Keti Koti

Before moving to the Netherlands 🇳🇱 6 years ago, I must admit that I knew little to nothing about Suriname 🇸🇷.

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The beginning of July marks an important event and commemoration called Keti Koti, celebrated annually in the park opposite my home in #amsterdam. The term Keti Koti comes from Sranantongo (Surinamese creole). It literally means “Broken Chains.” The 1st of July 1863 marks the date when #slavery was abolished in Suriname. However, enslaved people in Suriname would not be fully free until 1873, after a mandatory 10-year transition period during which time they were required to work on the plantations for minimal pay and with state sanctioned force.

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This actually makes the Netherlands one of the last European countries to abolish slavery and the slave trade. The debates on official apologies play out in the news here daily, and the Dutch National Bank apologised last Friday, for its historic role in the slave trade.

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I didn’t post last week as I wasn’t sure if this was my story to tell, but I did visit one of my favourite museums - the #Tropenmuseum. That’s where this photo was taken - from a piece entitled ‘Send It Back To Where It Came From’. This is when I decided that, as a product of #colonialism (hence the surname), maybe #mystory to tell is that of a Dutch Burgher. There is a lot to unpack - as a descendant of the Dutch East India's Company (VOC) and someone who (in many ways) benefitted from this.

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Do you know much about the history of #srilanka and the Netherlands? Would it interest you? And do you have any stories you think need telling?

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