Open brief aan de minister van OWCS 18 juli 2026 Dit is een knipoog naar de vele open brieven van de laatste tijd. Overigens vind ik dat een goede ontwikkeling. Ik had even overwogen om via mijn netwerk de contactgegevens van de minister op te vragen, maar besloot het toch maar op deze manier te doen. Laat ik niet langer om de hete brij heen draaien; mensen lezen nu eenmaal niet graag lange teksten op het web. Het gaat om onze slavenmuur. Vanochtend ben ik weer eens naar Band

Action in Reflection July 17, 2026 I often use the expression Reflection in Action. By this I mean that, while implementing, you continue to think critically about what you are doing, what is happening around you, and how circumstances are evolving. The traditional model of first analyzing and designing everything in detail before taking action is outdated. Real learning takes place during implementation, when you continuously reflect, adapt, and improve. Today, however, I wa

The Silent Crisis of the Caribbean Islands July 16, 2026 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) share a number of common characteristics. Because of their small size, they are generally more vulnerable than larger countries to climate change, economic shocks, and geopolitical developments. They also tend to have fewer financial resources, less specialized expertise, and more limited institutional capacity to address these challenges effectively. At the same time, social and po

Castles in the Air July 14, 2026 Yesterday, I came across a social media post announcing plans for eight residential towers to be built in Tera Kòrá. My first reaction was that it had to be fake. I had never heard anything about such a massive project before. But the source turned out to be credible. Later, while watching Mariano's livestream, I noticed that he too was surprised by the announcement. Today, the project is featured in the Antilliaans Dagblad. Curaçao seems to b

Our Democracy Has Never Been in a Weaker State 13 July 2026 This is the second issue I want to address today. My conclusion is not based on a single incident, but on the accumulation of stories in today's newspapers. Each article may seem relatively minor on its own. Together, however, they paint a troubling picture of the state of our democracy. It begins with the Ombudsman. Of the fifteen reports that required a government response, only one received one (Curaçao.nu

Authentic Curaçao Is Slowly Disappearing July 13, 2026 Today I will address two different topics in two separate blogs. This is the first. Yesterday I wrote that Curaçao is simultaneously aging and becoming younger. Today, the front page of the Antilliaans Dagblad carries the headline "Young Adult Drain." Elsewhere in the newspaper, several articles also focus on the island's demographic trends, particularly population aging (Antilliaans Dagblad, 2026). This morning I was hav

Curaçao Is Growing Older — and Younger July 12, 2026 This week, the Curaçao Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) published new population figures to mark World Population Day on July 11. One number immediately caught my attention: nearly 26% of the population is now 65 years or older. The population pyramid is gradually changing shape, with a broader top and a narrower base. Whenever people discuss Curaçao's population, the conversation almost always focuses on aging. And

A Few More Things That Stand Out During the World Cup July 9, 2026 The longer this World Cup goes on, the more fascinating details I notice. Perhaps the most striking is the growing diversity of players' backgrounds. National teams have become a reflection of a globalized world. A player with Dominican roots represents Switzerland, while brothers compete for different countries. National identity in football has become more complex than ever. Technology was supposed t

Brain Meltdown July 6, 2026 We all know the term brain freeze: that brief headache after eating ice cream or drinking something ice cold. So there must also be something called a brain meltdown. I looked it up. It refers to a state in which the nervous system becomes completely overwhelmed, as if the brain has overheated. That is exactly how I feel today. Perhaps the heat has something to do with it. But even more so, it is the relentless stream of events. The devasta

What the World Cup Tells Us About the State of the World 8 July 2026 Today is the first—and one of the very few—rest days of the World Cup. Tomorrow the quarter-finals begin. It is a welcome opportunity to catch our breath and reflect. This tournament consists of 104 matches involving 48 nations. Remarkably, none of the three host countries has reached the quarter-finals. Four years ago, only 32 teams competed. At the time, FIFA faced considerable criticism for expandin

From Keti Koti to Dia di Himno i Bandera July 2, 2026 July 2 is the day we celebrate Curaçao's national anthem and flag. Some people distort its meaning by turning it into nothing more than Flag Day. By using the word distort, I am also making a subtle reference to the recent slip of the Speaker of Parliament, who accidentally said "rape" instead of "resilience." This year I experience the day in a special way. Not only because our flag—half the size of a football field—was d

Orange Sent Home June 30, 2026 On Curaçao, the disaster in Venezuela dominates the news. What concerns me most is the apparent inability to organize relief effectively. I especially miss the presence of the Curaçao Red Cross, as that is the organization through which I would like to offer my support. I congratulate Morocco on advancing to the next round. The Netherlands failed to win and ultimately lost the match. That does not come as a surprise. After the draw again

When Sectors Fail to Self-Regulate, They Become the Problem June 27, 2026 It is Saturday morning. The temperature is already rising. Early today, I read the opinion article Toerisme is niet het probleem in the digital edition of the Antilliaans Dagblad. The author argues that tourism itself is not the problem. According to him, the real issue lies in the way Curaçao has managed the growth of its tourism industry. He points to the absence of a coherent spatial and econom

Actually, It Has Been a Deeply Sad Week June 26, 2026 Not because the Blue Wave gave the match against Ivory Coast away within seven minutes. Germany also scored in the sixth minute. I honestly thought the team had learned by now that during the first fifteen minutes, every ball simply has to be cleared out of the penalty area. But in the end, it is only a sport, a game. Nor because I came down with a stomach virus or food poisoning on Father's Day and spent the entire

Tomorrow the Blue Wave Makes History June 24, 2026 This morning, the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant reports on its front page that Curaçao is being developed at a rapid pace to accommodate tourism. Tourism is booming. In 2019, fewer than half a million visitors came to Curaçao. Last year, that number had already grown to more than 700,000. The article also highlights the downside. The island is becoming increasingly unaffordable for local residents, who are gradually bei

Culture of Fear June 24, 2026 Once again, a report has been produced by SOAB at the request of the Ministry of Governance, Planning and Service Delivery (BPD). If I understand correctly, it forms part of the integrity program, including the long-awaited activation of the Integrity Bureau. The culture of fear is nothing new. It was already introduced in 2003. The Culture of Fear: Paradoxical Chains of Fear and Silence in Curaçao is an influential sociological book publis

Surfing The Blue Wave June 23, 2026 My last piece was published on June 18. That is unusual for me. It has primarily to do with The Blue Wave. At the moment, we seem to be living in a kind of collective state of heightened consciousness. Plenty is happening, but we do not want to talk about it. If people are writing, it has to be about football, and in particular about The Blue Wave. And that is perfectly fine. That is why I have been writing less. The topics that cur

Identity and Authenticity June 18, 2026 In the midst of the World Cup, it is about more than football. It is also about identity, authenticity, and ethnicity. In the Antilliaans Dagblad, I read two articles in which a young Bonairean woman explained that she increasingly feels less at home on her own island. According to her, it seems that Bonaireans are expected to adapt to the Dutch, rather than the other way around. As a result, the island feels less and less authent

Conversation with the Barber June 16, 2026 I had no intention of writing about the Curaçao versus Germany match. A debut of which we can be nothing but proud. Before long, our conversation turned to the World Cup. How remarkably fit the United States looks. How could we have known that Morocco stopped being a small football nation a long time ago? Brazil knows that now as well. Morocco, like the Blue Wave, is also a product of the Dutch football school. We wished all

Orguyo(so) 15 June 2026 It is The Day After the Blue Wave's debut at a World Cup against four-time world champions Germany. For me, the expression "words cannot express what I feel" was always a cliché. But yesterday, surprisingly, I noticed that I felt something during the match that I had never experienced before. It was not just a game on television. The fact that it was on television was not even relevant. As early as the 1–0, I felt the blow. At 1–1, I knew tha