I found myself thinking: “Waar kan ik heen?”

I found myself thinking: “Waar kan ik heen?”

20 April 2026

I found myself thinking about the line “Waar kan ik heen?” from the well-known song België (Is er leven op Pluto?) by the Dutch pop group Het Goede Doel. The song was released in 1982 and grew into a classic of Dutch pop music.

I wonder whether anyone under fifty still knows this song.

The thought came to me while reflecting. I recognize something of the spirit of that time in the present. In Curaçao, livability is deteriorating—but where can I go?

We often focus on the local, but it never stands on its own. The local is a derivative of the international. Take prices, especially fuel prices. They are not determined here.

The powerful men of this world are not only advanced in age; at times, one also wonders about their mental health. That in itself is already a societal issue, but in their case, it has global consequences. Most people can afford to make mistakes—they cannot, or at least they should not be able to.

How did we end up here, also in terms of mental health more broadly? One could argue that technology has played a significant role. It is therefore not surprising that more and more countries are trying to keep technology away from children. The Scandinavian countries are leading the way in this regard.

Perhaps the core is this: a technological world is not automatically a human-centered world. And that is something we are beginning to notice more and more clearly.

Miguel Goede