Why Curaçao’s future depends on healing emotions, not self-interest

Why Curaçao’s future depends on healing emotions, not self-interest

6 September 2025

We often ask: what really connects people? Most of the time, we think it’s interest. Relationships become transactions—we give to get; we connect to gain. But that is superficial. Genuine connection comes from emotions.

Emotions can divide or unite. The highest of them is love—not fleeting romance, but genuine care, selfless attention, and respect. Love is the invisible thread that binds us as human beings.

The tragedy is that we have turned nearly every connection into a transaction. Education was once love—teachers guiding children with care. Healthcare was once love—doctors and nurses healing with compassion. Food was once love—meals prepared and shared from the heart. Today, much of this has been reduced to deals, services, and profit.

On Curaçao, we often see the opposite of love at work: aggression, anger, exclusion. Where does this come from? Frustration, self-hatred, perhaps unresolved wounds from slavery’s legacy. The result is clear: instead of building bridges, we form cliques for self-interest, shutting out others and even fighting them.

Yet it doesn’t have to be this way. When people connect through love, trust grows, empathy deepens, and communities thrive. Love transforms division into collaboration, isolation into a sense of belonging.

So, let us ask ourselves: are we connecting out of interest—or out of genuine care? The answer will not only change our relationships, but also the future of our island.

Miguel Goede