'A FLOCK OF WOLVES INSTEAD OF SHEEP' The Dutch West India Company, Conflict Resolution, and the Jewish Community of Curaçao in the Eighteenth Century (original) (raw)

Dissolving Disciplines. Tidal shifts in the study of the languages, literatures and cultures of the Dutch Caribbean and beyondEdition: 2018Chapter: Tidal Shifts in the Study of Society in the Dutch Caribbean and BeyondPublisher: Curaçao/Puerto Rico: University of Curaçao/Universidad de Puerto Rico

Curaçao Needs a Truth & Reconciliation Process

Introduction and definition of concepts This paper elaborates on the rationale for a Curaçao truth and reconciliation (T&R) process. As a Small Island State, Curaçao has much potential, and yet is falling behind embracing change geared towards collective prosperity. Empirical evidence indicates a conflict dynamic that on the macro-level of society is dismissed with an air of 'all is well', while at lower and micro-levels the conflict endures, perpetuating social inequalities. Most interventions address matters at a superficial level, informed from a reduc-tionist perspective, while systemic approaches that address the fundamental causes, are lacking. Reconciliation is a complex matter and reconciliation that creates trust and understanding that transcends conflict requires truth. Particularly, truth that liberates individuals to become sovereign beings, free of traumatic entanglements, and free to express their full potential. Reconciliation is a topic that frequently has come up over the years whenever a conflict boils up in our community, however, this has not gone any further then a situational discourse or an occasional activist spark that relatively quickly subsides. The conflict we face is complex and persists, and consists of multiple facets and polarizations, for instance, between the rich and the poor, between those with higher degrees of education and those without, between those of different skin tone, and along the lines of ethnic differences. The compounding causality of all these potential polarities are heavily influenced by our colonial trauma and asymmetric ambivalent relationships within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In order to facilitate greater collective understanding, it is important to establish a common frame of reference that establishes transition from the Colonizer and the Colonized dynamic to a Creator-Sovereign-Free community of egalitarian participation. We need a common ground in terms of the meaning of some key aspects and concepts, since some of these concepts are socially constructed and culturally constituted. The concepts are complex and span across generations, geographic localities, and disciplinary boundaries. Although the ethnicity of the population of Curaçao is predominately of African descent, there is a significant presence of minorities of Dutch, Latin American, French,