THUAS celebrates 50 years of Suriname’s independence

“And as a social organization, we must give meaning to that comma”, adds lecturer Hanna Mitra Rambaran. “Because the colonial past of the Netherlands extends far beyond Keti Koti.”  

At THUAS’s celebration of 50 years of Suriname’s independence, Hanna Mitra speaks together with alumna Imaibell Pinas about freedom. In addition to teaching Public Administration, she also lectures on colonialism. “The Netherlands and Suriname share a history of more than three hundred years, and yet it is so rarely found in our history books. When I was young, we only learned about Dutch history, but nothing about the colonial past. I had to investigate it myself. Nowadays, there is material available for primary schools and vocational education, but nothing at the higher education level. That’s why I developed my own syllabus.”  

Legacy  

Education about the colonial past has made progress, but Hanna Mitra sees little attention paid to its impact on today’s society. “Several major companies built their initial capital on slavery, and most Dutch people don’t even know that. We like to admire the splendor of the Golden Age, but not the price others paid. That part is almost absent from our education, and it continues to have consequences. Look at the misconceptions around labor migration. After World War II, the work was so abundant and dirty that Dutch people didn’t want to do it, so people from Turkey and North Africa were brought in to rebuild the Netherlands under harsh conditions. Now we either don’t know about it or we ignore it.”  

Mindful of polarization through education  

At THUAS, minors such as Kingdom Affairs and Racism and Discrimination in the Workplace and Society are already offered, but Hanna Mitra and her colleagues also take responsibility in other Public Administration courses. “The amount of misinformation the internet feeds young people is enormous. They no longer read newspapers or watch news programs, which makes misconceptions more likely. That puts them at odds with each other more quickly, so it’s crucial that we teach them, not just history, but also how to recognize and deal with misinformation.”  

Celebrate independence with us

Today, The Lighthouse, together with the Atlas Cultural Center, is organizing an open conversation about identity, freedom, and the future. In addition to Hanna Mitra and Imaibell, Sahin Yildirim and Rajendre Khargi will also speak about identity and Suriname’s future. Would you like to join? Sign up via this link.