Tula warda – People Involvement

Tula warda – People Involvement

17 August 2026

Today I opened Facebook and saw Dick and Martin discussing the demonstration against the unbalanced development of the island. Then I opened the Antilliaans Dagblad and saw that its lead story was asking essentially the same question: The island is for sale; protest against colossal construction projects in Curaçao.

The small demonstration that I also briefly attended yesterday apparently had a greater impact than I could have imagined. And that is good for the cause. The discussion about the development of Curaçao, about overtourism, hotels, beaches, land, and the question of who the island actually belongs to, is becoming increasingly widespread.

But frankly, when it comes to demonstrating, we still have a long way to go. We already know that.

Where were all those people protesting on Facebook? Where were the people saying that things cannot continue like this? Where were those who express their outrage every day about what is happening to the island?

You arrive and join a collection of people; it is not a group. Fortunately, there were two friends I could talk to. The rest were mostly standing there as individuals. There was hardly any social interaction. Even people I know, in such a small gathering, ignored me and, in fact, mostly ignored one another.

It immediately illustrates part of our problem. There is little cohesion. We do not connect. We do not form a community, and as a result, we find it difficult to stand together. People involvement means more than liking or sharing a post or leaving an angry comment on Facebook. It means showing up, participating, listening, talking, and connecting with others.

Then the police arrive and the tension rises; three or four cars. My impression was that the police misjudged the protest. But I am not a police officer, and I do not know what information the police had. So I do not want to judge them too easily either.

Then one of the organizers takes the floor. A young YdK who, by his own account, has only recently returned to Curaçao. He makes a connection with Tula, who started the revolt on 17 August 1795, with colonialism, and with the struggle for the island. He also says a number of good things. Still, I found myself thinking: if you have only recently returned, perhaps you should not immediately be the one taking the floor. And whoever does speak should prepare well. Precisely because the message is important, I felt that too many other issues were brought into it.

After that, the group walks through the neighborhood to show what gentrification has caused. At that point, I drop out. I had not understood from the invitation that we were going for a walk.

But perhaps, in this case, the end justifies the means. Because in the press, the core message does come across clearly: no more hotels. The limit has been reached. Curaçao cannot continue to be built up endlessly without fundamentally considering who benefits, who pays the price, and what kind of island we are leaving behind.

And perhaps that is the most important achievement of such a small demonstration. Not the number of people who were there, but the conversation that follows.

Still, one message stays with me.

Next time: come out from behind your Facebook. Show up. And when you do, do not remain on the sidelines as an individual. Just strike up a conversation. Connect. Get to know each other. Organize.

You say things have to change, don’t you?

Walk the talk.

Tula warda.

Miguel Goede