je moet er maar opkomen. Het is echter nog niet zeker of Yamagata’s plan doorgaat. Het is duidelijk dat het opblazen van de beelden geen ‘freespect’ was. Het was een eigentijdse beeldenstorm, waaruit maar weer eens blijkt dat intolerantie niet alleen bestaat binnen de Islam. De Islam verafschuwt het oprichten van idolen en de Boeddha-beelden werden gezien als afgodsbeelden. En in zekere zin is dat ook zo. Maar het waren wel Boeddhistische idolen, geen Islamitische. Niemand zal een Moslim het recht ontzeggen om zelf dergelijke beelden niet op te richten, maar dit waren Boeddha-beelden en het beginsel van ‘freespect’ schrijft voor dat men de zienswijze en godsdienst van anderen moet respecteren, terwijl men zelf in vrijheid handelt overeenkomstig het eigen geweten en de eigen godsdienst. Als een Boeddhist Boeddhabeelden wil verafgoden (hetgeen overigens niet zo is), laat hem.

Een door de Taleban opgeblazen Boeddha-beeld.

De essentie van dit artikel wordt ook wel eens zo geformuleerd. ‘Meneer of mevrouw, ik verafschuw uw mening, maar ik vecht me dood voor uw recht om het te mogen zeggen’. Dat is ‘freespect’.

Een kunstwerk van Hiro Yamagata (links) en een portret van de kunstenaar (onder)

and

IMAGES are the tools of

TRANSFORMATION Woorden en zinnen moorden of minnen

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FREESPECT This word was inspired by a new Dutch word, created by a young boy (who won a prize with it), i.e. ‘Vriespect’. This new Dutch word is a combination of the words ‘vriendschap’ (= ‘friendship’) and ‘respect’. When I read it, immediately a new English word came to mind, i.e. ‘Freespect’, a combination of the words ‘freedom’ and ‘respect’. This new English word (freespect) was used in a presentation held in Curaçao on 10 July 2005 in the Luna Blou theatre. The presentation is a co-production between the composer/musician Erwin Prudencia and Michiel Bijkerk, entitled: ‘The Mean between Jihad and McWorld’. The presentation will soon also be held in Bonaire. What the world needs now is more ‘freespect’, on the one hand freedom of conscience (freedom) and on the other hand respect for the culture, religion and views of others. The news-item that artist Hiro Yamagata intends to replace the 1600 year old Buddha-statues blown up by the Taleban in 2001 by 140 faceless images to be projected against the cliff-wall in Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan, is very interesting. He wants to project his 52 meter tall images for 4 hours every Sunday-evening against the cliff-wall using 14 laser systems which will be powered by wind-chargers and solar panels. Hiro Yamagata’s intention is to remind the world of what the Buddha-statues looked like. You must be an artist to think up such an idea. It is not at all certain, however, that his plan will be executed. It is clear that the destruction of the Buddha-statues was not ‘freespectful’. It was a modern-day version of iconoclastic fury, which swept across 16th century Europe proving once again that intolerance is not typical of Islam only. Islam abhors idols and the Buddha-statues were seen as such. And to a certain extent this is true. But, if you want to see it this way, they were Buddhist idols, not Islamic. Nobody will deny Muslims the right to refrain from erecting idols, but these were Buddha-statues and the principle of ‘freespect’ stipulates that we should respect the viewpoints and religions of others, whilst remaining free to act in accordance with our own conscience and religion. So, if a Buddhist wants to adore Buddha-statues (which is not what the statues were about, by the way), then let him. It’s his business. The essence of this article is sometimes formulated thus. ‘Sir or Madam, I abhor your opinion, but I’ll fight to the death for your right to express it’.

Every thing we see is the manifestation of a Spiritual Force expressing itself through a combination of vibrations within the range of human (ocular) sensation, This Spiritual Force is commonly known as ´God´, ´Allah´, ´Yehovah´, or any other word used to denote this Force.

For more artwork by Hiro Yamagata see picture overleaf.

Artwork by Hiro Yamagata. This is what he himself says about it: Humans perceive a fraction of the light spectrum created by the sun; and what we fail to see is dazzling. This installation seeks

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frequencies, creating a prismlike view of the light spectrum. The result is a spectacular array of glowing light, dancing between the cubes. The intricate display of color and light is ever evolving,

treating the viewer to a myriad of changing visuals depending on the angle or time of day. The real magic begins when the sun disappears and darkness falls.

It is then that the laser system pours light onto the panels. Like the sun, the laser beams create light from the individual electron’s reactions to different particles. These particles, not normally perceived by the human eye, reflect off the holographic surfaces, making the “invisible” light appear; and the view is extraordinary. The reflection of the laser beams bouncing off the four cubes creates the illusion of a color and light infused structure perched in their center. This brilliantly hued creation of light materializes seemingly out of thin air and offers the viewer a truly unique visual experience.

OORLOG TEGEN TERRORISME De ‘oorlog’ die President Bush voert tegen het internationale terrorisme is inderdaad een oorlog tussen vrijheid en democratie, tegen onderdrukking en dictatuur. De vraag is alleen wie onderdrukt en wie vrij is. Toen Bush voor de tweede keer zijn inaugurele rede uitsprak in 2004 was hij omgeven door een kooi van kogelvrij glas. Overal waren gewapende veiligheidsagenten in de weer om aanslagen te voorkomen. Hoe vrij is dit allemaal?

POETRY CORNER ARCO will dedicate ample space to poetry. We start with a poem in Spanish about ‘trash’ or ‘garbage’, followed by one in Dutch about how the spirit is imprisoned in the body. Why anybody would want to write a poem about trash is beyond us. Nevertheless this one is a gem. It was written by Hugo Armando Correal, published in the Colombian magazine ‘El Clavo’.

Basura

MENSENRECHTEN De mensenrechten zijn in het Westen (en dus ook in de Ned. Antillen) gedurende de laatste 15 jaar danig ondermijnd. Dit is heel subtiel gegaan. Door steeds te hameren op de noodzaak om criminaliteit en drugs te bestrijden is de overheid erin geslaagd om de basisrechten van burgers uit te hollen. Hier was weinig tegen te doen. Immers, als je als advocaat, bijvoorbeeld, de rechten van je cliënt verdedigde, werd dit al gauw vertaald als ‘hulp aan criminelen’. En wie kan daar nu vóór zijn? Op deze wijze werden de vrijheidsrechten van het Westen met de hulp van de meeste media steeds verder uitgehold. Door deze trend is echter het democratisch gehalte van onze democratie onder spanning komen te staan. En de ‘oorlog tegen het terrorisme’ versterkt deze trend alleen nog maar meer, zoals in de USA o.a. bewezen is door de introductie van de zgn. ‘Patriot Act’

DEMOCRATIE ARCO is vóór democratie en tegen dictatuur. En als een dictator ergens in de wereld mensenrechten op grote schaal vertrapt, dan moet worden ingegrepen. Tot zover kunnen wij Bush in zijn Irak-beleid volgen. Echter Bush is de oorlog begonnen om hele andere redenen. Naar onze mening heeft olie een belangrijke rol gespeeld in de motivering vóór de oorlog in Irak. In ieder geval is de reden voor de oorlog niet geweest het onschadelijk maken van ‘massavernietigingswapens’, zoals met veel fanfare door Bush en de zijnen naar voren werd gebracht. Zulke wapens zijn immers niet gevonden in Irak. Deze wapens waren duidelijk de stok die Bush en Blair meenden nodig te hebben om de hond te kunnen slaan.

Te vendes a los que se han vendido, te exhibes a los que se exhiben como vitrinas, engañas a los que se engañan diariamente contigo. No eres más que eso: ¡basura! Basura esparcida sobre las muertas vidas de los que te acogen en sus inexistencias; aroma de basura putrefacta que se disfraza de fragancia exquisita y se posa sobre carnes malolientes; basura que ofrece refugio a los habitantes que deshabitan este mundo. Basura que se disfraza de poder, basura que se viste de blancura, basura que huele a placer. Basura que mata la vida, basura que vive en la muerte. Y... no escribo más porque de pronto me ensucio.

(lees verder blz. 6) De nieuwe Iraakse constitutie.

(vervolg van pagina 5)

ARCO gaat ruim aandacht besteden aan dichtkunst. Zoals overal in 4 talen. Nederlanders hebben de neiging neer te zien op hun eigen taal. Het Nederlands zou niet ‘mooi’ zijn, zoals het Frans of het Spaans. Niets is minder waar. Nederlands is een perfecte taal voor de expressie van alles wat er in het universum bestaat en leeft. Dat geldt overigens ook voor het Engels, Spaans en Papiaments. Hieronder een Nederlands gedicht. Wellicht wat somber, maar een belangrijk thema.

KERKER Gevangen in verlangen in een kluis van bot en bloed. Gejaagd door drift´en drangen geketend aan gemoed. Verdwaald in donk´re gangen in wikkelen van vlees. Aan mijn schedel opgehangen kreunt mijn benauwde geest. M.E. Aduneau

The poet is the priest of the invisible Wallace Stephen

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(Vervolg blz. 5 ‘Oorlog tegn terrorisme’)

OLIE Wij suggereren niet dat olie onbelangrijk is. Wij allen gebruiken benzine in onze auto’s en wij verwachten van onze regeringsleiders dat zij ervoor zorgen dat benzine tegen betaalbare prijs beschikbaar blijft. En het feit dat we naar hele andere basisbrandstoffen toe moeten staat even buiten deze discussie. Op dit moment hebben wij allemaal benzine nodig. Maar als olie de werkelijke reden was vóór de oorlog in Irak, dan had men dat wel even moeten zeggen.

MASSAVERNIETIGINGSWAPENS Waarom zouden deze wapens alleen maar in handen mogen zijn van de 5 landen die een vetorecht hebben in de Veiligheidsraad? Omdat dat allemaal democratieën zijn? Nee toch! China is nog steeds niet democratisch en Rusland in theorie wel, maar in feite ook maar half. Bovendien zowel India als Pakistan hebben nu de bom. India is een democratie, maar Pakistan zeer duidelijk niet. Toch richt Bush zijn pijlen niet op Pakistan, een Islamitisch land met veel ‘madrasa’s’ waar het fundamentalisme wijd gepredikt wordt. Pakistan wordt niet gevraagd om zijn kernwapens op te geven. Maar Iran mag er geen ontwikkelen. Er zit bar weinig logica in deze situatie. Voor de eenvoud zullen wij nu maar even zwijgen over het feit dat ook Israël kernwapens heeft.

VERENIGDE NATIES Er zijn plannen om de VN te hervormen. Voorgesteld wordt om het aantal leden van de Veiligheidsraad (VR) uit te breiden met 10 staten. Voorts wil men het aantal permanente VR-leden uitbreiden met minstens 4 (namelijk Duitsland, Japan, Brazilië en India). Anderen willen dat ook Zuid-Afrika en een ander Afrikaans land permanente zetels krijgen. Deze hervormingsplannen worden toegejuicht. ARCO meent echter dat uitsluitend democratische landen nieuwe permanente leden van de Veiligheidsraad mogen worden. Als de VN (zelf een relatief democratisch instituut) een geloofwaardige baken voor de toekomst wil zijn, dan moet de VN het democratisch beginsel bevorderen. De VNhervormingsplannen bieden daarvoor thans een unieke kans door ervoor te zorgen dat uitsluitend democratische landen mogen toetreden als nieuwe permanente VR-leden.

Brazilie wilde een atoombom maken In een artikel verschenen in ‘Yahoo News’ op 30 augustus 2005, geschreven door Michael Astor (Associated Press schrijver), wordt gesteld dat Brazilie geprobeerd heeft een eigen atoomwapen te ontwikkelen. Het kernwapenprogramma was in gang gezet tijdens de periode van de militaire dictatuur tussen 1964 en 1985. De Braziliaanse wetenschapper Jose Luis Santana heeft verklaard dat het kernwapenprogramma pas in 1990 werd stopgezet. Oud-president Jose Sarney, die na de militaire dictatuur aan de macht kwam, heeft op GLOBO TV verklaard dat hij het kernwapenprogramma in 1985 heeft stopgezet. De bewering is nu dat de militairen toch stiekem doorgingen en dat het programma pas in 1990 definitief werd afgesloten. De militairen wilden in een Oostelijke basis in de Amazone-delta een ondergrondse test uitvoeren. Gelukkig is het nooit zover gekomen. Maar dit bericht bewijst eens te meer dat het niet alleen Iran en Noord-Korea zijn waar men aan de productie van nucleaire wapens denkt. Men vraagt zich af waar men die kernwapens voor nodig heeft?

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Iraqi blues

Oiloholics (This article was found on the internet; source unknown)

Oil prices could yet go higher—unless the world’s biggest gas guzzlers curb their thirst. THE price of oil affects the cost of almost everything. It helps determine not just the cost of driving to work or flying off on holiday, but also the cost of furniture, food and anything else which has to be transported from factory to shop floor. The past three global recessions were all triggered by a jump in oil prices. Thus, it should be alarming that oil prices have more than tripled since late 2001. So far, though, the world economy has held up remarkably well: global GDP growth is strong and inflation remains modest. How long can this continue? The optimists point to a host of reasons for why “this time is different” and why high oil prices will not trigger a global downturn. For example, it is claimed that in real terms, adjusted by consumer prices, oil is still cheap. Most businessmen reckon that is tosh: relative to producer-output prices, real crude oil prices are now close to a record high (see article). In any case, the notion that rising oil prices have no economic impact until they hit the previous peak in real terms is ridiculous.

Roll out the barrel The main reason why high oil prices have so far not kiboshed the world economy is that cheap money has supported spending sprees and housing bubbles in many countries, notably America, which have offset the impact of dearer oil. The two main engines for the world, the United States and China (also the two biggest oil consumers), have both had their growth boosted by lax monetary conditions in the past couple of years. Indeed high oil prices can partly be seen as a consequence of low interest rates. The two most important prices in the world economy are the price of oil and the price of money, and they are linked. If interest rates are abnormally low (in bond yields as well as short-term rates), then as global demand increases in response, oil prices should rise— especially if production capacity is tight, as it is today. So referring to the recent climb in oil prices as a “shock” is misleading. The market is simply responding to stronger oil demand on the back of a strong world economy. The increases in both global GDP and global oil consumption last year were the biggest for almost 30 years. Rising oil prices may even be read as a signal that global economic growth has been more rapid than existing output capacity can sustain. Normally, bond yields would perform that role. But the bond market has been behaving mighty oddly, with yields falling over the past year. The rising oil price is thus taking some of the job of constraining the world economy away from higher interest rates. From this point of view, a high oil price is quite healthy, a way of helping to prevent the global economy from overheating. A much more efficient solution would be tighter global monetary conditions. But tighter money now risks pushing the housing and borrowing booms into reverse, tipping economies into recession. Moreover, even if rising oil prices are a natural market response to rising demand, they can still have nasty consequences for slower-growing economies, such as Europe’s. Excessive growth in demand in America and China is, in effect, imposing a tax on others by pushing world prices higher than they would otherwise be. Even more serious, with little spare capacity in the oil industry, such rapid growth in consumption leaves the market vulnerable to any supply disruption, like those that initiated previous oil shocks.

global oil demand since 2000. With China’s oil consumption per person still only one-fifteenth of that in America, it is inevitable that its energy demands will increase over the coming years if its income does too. But China’s consumption is also being inflated because domestic petrol prices have not been allowed to rise as fast as crude prices. It is time for governments to scrap price controls and subsidies to allow the market’s price signals to get through to consumers. It is easy to point a finger at China’s growing oil demand (which has in fact cooled off this year), but America remains the biggest consumer, using one-quarter of the world’s output of the black stuff. America uses 50% more oil per dollar of GDP than the European Union, largely because consumers pay less. As petrol prices have hit $3 a gallon in some cities, there has been an outcry from motorists. Even so, petrol remains dirt cheap in America, compared with Britain or Germany where prices are above $6 a gallon. America’s heavy dependence on oil not only leaves the economy more vulnerable to a supply shock, it also pushes prices higher for the rest of the world.

Time for a cure The best long-term solution—for America as well as the world economy—would be higher petrol taxes in the United States. Alas, there is little prospect of that happening. America, unlike Europe, has preferred fuel-economy regulations to petrol taxes. But even with those it has failed abysmally. These regulations have been so abused that the oil efficiency of its vehicles has fallen to a 20-year low. This week, the Bush administration announced proposals for changing the fuel-economy rules governing trucks and sport-utility vehicles, but failed to close loopholes that allow these gas guzzlers to use more petrol than normal cars, a shameful concession to carmakers. America and China, in their different ways, are drunk on oil consumption. The longer they put off taking the steps needed to curb their habit, the worse the headache will be. George Bush once learned that lesson about alcohol. It is time for him to wean America off oiloholism too.

This effect is exacerbated by the fact that the economies that are currently growing the fastest tend also to be the least efficient users of oil. To produce one dollar of GDP, emerging economies use more than twice as much oil as developed economies. Many emerging economies, including China and India, subsidise oil. Insulated from the reality of rising world prices, consumers guzzle more oil than if they had to pay full market prices. This, in turn, pushes global oil prices higher. Such pressures are likely to grow. The IMF forecasts that over the next five years emerging economies could account for almost three-quarters of the increase in world oil demand. China has singlehandedly accounted for one-third of the growth in

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COLOFON Uitgever: mr. M. Bijkerk Kaya Isabel # 1 Bonaire Nederlandse Antillen Tel/fax: 717 2427 e-mail: [email protected] Medewerker advertenties en IT: Victor M. Gutierrez Payano

ARCO’S HISTORY Political context of first issue The ARCO-magazine (then called ‘ARKO’) was first published in Curaçao in 1993. In that year only one issue came out. Its main focus was to stop the intended dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles. A referendum was organized in 1993/1994 to execute this plan, but the people rejected it back then. They voted for unity and ARKO played a role in that result. That is why the islands of Curaçao, Bonaire, St. Martin, Saba and Statia at the moment of writing (August 2005) still form part of a single constitutional entity, i.e. the ´Netherlands Antilles´. In the meantime, however, more referenda have been held in 2000 (St. Martin), 2004 (Bonaire and Saba) and 2005 (Curaçao and Statia). The result has been that the Netherlands Antilles will now be dismantled anyway. This operation should be finished by July 2007. Unfortunately, as from 1993 the Antillean politicians have not been able to frame a workable new constitution to bind our islands together, even though the people gave them a clear mandate and ample parliamentary backing in 1994 to do so. Faced with this clear political incompetence, exacerbated by a collapsed economy, the result of the recent referenda was inevitable. The other islands will all now follow Aruba’s example which broke away from the Netherlands Antilles back in 1986.

Caribbean pattern We find this tendency towards disunity all over the Caribbean. TrinidadTobago still form one nation, but there is resentment between the two islands. St. Kitts and Nevis have never hit it off together. The West Indian Federation was broken up within a mere few years of its existence. In short, we ourselves, Caribbeans, are our worst enemies. Instead of building a viable nation based on solidarity and co-operation, we allow the forces of destruction and disunity to prevail, both within our individual island-communities, as well as within the Caribbean region as a whole. In this respect Bonaire is not an exception. This fact has to be faced and understood. Of course, a constitutional formula can be worked out in which islands can co-operate for mutual benefit. So far we have failed to find it. On the other hand there is little reason for shame in this, because it is a very complex problem. Other archipelago-nations (such as Indonesia and the Philippines) face the same problem and have not been able to find a satisfactory solution either. They can only maintain unity by means of brute force. In that respect we have done much better. So the challenge is clear, but it is clearly not easy.

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New opportunities History is flux and every new situation offers new opportunities. Despite the upcoming dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles and even because of it, we can now clearly see new opportunities for our islands and by extension also for the Caribbean region as a whole. In fact, we are now convinced that under the present circumstances the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles is the only way out of the negative cycle we have worked ourselves into, both economically, psychologically and constitutionally. In this context we refer to our analysis in another background article entitled: ‘Independence of what?’

ARCO’s mascot In 1996 ARKO re-appeared, this time on Bonaire. In all 9 issues came out during that year. ARKO was very well received and many local businesses placed ads to help us keep ARKO going. Unfortunately, the cost of production turned out to be too high and thus the second attempt to establish ARKO failed. But much was learned and our mascot ‘FLAMBOY’ was born. We will resurrect Flamboy out of his lethargic sleep and populate his world with new companions. In this issue we reprint a few of his ‘flamjabic’ messages from 1996 and we hope you will enjoy reading his new ‘flam-jabs’ in future. In that year (1996) the Antillean economy collapsed, which made it impossible to restart ARKO until now.

HISTORIA DI ARCO Konteksto politiko di e promé edishon Promé edishon di e revista ARCO (skirbí ‘ARKO’ e tempu ayá) a sali na aña 1993 na Korsou. Solamente un edishon a sali e aña ei. Su meta prinsipal tabata pa stòp disolushon di Antia. Intenshon di e referendumnan di 1993/1994 tabata pa ‘kibra Antia’, pero e tempu ayá pueblo a rechasá esei.votando pa union. I ARKO a hunga un papel den e resultado ei. Ta p’esei te awe e islanan di Korsou, Boneiru, St. Martin, Saba i Statia ta forma parti di un solo entidat konstitushonal yamá ´Antia Hulandes´. Mientrastantu, sin embargo, mas referendum a tuma lugá na aña 2000 (St. Martin), 2004 (Bonaire i Saba) i 2005 (Korsou i Statia). Resultado ta ku Antia lo wòrdu disolvé tòg. Na yüli di aña 2007 e trabou aki mester keda kla Lástimamente for di aña 1993 nos polítikonan no a logra formulá un konstitushon práktiko pa mara nos islanan huntu, ounke na aña 1994 pueblo a duna nan un mandato kla ku sufisiente asiento den Staten pa hasiele. Mirando e inkompetensha polítiko aki i e kolèps ekonómiko ku a asotá nos mientrastantu, resultado di e referendumnan resien tabata inevitabel. Tur isla awor lo sigui ehèmpel di Aruba ku a sali for di Antia na aña 1986.

Patronchi Karibense E tendensia pa desunion aki ta karakterisá region di Karibe. Trinidad i Tobago te ainda ta forma un nashon huntu, pero tin tenshon entre e dos islanan aki. St. Kitts i Nevis nunka por a koperá bon ku otro. E ‘West Indian Federation’ a kibra dentro di algun aña. En breve, nos mes, hende di Karibe, ta nos pió enemigu. Enbes di konstruí un nashon faktibel i fuerte basá riba solidaridat i koperashon, nos ta permití e forsanan di destrukshon pa tuma over, tantu den nos komunidatnan individual, komo den region di Karibe en su totalidat. Anto Boneiru no ta forma un eksepshon den esaki. E echo aki mester wòrdu enfrentá i komprondé. Naturalmente ta posibel pa formulá un sistema konstitushonal ku ta habri kaminda pa islanan koperá ku otro pa benefisio mutuo. Pero te ainda nos no a hañ’é. Tòg esaki no ta motibu pa berguensa, pasobra e problema

Natural Bridge Ardeche, France, another Arc Brùg natural na Ardeche, Fransia, otro Arco

Hurricane IVAN caused ‘tallest wave’ Hurricane Ivan generated a wave more than 27 metres high thought to be the tallest and most intense ever measured – US scientists have revealed. realmente ta hopi kompliká. Otro nashonnan isleño (archipiélagonan manera Indonesia i Filipínas) ta enfrentando e mesun problema i nan tampoko no a logra haña e fórmula korekto te ainda. Nan a logra mantené nan union solamente pa medio di forsa brutu. Den e aspekto ei nos ta hopi mas mihó ku nan. Nos a usa e sistema pasífiko di referendum, nò forsa brutu. Pues e reto ta kla, pero klaramente no ta fásil.

Oportunidat nobo Historia ta dinámiko i kada situashon nobo ta ofresé oportunidatnan nobo. A pesar di e disolushon di Antia ku ta na kaminda, asta pa motibu di esei, nos por mira oportunidat nobo pa nos islanan i tambe pa region di Karibe en su totalidat. Asta nos ta konvensí awor ku bou di e sirkunstanshanan aktual disolushon di Antia t’e úniko manera pa sali for di e siklo negativo ku nos a hinka nos mes aden, tantu ekonómikamente, komo sikológikamente i konstitushonalmente. Den e kuadro aki nos ta referí na nos análisis den otro artíkulo entitulá: ‘Independence of what?’

Maskota di ARCO Na aña 1996 ARKO a sali riba merkado atrobe, e biaha aki na Boneiru. En total 9 edishon a sali. Pueblo a apresiá ARKO un mundo, anto hopi kompania lokal a pone aviso pa yuda ARKO keda na bida. Lástimamente, e kosto di produkshon a sali muchu haltu i t’asina ta ku e segundo intento pa stablesé ARKO riba merkado a frakasá. Pero nos a siña hopi, i nos maskota ‘FLAMBOY’ a nase e tempu ayá. Nos lo reanimá Flamboy di su soño letárgiko, anto yena su mundu ku kompañeronan nobo. Den e edishon aki nos lo publiká algun di su mensahenan ‘flamdjábiko’ di aña 1996, i nos ta spera ku lo bo gusta lesa su ‘flam-jab’ nobonan den futuro. Tabata netamente na aña 1996 ku ekonomia di Antia a sak den otro, lokual a hasi’e imposibel pa rebibá ARKO te awe.

ARC = Any unbroken part of the circumference of a circle or other curved line

This is about three times the height of the Administration building (´Bestuurskantoor´) in Playa. Can you imagine what would have happened, if Ivan had decided to head for Bonaire? Hurricane Ivan caused more than 100 deaths and left a trail of devastation as it swept over several Caribbean islands and part of the United States. The wave was recorded by sensors on the ocean floor as Hurricane Ivan passed over the Gulf of Mexico in September 2004. The distance between the crest of the biggest wave and its trough was 91 ft (27.7 metres) but it is suspected that the instruments missed some waves that were as tall as 132 ft (40 metres).

HURRICANE ACTIVITY PREDICTED TO INCREASE The scientists also said that hurricane activity is predicted to increase over the next few decades. More research on the formation of waves by hurricanes needs therefore to be carried out. For Bonaire this may be an eye-opener. Fortunately hurricanes usually do not hit our islands and we have no wish to stir up any panic. At school we were told that the last real hurricane to hit the islands of Bonaire, Curaçao and Aruba was in 1877. During the past century hurricane-tails brushed our shores a couple of times, but we were never hit head-on. Nevertheless these scientific findings do make you wonder whether an early warning system for ´hurricane tsunami´s´ might not be a good idea for Bonaire as well.

F L A M B O Y

What animals can do by instinct, humans can do consciously. Loke animal por hasi di instinto, hende por hasi di konsenshi.

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HURRICANE KATRINA The devastation in New Orleans caused by hurricane Katrina proves the point ARCO is making in the article overleaf about the tsunamilike waves caused by hurricane Ivan. The article overleaf was prepared before hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. It is not ARCO’s intention to be sensationalist, but Katrina sent waves of up to 50 feet into New Orleans. Such waves would have totally washed away our administration building.

CHAVEZ, A POLITICAL HURRICANE

Last month US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accused both Venezuela and Cuba of fomenting unrest in Bolivia. The picture (left) shows Venezuela’s president Hugo CHAVEZ.

(Source: BBC Internet. 3 September 2005)

The Venezuelan government is reported to be planning to insist that all private banks appoint two state representatives to their board.

Such a move is likely to be part of the country’s forthcoming new The American TV-evangelist Pat banking law, according to the Robertson recently called for Hugo UK’s Financial Times. Chavez’s assassination. ‘Take him A continuation of left-wing out’, he said, by special operatives. President Hugo Chavez’s aim to He later offered an apology of create “socialism of the 21st sorts. The American State Century”, a number of foreign Department called Mr. Robertson’s banks would be affected. remarks ‘inappropriate’. Among them are Spanish institutions Banco Santander and Obviously Mr. Chavez will make BBVA. Both own Venezuelan good use of this. He has called for banks - Banco de Venezuela and Pat Robertson’s arrest on the Banco Provincial respectively. grounds that incitement to murder Other large banks in the country of political opponents is an act of that are likely to be hit include terrorism. President Bush wants to Banco Mercantil and Banesco. fight terrorism, so he should start in the U.S.A. and lock up Mr. ‘Political determinations’ Robertson in Guantanamo Bay. Chavez is enjoying this. The reported move to put We believe it was a very inappropriate thing to say. We do not agree with Mr. Chavez’s socialism. It won’t work, as it didn’t work in the ex-Communist world. However, Mr. Chavez was (after two failed coup-attempts) democratically elected as president of Venezuela. Democracy must be supported. As long as the Venezuelan people want Chavez, other nations have to respect that. Moreover, Chavez does have a point. All European countries were ‘socialized’ during the 19th and 20th centuries. Venezuela needs a fair social system. Chavez is laying the foundation for such a system.

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government representatives on the boards of private banks comes as businesses across Venezuela are being asked to ensure 20% worker representation in their board rooms. Analysts say that the government’s chosen bank appointees would be there to ensure loans and other money flows are more determined by leftleaning political considerations rather than pure financial gain factors. “The government has a revolutionary project and by necessity that has to go through controlling the flow of credit,” Venezuelan banking expert Francisco Faraco told the FT. Venezuela is the world’s fifth largest oil exporter, and a key ally of Fidel Castro’s Cuba.

E artíkulo akibou a wòrdu publiká dia 9 di ougustus 2005 den e diario Venezolano ‘El Nacional’: ‘Gobierno destinará $130 millones a Misión Guaicaipuro’

Hugo Chavez

Venezuela ‘targets private banks’

ESAKI TA CHÁVEZ

El Papa pide mas libertad para la Iglesia católica en Venezuela En el mensaje que dirigió al nuevo embajador de Venezuela ante la Santa Sede, Iván Rincón, reclamó el espacio y los medios necesarios para que la Iglesia cumpla su misión. Benedicto XVI aludió a un discurso pronunciado por Juan Pablo II al Cuerpo Diplomático ante la Santa Sede el pasado enero, en el que el fallecido Pontífice aseguraba que “no hay que temer que la justa libertad religiosa sea un límite para las otras libertades o perjudique la convivencia civil”. “Al hacer mías estas palabras, espero vivamente que se disipen las dificultades actuales en las relaciones Iglesia-Estado y se vuelva a una fecunda colaboración”, señaló. (Fuente: EL NACIONAL, 25 de agosto 2005)

El presidente Hugo Chávez anunció que destinará 130 millones de dólares para la Misión Guaicaipuro, provenientes de la producción extraordinaria de petróleo en el oriente del país. Indicó que estos recursos se utilizarán para apoyar los proyectos que presenten las comunidades indígenas, tales como construcción de escuelas, suministro de agua, nutrición, electrificación, centros médicos, atención a mujeres embarazadas y siembra y producción de alimentos. Explicó que la producción petrolera en el oriente del país supera la meta establecida en los planes de desarrollo de 2005. Actualmente Pdvsa Oriente produce 54 mil barriles diarios por encima de la meta. Tomando en cuenta que el precio del petróleo venezolano se ubica en 40 dólares por barril, generó cerca de 130 millones entre junio y julio, lo cuales serán destinados a la referida misión “Es un incentivo al inmenso trabajo que ustedes están haciendo”, expresó durante un acto de entrega de títulos de tierras a indígenas realizado en el estado Anzoátegui. Dijo que el gobierno insistirá en darle un vuelco a la manera como se ha explotado el petróleo en años pasados “Estamos comenzando a sembrar el petróleo”, manifestó el mandatario.

Komentario na Papiamentu

The Pope is appealing to the Venezuelan authorities to allow the Catholic Church to operate more freely.

Manera nos a bisa den otro artíkulo kaba, Chávez ta un persona kontroversial, pero ta imprudente pa papia su malu so. Venezuela mester konstruí un sistema soshal adekuá i nos ta spera ku Chávez lo logra hasi esei. Kuantu di e tipo di artíkulonan aki ta propaganda bashí, nos no sa. Pero nos lo sigui studia i komentá riba e situashon na Venezula krítikamente.

DERECHO DI EKSPRESHON LIBER NA VENEZUELA? José Miguel Vivanco, un direktor di e NGO ‘Human Rights Watch’ a skirbi un artíkulo publiká pa e Fakultat di Derecho di e ‘Universidad Católica Andrés Bello’ na Caracas, dia 23 di mei último. Nos tin espasio solamente pa publiká su konklushon aki bou: Con estas palabras he querido destacar la íntima relación que existe entre democracia y libertad de expresión como garantía esencial para la plena vigencia de los derechos humanos. Un gobierno que impone restricciones y trabas innecesarias al libre intercambio de ideas, información y opiniones se aparta del camino democrático. En los últimos tiempos, Venezuela ha ido construyendo un andamiaje jurídico para restringir y no para ampliar el ejercicio de la libertad de expresión. Aún no es demasiado tarde para corregir el camino y así evitar a tiempo un daño que puede ser profundo y de largo alcance para la democracia venezolana. Venezuela debe encausar sus conflictos políticos y sociales dentro de un clima de respeto a las opiniones contrarias.

UN KABAI NOBO PA CHAVEZ Hugo Chávez, presidente di Venezuela, a subi un kabai bieu ku yama ‘komunismo’. Problema ta ku e kabai aki no por kore mas. Te ainda e ta kana, pero e no por kore mas. Nos ta di akuerdo ku Chávez ku mester kombatí korupshon, ounke esei no ta nifiká kambia un tipo di korupshon pa otro. I nos ta di akuerdo kuné tambe ku Venezuela ku tur su rikesanan natural mester por introdusí un sistema soshal hustu na Venezuela, di moda ku tur hende por biba bon ayanan i no un grupito so. Pero nos no ta di akuerdo kuné kaminda e kier introdusí komunismo pa logra e kambio soshal ei. Komunismo a lo largo ta kontraproduktivo pa logra e meta ei. Ademas, komunismo por wòrdu mantené solamente ku forsa bruto i kitamentu di libertat di hende. I esei niun hende no kier. Ta p’esei Chávez tin ku kambia di kabai. E tin ku subi e kabai di e asina yamá ‘terser kaminda’, un intermedio entre kapitalismo i soshalismo.

A new horse for CHAVEZ

Pues klaramente tin motibu pa kere ku Presidente Hugo Chávez no ta gusta hende kritikele. Esei ta un señal di diktadura. Di otro banda, nos mester ta kouteloso pa husga e situashon na Venezuela asina fásil. E Chavistanan ta argumentá ku Venezuela tabata un pais ku mashá hopi korupshon. E medionan di komunikashon tabata forma parti di e klase korupto, lokual a resultá den mashá hopi pobresa pa e masa grandi, mientras ku un grupito chikitu por a enrikesé nan mes na nan antoho. Venezuela ta un di e paisnan grandi eksportadó di petroleo i tin sufisiente rekursonan natural i entrada pa tur hende por biba bon ayanan. Pero e realidat ta otro. Pues si Chávez ta e instrumento pa frena korupshon i pa establesé un sistema soshal na Venezuela, kisas nos mester husgele un tiki otro. Sikiera nos mester wak tur dos banda di e medaya. Esei no kier men ku nos ta di akuerdo ku e chokamentu di e derecho di ekspreshon liber ku ta tumando lugá na Venezuela.

ARCO gives Chavez a new horse called the ‘Third Way’.

I loke ta kousa pa prekupashon ta e kresementu di e ehérsito QUOTES OF THE WEEK Venezolano. Kiko Chávez tin den su mente? Korda bon, Venezuela ta hopi serka nos. Nos no ta papiando di paisnan leu for di nos, manera Irak Change is so rapid, the far ABOUT FREEDOM òf Iran. Pueblo di Boneiru mester informá su mes over di kiko ta future is now only five We live in a hemisphere whose pasando na Venezuela. ARCO lo studia e situashon na Venezuela ku hopi years away own revolution has given birth to atenshon i lo sigui publiká artíkulonan interesante over di Venezuela. the most powerful force of the Charlie Stross Hugo Novel nominee modern age - the search for the MESTER ENFOKÁ MAS RIBA E freedom and self-fulfillment of SITUASHON SOSHAL man. You can’t always change your Den otro artíkulo tokante e situashon na Venezuela nos a bisa ku mester komprondé lokual ta sosodiendo na Venezuela den su konteksto polítiko i soshal. Den un editorial di dia 9 di ougustus 2005 (sitá den e diario ‘El Nacional’ di Venezuela) e prestigioso revista Financial Times di Londres ta bisa meskos. Nan a skirbi ku ‘Merka mester tene kuenta ku e asenso di presidente Hugo Chávez, si nan kier mantené nan influensha na Latino-Amérika’. ‘Te awor Washington tin e tendensia di konsentrá riba e lasonan entre Chávez i gruponan radikal den e regio, manera Evo Morales, un iskierdista ku tin chèns di bira e próksimo presidente di Bolivia’, asina Financial Times ta skirbi. ’Enfoke di gobièrnu di George W. Bush na Latino-Amérika a konsentrá riba komersio, droga i seguridat so, pero mester amplia esei awor i inkluí un dimenshon mas soshal’, asina Financial Times ta opiná.

situation, but you can always change your attitude.

John F. Kennedy

Anon

Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.

Anon

Thomas Jefferson

It is a quality of revolutions not to go by old lines or old laws; but to break up both, and to make new ones. Abraham Lincoln

True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made. Franklin D. Roosevelt

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A TRULY UNIQUE PROJECT Under construction west of SERU GRANDI, near GURUBÚ

I

t all started back in 1995/1996 when we bought a 4 hectare kunuku just west of Seru Grandi. We both had dreams of creating a park of fruit trees in the middle of the Bonairean country-side. Then the economic recession set in. The first who was forced to leave the island was ‘Chu Chu’, alias for Stanley Cornelis MANUEL. The writer of this article (Michiel Bijkerk) never thought he would leave the island, but due to a combination of serious factors he had to leave the island as well, just about a year after his friend.

There is a river ….. and it cuts right through the middle of the kunuku. We had to build a bridge to cross it, which we have named ‘Bridge of Unity’, for the Solymar kunuku is a place of unity, where people will be able to enjoy nature, culture, as well as peace and quiet.

We met again in The Hague, Holland. The change wasn’t easy at all, but both of us managed to adapt to Dutch society and after a while we did well. In the meantime we kept on dreaming about our return and what we would do with our kunuku. After solving our financial and other problems Chu Chu was the first to return, about a year ahead of myself. Before returning to Bonaire we had approached the government petitioning for a permit to construct a large housing/office-building project, especially to promote the establishment on Bonaire of economic zone companies (2% profit tax companies, operating exclusively offshore). But processing our petition took so long that in the end we had to abandon the idea. Both of us had already returned back home and were no longer in a position to attract suitable financiers, apart from the one who had been with us all along and is still with us. So we had to change course and go for a smaller Eco-project on our own kunuku. Again the process of obtaining the required permits took for ever, but in the end they were granted. In the meantime we had started with our art program. We constructed the ‘New Kingdom Monument’ in the middle of the kunuku, making visible the ‘direct link with Holland’ which Ramonsito Booi is establishing right now. Some people thought it was a joke, but it is constructed of solid concrete and intended to stay there for at least another 50 years or more. In a later edition we will give more details about this monument.

SOLYMAR ECO & ART RESORT Thus the idea was born to set up an Eco-resort and concentrate on Art. Very soon we will invite the Executive Council, particularly deputy Yonchi Dortalina, to come and officially open this project. We are now preparing an interesting program and have engaged a local artist (whose name will be revealed at the appropriate time) for the required artistic touch. In all 20 bungalows will be constructed on the kunuku-site, which has been renamed ‘El rio que pasa’. The river is the stream of life flowing through us all, constantly cleaning and rejuvenating. It is the stream of consciousness which has its origin in the Limitless Light and is nearer to us than our own hands. It is what makes us conscious beings who can love and hate and everything else in between. It is beauty. The brown sand, rocks and dry cactuses have a robust beauty of their own and we are fortunate to be alive and able to appreciate this particular spot of divine expression.

BUY A BUNGALOW IN THE SOLYMAR ECO & ART PROJECT FOR ONLY: Naf. 155,000.12

The first model-unit of the Solymar Eco & Art Ressort. 20 of these (or similar ones) will be constructed.

MODEL-UNIT To show potential buyers what the bungalows will look like, we have built a model. Our model is built of wood and is already available for rent at a very affordable price (see ad). However, the future bungalows will be built of concrete, but their style will have to conform to the model or be a replica thereof. The bungalows are all built on concrete pillars creating space for at least two cars. The price has been kept as low as possible and includes a complete eco-installation (solar panels, wind-charger and solar refrigerator). The bungalows are sold ‘turn-key’, including all furniture, fittings and other basic necessities. Buyers will be offered an opportunity to join a rental pool, but are also free to live permanently at the kunuku.

RULES AND REGULATIONS We are going to construct a beautiful and unique project, where people can enjoy peace and quiet in highly cultural and natural surroundings. But we also want to keep it that way. That’s why all owners will have to sign and adhere to certain rules and regulations. We are not in a hurry. If you don’t like rules and structure, please don’t buy. If you don’t like eco, our project is not for you. If you detest art, you will feel more at home elsewhere. We are not in a hurry. Our project will provide an environment conducive to spiritual growth, both for the owners themselves as well as for the Bonairean community. But that presupposes certain rules, like not making a racket late at night. The bungalow-owners will share and enjoy the kunuku in common, which does not mean giving up your own individuality. But it does mean that fences around individual bungalows are not allowed. The kunuku itself is fenced in, in the traditional Bonairean way (cactus-hedge). That is enough.

It also means that we will make the kunuku a safe place to live. The owners will look out for each other. If somebody tries to break into one of the bungalows, we will all act and make sure he can’t succeed. But to do all this, certain rules are required. Don’t let this scare you off. It is all very sensible and will add to your enjoyment, not diminish it. Rules are there to assist people and the SOLYMAR RULES AND REGULATIONS have been written in that spirit.

COMMON FACILITIES The Solymar Eco & Art project will include a swimming-pool and other common facilities. Soon construction on the first facility will commence. The kunuku itself will be turned into a park consisting of a combination of fruit and other indigenous trees. There will also be animals (chicken, goats and more), whereas we hope to include a few vegetable plots also. Any owner wishing to get involved in the gardening project is very welcome to do so. The park (with various barbecue-sites) will be there for all owners to enjoy.

AGREEMENT

Ample space to park your car and work on your hobbies. Sufisiente espasio pa parker bo outo i traha riba bo hòbi

If you have read up to here, we are sure you’ll agree that this is indeed a very special project. If you want to join in, please contact Mr. Michiel Bijkerk. The price for one bungalow is Naf. 155,000.-. This includes a one-time down-payment on the swimming-pool. All details (agreements, rules and regulations) are published on our website: www.solymarbonaire.com.

PREIS DI HÜR TA Naf. 100,- PA DIA IDEAL PA 3 HENDE, ÒF PAREHA KU 2 YU

UN PROYEKTO REALMENTE ÚNIKO Tur kos a kuminsá na aña 1995/1996 dia nos a kumpra e kunuku di ‘Mashi’ Nicolaas pabou di Seru Grandi. Nos tur dos tabatin e soño pa kombertí e kunuku aki den un parke di pal’i fruta. Pero ta nèt e tempu ei ekonomia di Boneiru a sak den otro. ‘Chu Chu’, alias Stanley Cornelis MANUEL, tabata e promé ku a haña su mes obligá di bandoná Boneiru. Outor di e artíkulo aki (Michiel Bijkerk) nunka no a kere ku e lo a bandoná Boneiru, pero un kombinashon di faktor serio a pone ku e tambe mester a bai, mas o menos un aña despues ku Chu Chu. Nos a topa atrobe na Den Haag. E kambio no tabata fásil, pero nos tur dos a logra adaptá na e sosiedat Hulandes i despues tur kos a bai bon. Despues di a solushoná nos problemanan Chu Chu tabata e promé pa bini bèk, mas o menos un aña promé ku outor di e artíkulo aki. Una bes bèk na Boneiru nos a disidí di pidi pèrmit pa lanta un proyekto mas chikitu, pasobra esun grandi ku nos tabatin intenshon di lanta pa varios motibu no por a bai dor. Asina e idea a nase pa lanta un eco-resort na nos kunuku mes. E proseso pa optené e pèrmitnan nesesario a tuma mashá hopi tempu mes, pero na final nos a risibí nan. Mientrastantu nos a kuminsá ku nos programa di arte. Mei mei di e kunuku nos a konstruí e ‘Monumento di Reino Nobo’. E monumento aki ta hasi visible e ‘laso direkto ku Hulanda’ ku Ramonsito Booi ta trahando riba dje. Den otro edishon den futuro nos lo duna mas detaye over di e monumento aki.

SOLYMAR ECO & ART RESORT Asina e idea a nase pa lanta un Eco-resort i konsentrá riba Arte. Pronto nos lo invitá Bestuurscollege, espesífikamente nos bisiña Yonchi Dortalina, pa bin hasi apertura ofishal di e proyekto aki. Nos ta hinkando un programa mashá interesante den otro i nos a pidi un artista lokal (kende su nòmber lo wòrdu revelá na e momento oportuno) pa duna nos proyekto un toke artístiko. Na total nos lo konstruí 20 bungalow na e kunuku, ku nos a duna e nòmber: ‘El rio que pasa’. E rio (òf mihó dicho ‘rooi’) ta referí na e ‘stroom’ di bida. E ta e ‘stroom’ di konsiensia ku tin su origin den e Lus Eterno, ku ta mas

We won’t have a society, if we destroy the environment. Margaret Mead

serka di nos ku nos propio man. E ta e forsa ku ta hasi nos hende konsiente, ku por stima i odia i tur grado mei mei di esei. E ta bunitesa. E santu marón, piedra i yatunan seku ta bunita i nos ta gradisido ku nos ta na bida pa por apresiá e pida di ekpreshon divino aki. Tin un rooi … anto e ta korta nos kunuku den dos. Nos mester a traha un brùg pa por krusele. E brùg aki yama ‘Brùg di Union’, pasobra e kunuku di Solymar ta un lugá di union, kaminda hende por disfrutá di naturalesa, kultura, i pas.

MODELO Pa mustra potenshal kumpradónan kon e bungalownan lo bira, Solymar a traha un modelo. E modelo ta di palu, pero den futuro nos lo traha nan tur di beton. E modelo ta na hür kaba pa un preis mashá rasonabel (mira e aviso). Preis di e bungalownan tambe ta hopi rasonabel i ta inkluí un instalashon di ‘eco’ kompleto (panelnan solar, wind-charger i frigidèr).

REGLAMENTO Nos ta konstruyendo un proyekto úniko, kaminda hende por disfrutá di pas i trankilidat den un ambiente kultural i natural. Pero nos kier mantenele asina tambe. Ta p’esei tur esnan ku ta kumpra un bungalow mester firma i tene nan mes na un reglamento. Nos no tin purá. Si bo no ta gusta regla, por fabor no kumpra. Si bo no ta gusta eco òf arte, por fabor buska otro lugá pa biba. Intenshon ta pa e kunuku di Solymar bira un sentro di desaroyo kultural i spiritual. Esei no ta posibel sin regla. Ta p’esei Solymar a formulá su reglamento interno.

FASILIDATNAN KOMUN Solymar Eco & Art Resort lo haña su propio pisina i otro fasilidatnan komun. Pronto konstrukshon di e promé fasilidat komún lo kuminsá. E kunuku mes lo wòrdu kombertí den un parke. E proyekto lo tin su propio animal tambe (galiña, kabritu etc.).

KONTRATO Si b’a sigui lesa te aki, nos ta sigur ku bo ta di akuerdo ku esaki en berdat ta un proyekto hopi speshal. Si bo kier djoin nos, por fabor tuma kontakto ku abogado Michiel Bijkerk. Preis di un bungalow ta Naf. 155,000.-. Esaki ta inkluí bo kontribushon pa konstrukshon di un pisina. Tur detaye (kontrato, reglamento etc) ta publiká riba e website di Solymar na: www.solymarbonaire.com. 13

E marka-terenonan di Saba (Un artíkulo interesante kultural-históriko kopiá di e Diario EXTRA)

Ora komo turista bo ta keiru den e pueblesitonan di Saba, paga tinu na e formanan firkant i rektangular riba e tantísima murayanan na e isla. No ta adorno nan ta, sino ophetonan históriko, te ainda na uso. Ta markanan ofisial di tereno, rekonosé pa Kadaster, pa fiha grandura di e parselanan di aya. Kuarenta aña di historia di e ‘piedranan bieu di marka tereno kuné’ ta úniko pa Saba. Na prinsipio di añanan sesenta di siglo binti gobièrnu hulandes a finansiá un proyekto pa fiha grandura di terenonan privá na Saba. Bou di guia di un landmeter hulandes nan a pone vários sentenar di ‘piedra markadó’ trahá di semènt pa marka tur e terenonan den kuater pueblo na Saba. E tempu ei nan no a midi, dokumentá i sertifiká tur e terenonan marká. Te ainda awe landmeternan ta usa e artefaktonan importante akí pa suministrá Certificates of Admeasurement, konosí na hulandes komo “Meetbrief,” ku ta forma e registronan ofisial di propiedat. Segun Robert Boekhold, e landmeter aktual pa e tres islanan ariba, e inisiativa akí tabata úniko pa Saba i no ta topa e marka-terenonan akí ni na Sint Maarten ni na St. Eustatius. Mashá tiki informashon skibí tin riba e proyekto akí di Saba. Ofisina di Kadaster na St. Maarten ku tin hurisdikshon pa Islariba, tin den archivo algun mapa ku detaye skibí na man ku ta mustra e markanan poné kantu di kaminda di The Road i e patrulinan públiko bieu entre kasnan di biba. A monta e ofisina di Sint Maarten na 1960 i e proyekto akí di Saba entre 1962-63 tabata kisas un di su promé aktividatnan. Histórikamente, paisnan ta start un proyekto asina pa habri kaminda pa plaka drenta pa estado via belasting ku e propietarionan lo tin di paga. Pero na Saba esei nunka no a yega di ta e kaso. Pa falta di dokumentashon, ta historia oral ta duna nos informashon di tal proyekto. A entrevistá vários sabano i a pidi nan konta loke nan ta kòrda di e proyekto. Supervisor di e proyekto tabata un tal F.L.T. van der Weijden, hulandes di desendensia miksto for di Indonesia. Aparentemente, su papa tabata hulandes i su mama di Indonesia. E tabata un hòmber divorsiá i e no tabatin famia huntu kuné na Saba. El a bai skol na Hulanda, posiblemente e tabata ingeniero, segun hendenan di aya ta konta e tabata “mas ku landmeter so”. E tabata enkargá ku tuma empleado den servisio, manehá e proyekto i dokumentá e resultadonan. Van der Weijden tabata tuma grupo di hende na trabou pa traha na kada pueblo. Jimmy Zagers ku a traha na Hell’s Gate p’e ta kòrda ku nan tabata un 20 hòmber asina i un dia di trabou tabata di 7 or di mainta te 3.30 or di atardi. Zagers a traha pa Van der Weijden durante mas o ménos ocho luna.

“The Road” Sabanonan tabata gusta bin traha e trabou akí pa motibu ku e tabata paga bon, mas o ménos ocho pa nuebe florin pa dia, miéntras hendenan tabata gana tres florin so trahando un dia riba e kaminda di Saba (The Road). The Road ta e kaminda prinsipal ku ta kore riba e isla di sinku mia kuadrá for di e haf na Fort Bay te na e aeropuerto na Flat Point. Na prinsipio di dékada 60, nan tabata terminando e proyekto, bou di direkshon di Saba su famoso ingeniero ku a siña ingenieria riba su mes Josephus Lambert Hassel, na e parti di Hell’s Gate te Flat Point. Hassell tabata Saba su mididó di tereno mihó konosí (na hulandes e yama “rooimeester”). E midínan di 1940 pa 1950 ta dokumentá den loke e tempu ei tabata yama “Rooibrief,” predesesor di “Meetbrief.”

14

Saba rising up out of the sea

Ta bon konosí ku Saba tin mashá tiki dokumentashon di propiedat, meskos tambe tiki prueba skibí di akta di benta i kompra. Propiedat tabata pasa di un hende pa otro sin e debido formalidat. Algun akta di benta tin notá di un forma mashá kasual ta kua ta e liñanan di marka, por ehèmpel un baranka spesífiko, un muraya di piedra, òf asta un palu grandi. Tabata djis pasa un kuashi ku fèrf pa marka nan. E impresishonnan akí i markanan temporal a hasi ku Van der Weijden tabata trese bisiñanan di e propiedatnan huntu pa nan akordá e fronteranan di nan propiedat. E siguiente paso tabata e ora ei pone un marka-tereno pa indiká tamaño di e propiedat di kada bisiña. Tur e marka-terenonan ta meskos: un firkant di konktret di mas o ménos 40x40x8 cm ku un klabu di heru klabá presis den su sènter. Tabata karga e semènt kla kaba na hèmber, hib’é na e sitio kaminda ta bai bash’é. Tabata traha un malchi di palu pa basha e semènt aden anto ta bati e klabu aden. E forma rektangular di semènt nos ta topa hopi biaha riba murayanan den fèlt òf riba barankanan, ku anteriormente a sirbi pa marka tereno. Tabata pone e marka-terenonan firkant na kada skina di un propiedat i entre e skinanan si e tamaño tabata largu òf iregular. Vários sentenar di e blòkinan akí ta poné den e kuater pueblesitonan i otro áreanan na Saba, aunke no tin niun na Giles Quarter ni na Well’s Bay. E siguiente paso e ora ei lo mester tabata ku ta midi tur e terenonan – òf midi nan di nobo – pa por a registrá nan komo “Meetbrief”na e ofisina di Kadaster na Sint Maarten. Notario tin mesté di e Sertifikado akí pa e por duna konstansia ken ta doño. Esaki ta nesesario pa ora ke bende tereno òf ora ke traspasá esakinan di kualke otro forma pa un otro doño. Sin embargo, ta algun di e propiedatnan so nan a midi, i no ta kla si tur e markanan ku a keda di pone pa indiká e terenonan en kuestion a bai nan lugá promé ku e proyekto a kaba. E manera ku a basha e marka-terenonan ta hasi ku nan ta vulnerabel, komo no a ankra e konkret den e superfisie kaminda a bash’é. A trata algun di e markanan poko sin kuidou ora tabata trahando kaminda nobo òf ora tabata restourá beredanan bieu. Si kambia lugá di e marka ku ta konta pa dos tereno banda di otro, sea a propósito òf nò, sigur ta ku grandura di e propiedatnan tambe ta kambia, di tal manera ku esun tereno ta bira mas grandi i esun banda di dje ta bira mas chikitu. Si a registrá e tereno, por rektifiká esaki mediante e Certificate of Admeasurement, den kaso ku doño dun’é kuenta di loke a pasa. Sin embargo, si ta trata di un propiedat ku no ta dokumentá, korekshon ta bira muchu mas difísil. Te ainda e terenonan marká ta importante pa Saba: na 2004 Ofisina di Kadaster a stipulá un pida tereno pa traha un sementerio, pegá ku e misa katóliko na Hell’s Gate. Ora nan a bai rosa e mondi a topa ku tur e marka-terenonan nèchi na nan lugá i esei ta loke a sirbi pa por a trahá un

The more laws, the more offenders Thomas Fuller

“Meetbrief”. Hopi di e markanan ta na kantu di kaminda di beredanan públiko bieu i smal, ku ántes a forma Saba su ret di kaminda. Eseinan awendia ta neglishá, mata a krese tapa nan i hende a lubidá riba nan. Si kita e marka-terenonan ei na e beredanan, ta kita un parti vital di Saba su historia, i klaro tambe ta oumentá ilegalmente tamaño di un tereno. Si rekonosé balor históriko i real di e artefaktonan akí, hende ku ta pasa i doñonan di tereno lo komprendé ku nan meresé e debido rèspèt.

Komentario di ARCO. Ora bo ta lesa relatonan manera esun aki, bo ta sinti duele ku Antia ta wòrdu desmantelá. Sin embargo, nos ta konvensí ku pa e momentu aki desmantelashon ta e úniko kaminda padilanti. E motibu prinsipal ta ku ta imposibel pa yega na un solushon ku Korsou, mientras Korsou tin un base di poder di 14 asiento den Staten, mientras ku sobrá di Antia huntu tin solamente 8 asiento. Ta kon bo por kuminsá konvensé Korsou? A keda probá kaba ku e no ta bai. Desmantelashon di Antia no ta algu pa ta kontentu over di dje. Ta simplemente e úniko manera pa aselerá desaroyo di Boneiru.

E no ta kontra Korsou; e ta pro Boneiru. Map of Saba

hebben gemaakt. Sinds de VS verwikkeld zijn in de ‘oorlog tegen terrorisme’, zijn de fundamentele rechten van terreurverdachten niet meer gewaarborgd.

Garantie voor respect burgerrechten De man spande daarom een kort geding aan om de uitlevering aan de VS te voorkomen. Zover ging de kortgedingrechter in Den Haag echter niet. Minister Donner (Justitie) mocht inderdaad de uitlevering goedkeuren, maar hij had er niet zonder meer vanuit mogen gaan, vond de rechter, dat de Amerikanen zich aan alle internationale afspraken over de behandeling van verdachten zullen houden. Het vertrouwensbeginsel is volgens de rechter ‘in de context van de strijd tegen het terrorisme geen vanzelfsprekendheid’. In Guantánamo Bay (Cuba) worden door de Amerikanen nu reeds jarenlang mensen vastgehouden zonder enige vorm van proces. Respect voor mensenrechten is in de VS inderdaad geen vanzelfsprekendheid meer. De Nederlandse rechter achtte het ‘niet denkbeeldig’’dat de man in de VS alsnog wordt geconfronteerd met de verdenking van betrokkenheid bij het al-Qaedanetwerk. Daarom moet Minister Donner vóór de uitlevering de garantie eisen dat de man zijn burgerrechten, zoals ongestoord en ongelimiteerd contact met een advocaat en directe toegang tot de rechter, worden gerespecteerd. Ongetwijfeld zijn vele mensen het eens met de harde Amerikaanse maatregelen. Echter men kan geen onrecht bestrijden met nog meer onrecht. Actie geeft reactie. Guantanamo Bay (Cuba). Gevangenhouding zonder enige vorm van process

ONDERMIJNING MENSENRECHTEN Ter illustratie van hetgeen wij elders in deze uitgave schreven onder de titel ‘Oorlog tegen Terrorisme’ nemen wij een artikel over dat op 8 augustus 2005 verscheen op Planet Internet. Daarin wordt verslag gedaan van een kort geding, waarin de Nederlandse rechter de Staat heeft opgedragen om bij uitlevering van een Nederlander van Egyptische afkomst aan de Verenigde Staten de garantie te vragen dat de man na uitlevering niet voor iets anders dan telecomfraude wordt vervolgd. De VS willen de man vervolgen wegens fraude met telefoonkaarten van Amerikaanse telecombedrijven. De man vreesde echter dat hij na uitlevering onder de strenge Amerikaanse terreurwetgeving zou komen te vallen. Volgens justitie in de VS zou hij met de vermoedelijke fraude heimelijk telefoonverkeer tussen terroristen van al-Qaeda mogelijk

WE STAND FOR FREEDOM. THAT IS OUR CONVICTION FOR OURSELVES; THAT IS OUR ONLY COMMITMENT TO OTHERS. John F. Kennedy

YOU HAVE NOT CONVERTED A MAN, BECAUSE YOU HAVE SILENCED HIM. John Morley

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Colombia lawmakers ‘use cocaine’ (BBC 26 August 2005)

Some of Colombia’s elected politicians have used cocaine within Congress itself, the vice-president of the country’s Senate has alleged. The drug is also being sold there, Senator Edgar Artunduaga said. “I know names of people who distribute cocaine here in Congress,” he said, revealing the results of an investigation ordered by his office. “There are important officials who distribute, and senators and representatives who consume,” he said. Personal possession of small amounts of cocaine and other drugs is not illegal in Colombia, the world’s biggest cocaine producer. Mr Artunduaga refused to name those involved. “But I will denounce the dealers to authorities,” said Mr Artunduaga, describing some of them as “middle-ranking officials”. ‘Smear’ Some colleagues accused him of smearing Congress. “Artunduaga should present evidence and say who are the lawmakers that use drugs, or resign,” said Armando Benedetti, a pro-government deputy in the lower chamber. Mr Artunduaga said the investigation also exposed big holes in security at the congressional buildings. He told the Associated Press that none of the buildings’ closed circuit cameras worked, and that some 10,000 people possessed congressional security passes, but many were fake. “Biscuit sellers, shoe sellers, astrologers and marijuana and cocaine dealers all enter Congress,” he said. The Colombian government has launched a major campaign against the cocaine trade, and the civil war it fuels, with the help of billions of dollars of US aid.

Juanes, optimista sobre Colombia, aboga por la legalización de la droga (periódico Venezolano ‘La Verdad’ de 25 agosto 2005)

El cantante colombiano Juanes declaró este jueves a El Periódico que “la única solución real” en Colombia es la legalización de la droga. Al ser interrogado sobre qué futuro le augura a su país, Juanes se declaró “optimista como lo somos la mayoría de los colombianos” y tras recordar que “ha habido una guerra de más de 40 años” dijo creer que “la única solución real al problema es que legalicen la droga”.Porque la droga “es la que está generando el dinero para comprar todas las armas y para dar todo el apoyo a las guerrillas paramilitares”, argumentó. En la extensa entrevista Juanes explicó que también “hay un problema de posguerra, puesto que hay una facción de los paramilitares que quieren reinsertarse en la sociedad y, para conseguirlo, necesitan trabajo”. Juanes, que dice tener la vista “siempre fija en mi familia: mis hijas y mi esposa”, dijo que “es muy triste comprobar cómo todo el mundo se está desestabilizando”. Ya no es un tema que atañe solamente a Latinoamérica o a España, con el terrorismo de ETA, “el peligro está en cualquier lugar, más que nada, yo tengo miedo por mis hijas”, admitió, antes de declararse “cada vez más consciente del sentido de fragilidad de la vida”. Tras responder que la música para él “es ya un compromiso grandísimo es mi religión y mi proyecto de vida”, el autor de “Mi camisa negra” - enorme éxito actualmente en España y Latinoamérica - dijo que sigue haciendo su música y consideró que “no he hecho nada especial para ganar estos nueve Grammy”. El Grammy “es el reconocimiento a un trabajo, a un estudio, a un ingeniero, a una producción a una composición y a veces ni siquiera tiene nada que ver con las ventas”, afirmó. “Sé que hay quienes arremeten contra los artistas cuando les llegan reconocimientos de este tipo, pero la crítica es siempre muy subjetiva”, agregó.

Juanes, que apareció en “una escena pequeñita” con Antonio Banderas y Jennifer López en una película, “Bordertown”, sobre la matanza de las mujeres en Ciudad Juárez (México), dijo que no está dispuesto a ser actor, pero admitió que le gusta “mucho que reclamen mi música para el cine. Recientemente han rodado en Medellín Rosario Tijeras, basada en la novela de Jorge Can drugs really be brought under control by the criminal Franco en la que también suena una de mis canciones”, reveló. justice system? If so, why has it not succeeded?

Esaki ta nos promé edishon pa tèst i siña. Nos ta hopi interesá pa tende bo opinion! This is a trial edition. Please give us your opinion! E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.arcobonaire.com 16

Finalmente, Juanes admitió tener “demasiadas diferencias con la Iglesia. Creo que como institución está perdida. No se ha preocupado de las cosas importantes ni ha sabido cautivar a la gente. Para mí lo importante es hablar con Dios. El es mi templo, mi música. Y está en todas partes”, pero “nunca me confesaría con un tipo que me dijera que rezara 20 padrenuestros. Es ridículo”. Como que “es ridículo, que la Iglesia no apoye el uso de los preservativos por eso estoy en total desacuerdo con la Iglesia”, concluyó.

RIO ‘PO’ NA ITALIA TA YEN DI KOKAINA Rio ‘Po’ na Italia ta yen di kokaina, asina sientifikonan a informá. Nan a analisá awa di e rio aki i a deskubrí ku mas o ménos 4 kilo di kokaina ta pasa dor di e rio bai laman tur dia. E kokaina ta drenta e rio via di kloakanan. Orina di usadónan di kokaina ta kontené un supstansha kímiko yamá benzoylecgonine (BE). Anto e BE aki ta pasa den awa di rio Po. E supstansha aki no por wòrdu produsí niun otro manera, pues e BE ku nan a haña den e rio mester bini di orina di usadónan. Lokual ta hasi e notisia di BBC aki interesante ta ku e tèst ta prueba ku uso di kokaina ta hopi mas haltu ku gobièrnu Italiano a kere. En bes di 15.000 dosis pa luna, mester konkluí awor ku ta 40.000 dosis pa dia ta wòrdu konsumí.

USO DI KOKAINA NA BONEIRU Nos ta kere ku uso di kokaina na Boneiru tambe ta hopi mas haltu ku sifras ofisial di gobièrnu ta indiká. ARCO lo publiká informashon mas presiso over di uso di droga na Boneiru asina ku nos ta disponé over di dje. ARCO no ta kere ku ‘kombatimentu di droga’ via di e sistema penal ta efektivo. Droga por wòrdu kontrolá solamente si su uso ta legal via kanalnan médiko. Komunidat ta pèrdè su sèn i energia si nos sigui kombatí droga na mesun manera ku nos a hasi durante último 60 aña. E sèn i energia ei mester wòrdu usá pa invertí den proyektonan konstruktivo, manera kas pa pueblo. Mihó duna Fundashon Cas Boneriano e sèn ei pa traha kas pa pueblo kuné en bes di sigui malgastele na kombatimentu di droga na un manera ku no por duna resultado. I ku en realidat no a duna resultado positivo durante último 60 aña tampoko. Pasobra en bes di baha, uso di droga a subi konstantemente. Ta tempu pa un kambio.

(continued from column on the right)

INTO AFRICA New laws have recently introduced some competition. A second fixed-line operator is expected to start soon. Telkom has also been under pressure from the government—which admits that pricey telecoms are hindering investment and growth—to cut its hefty tariffs. Last month, the independent regulator imposed a cap on Telkom price rises. But Telkom retains its monopoly on undersea cables transporting data and voice to the outside world. More and faster competition is badly needed to cut the cost of telecoms—which would give call-centres a chance to flourish. The government now considers the offshoring sector a priority. A public-private partnership to drive the development of offshoring is being set up. South Africa must get its act together, or foreigners will send their business to other shores.

Manda nos bo karta- i gráfikonan pa pueblo! (Remetido). Send us your letters and graphics for publication. E-mail: [email protected]

INTO AFRICA (source unknown)

Can South Africa ride the outsourcing and offshoring wave? LAST month, Amazon, an online retailer, announced that it had opened a software development centre in Cape Town. Chris Pinkham, a South African who is returning home from Seattle to head the operation, says that Amazon chose South Africa because of its pool of high-calibre IT workers and good infrastructure. The new outfit will create programmes for users around the world. Will other foreign firms also move such operations—a strategy known as “offshoring”—to South Africa? According to a recent study by McKinsey, a consultancy, South Africa is well placed to benefit from the trend of firms shifting business processes, such as customer care and payroll administration, to cheaper places. This, says McKinsey, could create 100,000 jobs in South Africa as well as attracting a modest but useful $90m-175m in foreign investment by 2008. Global demand for offshoring from American and British firms alone is forecast to rise from $10 billion now to maybe $60 billion by 2008, 40% of which is likely to be in banking and insurance. That is more than countries such as India, China and the Philippines—which meet much of the demand today— are likely to be able to handle. So newcomers such as South Africa are after a piece of the offshoring pie. As well as speaking English and being in a time zone close to Britain’s, South Africa offers sophisticated insurance and banking sectors; a (modest) pool of qualified people; welldeveloped telecom and IT infrastructure; and good business services. British and American firms could cut the cost of some services by 30-40% by providing them from South Africa. That is why IBM has decided to open a global callcentre for international corporate clients in Johannesburg. Merchants, a subsidiary of Dimension Data, a South African IT firm, runs a call-centre for a big international media and communications company. Yet much needs to be done if South Africa is to win a lot more business from abroad. There is no lack of competitors, from India to Malaysia and Singapore. South Africa has yet to market itself well as an offshoring centre. Other countries offer bigger investment incentives and make setting up shop far easier. The body that represents call-centres, the South African Contact Centre Community (SACCOM), lacks the resources to drive the development of the sector—in sharp contrast to, say, India’s highly effective NASSCOM. South Africa is also far pricier than the likes of India and the Philippines. Labour regulations are too rigid, raising the cost of doing business. The staggering price of telecoms is an even bigger problem. According to Genesis Analytics, a consultancy, a firm in South Africa will pay over nine times more than one in Singapore for ADSL broadband internet service, almost twice as much as in Malaysia for a domestic leased line, and 11 times more than in India for a local call. An international phone call costs 70% more from South Africa than India; leasing an international line to America costs ten times more. Telkom, South Africa’s biggest telecoms company, was privatised eight years ago with a monopoly over fixed lines. International calls have become cheaper, but the cost of a three-minute local call ballooned by an average of over 25% every year in 1997-2003. That raised the cost of all services —from mobile calls to internet access—via lines leased from Telkom. 17

WERKT HOMEOPATHY? (Planet Internet, 26 augustus 2005)

Britse en Zwitserse wetenschappers vergeleken 110 eerder verrichte studies op de werking van homeopathie. De conclusie is niet voor de eerste keer - vernietigend voor deze alternatieve behandelmethode. Volgens de onderzoekers is er geen enkele genezing door homeopathische middelen te bewijzen. De homeopathische korreltjes en druppels zouden niet meer effect hebben dan een placebo. In tegenstelling daarmee leverde onderzoek naar conventionele medicijnen sterk bewijs op voor specifieke effecten, aldus The Lancet, het wetenschappelijk tijdschrift waar het onderzoek in staat gepubliceerd. Volgens The Lancet moeten dokters ‘eerlijk en oprecht’ zijn tegen hun patiënten over het ontbreken van enig voordeel van homeopathie.

Reactie homeopathisch arts Homeopathisch arts Christien Klein-Laansma is niet onder de indruk van het onderzoek. “Een aantal jaar geleden schreef The Lancet heel positief over homeopathie en nu weer niet, zo gaat dat blijkbaar.” Volgens KleinLaansma moeten de wetenschappers zich maar eens gaan buigen over de onderzoeksmethodes die zij op homeopathie loslaten. “Onze behandelmethode is denk ik niet op deze manier te onderzoeken. Homeopathie bestaat al tweehonderd jaar. Wij zien onze patiënten zienderogen opknappen.” Op de vraag of dit niet komt omdat in de holistische homeopathieaanpak de patiënt centraal staat en dus alle aandacht krijgt, reageert de arts tegen Planet: “Natuurlijk is het waar dat door de aandacht de patiënt zich beter gaat voelen, maar dat is niet het enige. De medicijnen slaan echt aan.” Homeopathie werd in de achttiende eeuw door de Duitse arts en scheikundige Samuel Hahnemann herontdekt. Hij ging uit van het zogenaamde gelijkheidsbeginsel: een stof die bepaalde ziekteverschijnselen teweegbrengt bij gezonde mensen, kan diezelfde ziekteverschijnselen bij een zieke genezen (dat wil zeggen indien in kleine hoeveelheden toegediend, toevoeging ARCO). De klassieke homeopathie gaat verder uit van een holistische zienswijze. Dit betekent dat er niet zozeer gekeken wordt naar de ziekte of naar het zieke orgaan op zich, maar naar de persoon met zijn klachten in zijn geheel. Daarbij wordt verband gelegd tussen de geestelijke, emotionele en lichamelijke toestand van een persoon. Deze toestanden samen, ook wel constitutie genoemd, en ook de wisselwerking van de patiënt met zijn omgeving, zijn van belang bij de keuze van de goede homeopathische behandeling of het juiste homeopathische geneesmiddel.

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(NB. Holisme is in eerste instantie gebaseerd op de gedachte dat de mens duaal is van nature en bestaat uit lichaam en geest, opmerking ARCO). Daarom kunnen bijvoorbeeld tien mensen die hoofdpijn hebben ieder een verschillend middel krijgen. Dit middel zou van binnenuit het immuunsysteem moeten prikkelen en daarmee stimuleren om opnieuw in evenwicht te komen. Homeopathische medicijnen worden meestal bereid uit planten. Ook wordt gebruik gemaakt van dierlijke producten, mineralen en tot slot kunnen ze gebaseerd zijn op enkele ziektestoffen. De onderdelen die worden gebruikt worden vermalen en vermengd met alcohol, en vele malen verdund. Juist deze verdunning heeft altijd veel kritiek opgeleverd. De vraag is hoe zo’n klein beetje werkzame stof enig resultaat op kan leveren.

Aandacht De Wereld Gezondheidsorganisatie is daarentegen bezig met een grootschalige studie naar homeopathie waaruit juist positieve resultaten zullen komen, zo blijkt uit een circulerende kladversie van het rapport. Volgens het rapport zijn homeopathische medicijnen wel degelijk superieur aan een placebo en soms zelfs vergelijkbaar met conventionele medicijnen. Hoe dan ook zouden volgens The Lancet artsen veel meer aandacht aan hun patiënten moeten geven. Dit omdat uit de homeopathische aanpak in ieder geval wel blijkt dat de patiënt er baat bij heeft, bovendien zou je hiermee kunnen voorkomen dat er te makkelijk medicijnen worden voorgeschreven of dat de patiënt naar een kwakzalver stapt.

Commentaar ARCO Zolang de wetenschap homeopathie en aanverwante disciplines blijft onderzoeken met materialistische methoden, zal men geen resultaten kunnen meten. De invloed van medicijnen op de menselijke geest is niet meetbaar. Daar ligt vermoedelijk de kracht van de homeopathie. De Westerse (medische) wetenschap is gebaseerd op de gedachte dat het spirituele geen kenbaar object is en dus niet voor onderzoek vatbaar. Met zo’n uitgangspunt kan men homeopathie nooit eerlijk onderzoeken. De onderzoeksmethode bepaalt de uitslag. Homeopathie en aanverwante geneeswijzen moeten wetenschappelijk onderzocht worden, maar daarbij moet eerst het probleem van de methodologie opgelost worden. M.a.w. hoe moet je het onderzoeken? De onderzoeksmethode bepaalt in hoge mate het onderzoeksresultaat.

De heilige hostie is in zekere zin een hoog verdund homeopathisch middel. Maar waarom dit middel de gelovige geestelijke kracht geeft, is niet door middel van een placebo vergelijkend onderzoek na te vorsen. Daar zijn andere onderzoeksmethoden voor nodig. Hiermee zeggen wij niets ten nadele van de heilige hostie, waarvoor wij het grootst mogelijke respect hebben. Wij zeggen hier iets ten nadele van de materialistisch georiënteerde wetenschap. Holisme ziet in alle dingen een materiële en een spirituele kant. De voornamelijk Westers georiënteerde wetenschap (waar wij overigens veel aan te danken hebben!) kan met een ‘spirituele kant’ niet uit de voeten. Dat is een gebrek van deze materialistische wetenschap. Holisme helt echter ook niet over naar de andere kant, namelijk dat er alleen maar een spirituele kant zou zijn. Maar wel ziet het holisme de materie als een expressie van het spirituele. Beide kanten zijn onderdelen van één bewust geheel (‘one conscious whole’). Er is wisselwerking tussen de geestelijke en materiële kant. Homeopathie speelt vermoedelijk een rol in deze wisselwerking.

TEKNIKA NOBO PA KURA KANSER Sientífikonan di Stanford University na Merka a desaroyá un téknika nobo pa kura kanser. Nan ta usa ‘nano-téknologia’. Esaki ta téknología riba nivel mikro, es desir nivel molekular. Pues téknología di kosnan asina chikitu ku bo mester magnifiká nan 10 miyon biaha promé ku bo por mira nan. E téknika ta asina ku nan ta inyektá baranan chikitu den e sèlnan kanseroso. Despues nan ta keinta e baranan aki ku lus ‘infra-korá’ (= ‘infrarood’), asina matando e sèlnan kanseroso sin afektá e sèlnan sano. Un di e problemanan mas grandi di siensia médiko aktual ta ku ta difísil pa mata sèlnan kanseroso sin afektá sèlnan sano. Kimoterapia ta destruí sèlnan kanseroso, pero ta mata sèlnan sano tambe. Ta p’esei pashèntnan ta pèrdè kabei i ta sufri di diferente otro efektonan negativo. E baranan ta penetrá solamente den e sèlnan kanseroso i ta evitá e sèlnan sano. Esaki ta pasobra sèlnan kanseroso ta karesé

di un vitamina yamá ‘folate’ na Ingles. Nan ta simplemente duna e baranan un kapa di ‘folate’ promé ku nan ta wòrdu inyektá. Asina e baranan ta penetrá solamente den e sèlnan kanseroso i ta pasa e sèlnan sano voorbij. E téknologia ainda no por wòrdu usá pa kura hende. Mas estudio i tèst mester wòrdu hasí. Pero ta interesante pa mira kon nanotéknologia por wòrdu usá den futuro serkano pa kura un di malesanan mas difísil pa dominá.

voorlopers van de moderne mens zijn op te sporen. Homo erectus Nadere studie van de schedel moet uitwijzen of de schedel van een Homo erectus is of van een Homo habilis. Beide voorlopers van de moderne mens (Homo sapiens) leefden 1,8 miljoen jaar geleden mogelijk naast elkaar in Afrika. De minder primitieve Homo erectus lijkt het meest in aanmerking te komen. Deze soort was groter, liep rechtop (erectus betekent rechtopstaand) en is vanuit Afrika naar de rest van de wereld uitgezworven. Dat kwam mede omdat de jagers/verzamelaars in staat waren om vuur te maken, waardoor ze ook koudere streken konden koloniseren.

Baranan chikí chikí ta penetrá sèlnan kanseroso.

De oudst gevonden sporen van de Homo erectus in Europa gaan terug tot zo’n 1,5 miljoen jaar geleden. De nu gevonden schedel bewijst mogelijk dat de vroege mensachtigen al eerder Europa veroverden dan algemeen werd aangenomen. De vondst wordt door antropologen dan ook als zeer belangrijk beschouwd in de zoektocht naar de oorsprong van de moderne mens.

OUDSTE SCHEDEL VAN EUROPA (Planet Internet, 23 augustus 2005)

In Georgië is een 1,8 miljoen jaar oude schedel van een mensachtige gevonden. De schedel behoort samen met enkele eerder gevonden skeletresten volgens Georgische antropologen tot de oudst ontdekte sporen van mensachtigen in Europa. De goed geconserveerde schedel werd deze maand ontdekt in Dmanisi, een gebied dat zo’n 100 km ten zuidwesten van de hoofdstad Tbilisi ligt, aldus directeur David Lortkipanidze van het Georgische Nationale Museum die aan de opgraving deelnam.

We die as often as we lose a friend. Publilius Syrus

De vondst is circa 1,8 miljoen jaar oud, net als vijf eerder gevonden fragmenten van botten, waaronder een kaakbeen dat in 1991 werd opgegraven. De schedel heeft de tand des tijds echter het beste doorstaan en is in het nationale museum nader geanalyseerd. “Al deze overblijfselen zijn in hetzelfde gebied gevonden. Het lijkt er op dat we een vestigingsplaats van een oeroude gemeenschap hebben gevonden,” aldus Lortkipanidze. Al sinds 1939 trekt het oosten van Georgië antropologen uit de hele wereld vanwege de talrijke opgravingsplaatsen waar restanten van

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Een leuke website Als u tijd heeft, ga eens kijken naar een nieuw soort kunst op de website van ‘The Zoomquilt’, een kunstwerk zonder einde: http://www.eviltree.de/zoomquilt/zoom.htm Het is de moeite waard!

WORLD WIDE WEB Tim Berners-Lee created the first website in August 1991. In an interview on the BBC’s website (9 August 2005) he said the following (highlights):

Komentario na Papiamentu. ARCO ta bai duna hopi atenshon na Computers i Internet, pasobra nos ta sigur ku e medio aki ta bai kambia mundu. Manera Tim Berners-Lee ta bisa, Internet ta e fundeshi di un sosiedat nobo, pero e no ta determiná e sosiedat ku nos por konstruí riba dje. Esei ta keda un trabou di e ser humano, es desir di nos tur. No tin niun duda ku pronto nos lo bai tin un Gobièrnu i Parlamento Virtual pa goberná ‘cyber-space’ (e mundu di Internet). Komersio Internashonal lo bai usa Internet asina tantu ku leinan nashonal no por kubri e teritorio virtual di ‘cyber-space’ mas. Mester bini leinan virtual i internashonal pa regulá komersio i asta relashonnan sivil entre hende. Ta hopi importante pa perkurá ku ‘cyber-space’ lo bira un mundu demokrátiko.

VERSOEPELING ONTSLAGRECHT BESPREEKBAAR VOOR CNV Met de nieuwe CNV-voorzitter René Paas valt te praten over versoepeling van het ontslagrecht. Dit zei hij in een interview met het ANP voorafgaand aan zijn eerste werkdag op maandag 15 augustus 2005. Werkgevers vinden het ontslagrecht in Nederland te star. Zij dringen al jaren aan op versoepeling. Paas wil de discussie met hen aan, maar stelt wel als voorwaarde dat er een preventieve toets bij de ontslagaanvraag blijft bestaan.

Positie arbeidsmarkt ‘I feel that the web should be something, which basically doesn’t try to coerce people into putting particular sorts of things on it And further down in the interview he added: ‘One of the reasons that I want to keep it open like that, is partly because I want humanity to have it as a clean slate. My goal for the web in 30 years is to be the platform which has led to the building of something very new and special, which we can’t imagine now’. He goes on to say: ‘We have to, first of all, make it a universal medium, and secondly we have to work to make sure that it supports the sort of society that we want to build on top of it ….. It allows people to exist in an information space which doesn’t know geographical boundaries. My hope is that it’ll be very positive in bringing people together around the planet, because it’ll make communication between different countries more possible’. Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in 1955. He studied physics at Queen’s College, Oxford. He built his own computer with an old TV, a Motorola microprocessor and soldering iron. He went on to create the web in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which he offered free on the net. In 1994 he founded the World Wide Web Consortium at MIT. He has been named by Time magazine as one of the top 20 thinkers of the 20th century.

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To meditate is to labour; to compute is to act.

Werkgevers moeten volgens hem ,,eindelijk serieus willen praten’’ over investeren in hun werknemers om ontslag zo veel mogelijk te voorkomen en hun positie op de arbeidsmarkt te versterken. De FNV heeft vooralsnog geen behoefte om met werkgevers over versoepeling van het ontslagrecht te praten. Die vakcentrale wijst erop dat er een hervorming van de WW (= werkloosheidswet) op stapel staat, waardoor de arbeidsmarkt al flexibeler wordt. ,,Daarvan willen wij eerst de effecten afwachten’’, stelde FNV-bestuurder T. Heerts in het FNV@Magazine.

Situatie Bonaire Recentelijk heeft de Minster van Economische Zaken o.a. op Bonaire gesproken met vertegenwoordigers van werkgevers en werknemers. Daarbij kwam ook flexibilisering van het ontslagrecht ter sprake. Van werkgeverszijde (AKIB) werd opgemerkt dat het idee om de bevoegdheid voor het afgeven van ontslagvergunningen te mandateren aan de Ontslag-commissie niet bezwaarlijk is, als dit kan leiden tot versnelling van de ontslagaanvraagprocedure. Die bevoegdheid is thans in handen van de directeur van het Dept. van Arbeid en Sociale Zaken en de aanvraag-procedure behoort snel te verlopen, maar dat gebeurt niet altijd in de praktijk. AKIB drong erop aan dat er dwingende vervaltermijnen dienen te worden ingevoerd om de

aanvraagprocedure te versnellen. Van werknemerszijde werd niet zozeer bezwaar aangevoerd tegen het idee van de Minister, als maar duidelijk is dat dwingende vervaltermijnen niet ten nadele van werknemers mogen strekken.

Discussie is aangezwengeld Het laatste woord is over dit onderwerp nog niet gesproken. Uiteraard wensen de werknemers ontslagbescherming, maar ontslagbescherming leidt niet tot de gewenste arbeidsproductiviteit. De vraag moet worden gesteld waarom werknemers bijna totale vrijheid hebben om ontslag te nemen, maar werkgevers vergunning moeten vragen om ontslag te geven? Waarom zou gebrek aan arbeidsproductiviteit geen reden voor ontslag mogen zijn? Misschien is het ontslagrecht inderdaad aan herziening toe.

Willem wijst erop dat een financiële en economische hervorming op dit eiland vereist is. Maar ook dit zal op zich niet toereikend zijn. “Er dient verder nationale consensus te komen, waar wij met z’n allen met dit eiland naar toe moeten.” Aan de hand van deze visie dient de rol van de sociale partners te worden vastgesteld, terwijl er voor de overheid een structuur moet komen die een optimaal functioneren van het bestuur van het eiland moet bewerkstelligen. “Dit alles moet gepaard gaan met een herstructurering van de overheidscultuur op het eiland.” Als de door hem voorgestelde veranderingen niet worden doorgevoerd, dan loopt een autonome status voor het eiland de kans neer te komen op meer van hetzelfde. “Het enige verschil met nu is dan een nieuw constitutioneel jasje”, aldus Willem.

Commentaar ARCO Tot zover het citaat uit de Amigoe. Wat dhr. Willem nog net niet durft te zeggen is dat Curaçao voor nieuw perspectief ook een nieuwe integrale band met Nederland nodig heeft. Dat geldt ook voor Aruba. Die ‘makamba-haat’ is opgeklopt, meneer Willem. Stap daar overheen. Kijk nu eens naar de realiteit van vandaag. U hoeft niet bang te zijn. Anderen (met name Stanley Brown, Glenn Booi, Sonia Berkemeyer e.a.) zijn u reeds voorgegaan en hebben de meeste stenen reeds opgevangen. Voor u is het daarom nu relatief gemakkelijk om openlijk te zeggen dat een nieuwe integrale band met Nederland het meeste perspectief biedt voor de bevolking van Curaçao, met name het armste deel van die bevolking. U als politicus bent al klaar en overleeft nu ook zeer aardig. Maar u zit er voor de bevolking, niet voor uzelf.

Un obra di arte? Cups den palu. Dia di Boneiru, Nikiboko-Noord 6 di sèptèmber 2005.

Er wordt er op Curaçao één wakker …. In de Amigoe van 22 augustus 2005 stond het volgende bericht onder de titel: ‘Autonome status alléén is geen oplossing’. ‘Een nieuwe staatkundige status voor Curaçao in de vorm van een autonome status voor het eiland, zal niet de nodige perspectieven creëren voor de bevolking van dit eiland’. Dat stelt PAR-Statenlid Mike Willem. Volgens hem zal een status aparte in de praktijk erop neer komen dat een groot gedeelte van de schulden en tekorten van het Land ten laste zullen komen van het eilandgebied Curaçao. Een conservatieve rekensom leert volgens Willem dat Curaçao met een nationale schuld van minimaal 3 miljard gulden, in plaats van 2 miljard nu, en een tekort van 140 miljoen opgescheept zal zitten. “Als Nederland niet bereid is om te helpen, zal dit inhouden dat Curaçao een serieus beleid moet gaan voeren om financieel te kunnen overleven. Want als Curaçao financieel niet kan overleven, dan zal het ook onmogelijk zijn om sociaal te overleven. Zonder geld en met grote schulden kan je in feite niets doen. Zo simpel is het.”

Did you know that the names of all continents end with the same letter they start with (in English)? 21

INDEPENDENCE OF WHAT? Decolonization The process of international decolonization began after World War II and was more or less completed by the mid-seventies. The great undercurrents directing world history then focused on ending the Cold War. During the eighties we saw great movements arising in the East block, such as the Solidarity movement in Poland and Charta ’77 in Czech-o-Slovakia. Finally a new regime in Russia, led by Michail Gorbachov, gave the decisive push to end communism and break up the East block. The Berlin Wall fell in 1989. At the same time in South-Africa there had been a movement calling for an end to apartheid. This culminated in the first all-race elections in 1994. The principle of equality had finally been established worldwide. Thus two potent reasons for (ex-)colonial territories to seek independence (socialism and racial discrimination) had disappeared. What followed was the lightning emergence of the internet and cyberspace shrinking the world to a ‘global village’. In a globalizing world the concept of ‘independence’ is obsolete. Even large and powerful nations such as the USA are not totally independent. The USA depends heavily on oil imports, to mention just one aspect. Not surprising then that while communism and apartheid were breaking down, European nations came together to form the European Union.

Independence was definitely out and ‘interdependence’ was in. When the Kingdom Charter (‘Statuut’) for the Kingdom of the Netherlands was drafted in 1954, the Netherlands Antilles believed that it would be a temporary arrangement preparatory to full political independence. The UN accepted the Kingdom Charter and considered our islands to be ‘selfgoverning’, which to a certain extent is true. It is doubtful, however, whether the UN fully understood the nature of the Charter back then. However this may be, Surinam, which was also party to this Charter, did indeed obtain its independence in 1975. During the sixties we (Antilleans) saw ourselves as a people preparing for independence. What really happened, however, was that we fell in a slump externally and started fighting internally. This resulted in Aruba’s separation from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986. After this event the internal constitutional agenda has remained the focus of attention throughout the nineties up to now. Amidst these problems independence became a non-issue and was finally struck off the political agenda all together. This was only natural, as the infighting had severely weakened us and had laid bare our vulnerability as small islands situated in between two large and powerful continents.

Choice between two power blocks The fortunes of these power blocks to a large extent determine our destiny anyway, whether we like it or not. This holds equally true for small so-called ‘independent’ island-nations, such as Trinidad, Barbados, Antigua etc.. These are independent in name, but one hiccup in the USA and laws and policies are adapted in accordance with America’s wishes. This holds true even for the bigger Caribbean island-nations, such as the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. Only Cuba still holds out on its own. Whether one agrees with communism or not, this is a remarkable feat. But the Netherlands Antilles are no Cuba. And anyway, its fall, too, is only a matter of time. Our vulnerability was further accentuated by a steady economic decline which set in during the early nineties and does not seem to be letting up.This decline was one of the reasons why Aruba decided in 1996 to shelve its agreed independence from Holland, whereas the rest of the Antilles indicated that independence was no longer a point of policy.

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The aforementioned external factors undoubtedly played their part in this political shift, although this did not really come to the fore as such on the various islands. Islanders have a tendency to look inward and to even forget that there is a world out there. Nevertheless, European unification, the fall of communism and the disastrous consequences of political independence in other ex-colonies (not only in Africa and Asia, but notably also in the Caribbean, not to forget Surinam) convinced the majority of the Antillean people that although independence has its ideological and historical justification, and although psychologically independence could conceivably boost our self-respect and self-reliance, it is simply not feasible for the Netherlands Antilles at this point in time. And while we’re on the subject, what has ‘self-respect’ really done for Antiguans, for instance? They leave their island-nation to look for jobs in the much less self-respecting but more prosperous French islands or Dutch St. Martin. And how much ‘self-respect’ can Haitians feel? Millions of Haitians have left their country as economic or political refugees. How can malgovernance, social disorder and widespread corruption boost a people’s selfrespect?

What is lacking? We have to face the truth and respect facts. Apparently we lack something in the Caribbean which is required to become successful as nations. Of course, we can blame ‘the West’, or slavery perpetrated by the former colonial powers. This blame-game is popular among politicians, for it veils their own failings. We are not saying that nation-building is easy for newly independent countries. Obviously there was a huge inherited economic disadvantage, when independence was granted to the West Indian Federation, for instance. But why did the W.I.F. explode shortly after its inception? Blame it on good old scapegoat England? Is that convincing? Many Caribbeans don’t like to ask such questions, for it disturbs their political ideologies. They are afraid of the conclusions they may be forced to draw. Therefore they gloss over the social disasters seen in Africa and the Caribbean following independence. Or they blame ‘the West’. But this is a serious mistake. We must ask these questions, if we want to find answers. And we believe the answers are not what many Caribbeans secretly fear. The answers have to do with spirituality. Spirituality, the ability to rise above oneself, to accept and fulfill one’s responsibilities in earnest, the ability to place the common good above one’s private interests, the ability to treat everybody with respect, irrespective of clan, race or religion, the ability to look many years ahead and to work steadfastly year after year towards achieving goals irrespective of whether they yield any profit or not. This is what we are short of in the Caribbean. Of course, we do have people capable of such spirituality, but percentage-wise their numbers are too small. And because we have not yet been able to generate enough of them, the ones we do have now lack in (spiritual) power and ability to uplift our communities to greater heights. This is why we fail so often, why we cannot co-operate and why our productivity is so low. But clearly this is something that can be learned and race in itself has nothing to do with this.

Spiritual education is the key But it takes time and leadership to build a spiritual base broad enough to turn this situation around. In the Caribbean region such leadership is in short supply. Therefore, we need time and (outside) help. Maybe independence for the Netherlands Antilles could have had a chance, if the Caribbean region had found a way to support us by unifying in a way similar to Europe. We could have joined such a Caribbean Union and been strengthened by it. But this did not happen and seems far off still, if feasible at all under present conditions. We all look forward emotionally to the day when Cuba will turn around and take charge of the region. But even if it did tomorrow, it would take at least two generations for Cuba to recover and become an effective Caribbean leader. The Antilles cannot wait for that. Neither can the rest of the Caribbean.

We respect Fidel Castro, but we know he is wrong. So here we are. Six small islands setting sail for independence in 1954, but turning around midway after having scattered and weakened ourselves and now trying to find our way home, without knowing where home is.

Where is home? Where is ‘home’? The obvious emotional answer is: the Caribbean region. But the Caribbean after 50 years of independence has not succeeded in getting its act together. Instead of maintaining unity, the West Indian Federation was smashed to smithereens shortly after its institution and the much heralded ‘CARICOM’ never seriously got off the ground either. Each Caribbean island is like a small kingdom, not ruled by a modest king, but by quite immodest emperors commonly known as ‘politicians’. Insularism is as strong as ever, and the prerequisite for unification - the willingness to share wealth and power - is not popular among emperors. We, therefore, need a different approach. Emotions do not always result in wise decisions. We need to rethink the concept of ‘independence’ and build Caribbean unity in a different way. This leads to a more rational answer to the question where home is. The rational answer is: the former colonial ‘motherland’ (in our case Holland). We have to overcome our instinctive aversion to this idea, because in the final analysis improving social conditions and enhancing economic and development chances for the people is what good governance is all about. And nobody can escape the truth that there can be no (political) ideology without a thriving economy to support it. In other words, we need the social, economic, cultural and intellectual input Holland has to offer. In fact, we depend on it. And therefore the question should be: Why not embrace it? What is wrong with it anyway?

Aversion There is no justification for aversion. Reintegration into the motherland may on the face of it be hard to swallow for people who have seen and heard their aversion to their former colonial ‘masters’ (stemming from a history of slavery) affirmed for years by media and politicians expressing a peculiar mix of contempt, derision and respect for all that is white or European, notwithstanding a two-faced acceptance of Dutch development aid. The process of sublimating this aversion (not to say hatred) into genuine respect and friendship will therefore not be easy. And yet, this is what must be done and is actually slowly happening, although most people prefer to call this way ‘home’ a ‘strategic choice’, still resisting a real change of heart.

them constantly of their past war crimes. The crimes committed by them are not any worse than those committed in Cambodia, Serbia, Ruanda, Congo, Biafra or wherever. Neither was slavery the privilege of the white race. In Niger (Africa) slavery is still going on today!

Stop using slavery for moral hostage taking Slavery was a system used in the past in all parts of the world by all peoples and races. There is no reason for any one particular people or race to accept the blame for this for the rest of mankind and for ever. Therefore in the Caribbean (including the Netherlands Antilles) the slavery-wound must be allowed to heal. If we insist on keeping the wound open, there is something wrong with us. Certainly Holland should not allow itself to be morally held hostage by the Antilles on this issue any longer. We believe that the Netherlands Antilles (or its individual islands) do have to make a strategic choice, i.e. becoming the Netherlands Antilles. For survival as small islands we have to either form a union in the Caribbean (which does not seem feasible at the moment), or join one of the two large economic blocks to the East and West, i.e. Europe or the USA. The choice is then quickly made, as there never has been any special affinity or bond with the USA. Nor is there a serious offer on the table from the USA, whereas the European Union is accessible to us via Holland. The Antilles could opt to become an ‘outermost region’ (or ‘Ultra-Peripheral Territory’) of the European Union. This will speed up our development and, if other islands in the Caribbean follow suit via their own former ‘motherlands’, will even pave the way to more Caribbean co-operation and unification.

A prosporous Caribbean region What is wrong with a prosperous Caribbean region, unified by being part of the European Union? This will give us a fair chance to develop our islands, build stronger interinsular ties and improve the quality of life for our people. In the meantime globalization will proceed and will eventually culminate in a new (i.e. non-anarchic) world order.

In the meantime the aversion propaganda in the Antilles has met with its karmic toll, namely a clear change of heart in the motherland. An initial openness in 1954 and willingness to absorb Antilleans in Holland has turned into aversion (if not hostility) to Antilleans This factor has complicated the situation. It is abundantly clear that the mutual aversion propaganda has not been very productive. But then, can politics based on (old) animosities ever be productive?

In view of this trend it seems to us that the best we can strive for in the Caribbean, is to obtain recognition in this new world order as a distinct autonomous region. To achieve this we must follow a different track than we thought up to now. This track is certainly an unexpected knight´s move, but if it is beneficial for the development of our people, why reject it?

Japan and Germany

And what about the mutual aversion? We have but one answer to this: It is stupid. Aversion to other people is based on a belief in one’s own superiority. But the Antillean people are no better than the Dutch people. Neither are the Dutch superior to us. We shall just have to learn to accept each other as equals. What else is the principle of equality about? Why was apartheid abolished, if we want to continue practicing it? If we are agreed that all men are created equal, this must result in mutual respect and non-discrimination on both sides of the Ocean. And this also means free movement of people between the Antilles and Holland. Not only for Antilleans wanting to move to Holland, but also for Dutch and other Europeans wanting to move to the Antilles. Equal is equal.

At this juncture it is opportune to make another point. The people of Japan and Germany are getting sick and tired of always having to absorb the criticism (if not outright feelings of hatred) about their war past. So a reaction is setting in. Some Japanese leaders now even go so far as to deny that Japan ever committed any war crimes during World War II. They turn it around and say Japan ‘liberated’ the subjected peoples. The Chinese are angry about this, but we believe that Japan has a point. It is unjust to constantly confront the present generation of Japanese and German people with the war past of their ancestors. We must stop this. If we want to deal and do business with Japan and/or Germany, if we buy the goods they produce, if we accept the help they give (as Germany certainly has done within the EU), we must stop pushing our fingers into the old wound. Not only because otherwise it will never heal, but also because the young generation cannot be blamed. They are innocent. Moreover, deliberately keeping the wound open is like morally holding the young generation of Japanese and Germans hostage. This then turns into an injustice itself.

Cruelty like spirituality knows neither race nor creed The Japanese and German people are not more cruel or immoral than any other people or race. And we must stop implying that they are by reminding

The price of hating other human beings is loving oneself less. Eldridge Cleaver

Holland and the Antilles are one

If we can do this, Holland will become ‘home’ to us as the Antilles will become ‘home’ to the Dutch. This is our best option. And if the change of heart is not there yet, we have to create it. Holland can learn from us as we can learn from Holland. Respect will grow as we go along and aversion or animosities will vanish in the light of truth. Holland after the war has learned to respect Germany; we can learn to respect Holland. Bygones should be treated as bygones. We must embrace the future together.

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