Unknown, but not unloved
Do you know what the capital of St Eustatius is? Or which province Curaçao belongs to? No idea? You are not the only one: the majority of European Dutch people know little about the Caribbean islands within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This is according to a large-scale opinion survey led by political scientist Wouter Veenendaal. From our side of the ocean, how do we view relations with the Caribbean islands?
Where does your interest in the islands come from?
My PhD research was about how politics works in very small countries. This put the Caribbean islands on my radar. My doctoral committee included Gert Oostindie, emeritus (now) professor of colonial and postcolonial history. With him and Jessica Roitman (currently a professor at the VU), I started researching the islands as a postdoc. So my first impressions are only ten years old, still quite fresh.
What does our Kingdom consist of?
Our Kingdom consists of the European Netherlands and the three autonomous Caribbean countries Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. In addition, the three smaller islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba have been special municipalities of the European Netherlands since 2010.
What image did you get of the islands at the time?
I saw similarities with other small countries I researched. But also an important difference: the Netherlands is still a kind of umbrella hanging over the islands. And everyone struggles with that. The Kingdom has responsibilities towards the islands and within the Kingdom, politically, the Netherlands also plays a dominant role. So you often hear the term ‘recolonisation’ on the islands.
“Over 35% of the inhabitants of the Caribbean municipalities live below the poverty line.”
Most striking, for me, is the poverty there. Over 35% of the inhabitants of the Caribbean municipalities live below the poverty line. In principle, the social services we have here should also be there for this part of the Kingdom. But in practice, they lag behind in terms of unemployment benefits, pensions, equal treatment and so on. This makes people feel that they are second-class citizens within the Netherlands.
Why did you do this research?
One of the missions of my chair is to contribute to knowledge in the Netherlands about the islands and vice versa. I also want to look at the state of democratic representation in and of the different parts of the Kingdom. Are the politicians doing what we want regarding Kingdom relations? To answer that question, we obviously need to know what citizens want from those Kingdom relations.
Which outcome(s) of the opinion survey do you find most surprising, and why?
The most important outcome, I think, is that European Dutch indicate little or no familiarity with the islands. At the same time, and this is a bit surprising, there is quite a lot of solidarity with the islands. Overseas Netherlands is a ‘far from my bed show’ for many. Yet a large proportion of respondents feel that the Netherlands has a moral duty to look after the islands. There is also plenty of support for financial support and an active position of the Netherlands in many local problem files. The largest group is in favour of equalising social benefits and retaining free migration within the Kingdom.
“A large proportion of respondents feel that the Netherlands has a moral duty to look after the islands.”
This is surprising, because after the last survey on our perception of the Caribbean islands, done by Maurice de Hond on behalf of the PVV in 2015, the perception persisted that European Dutch people want to get rid of the islands. Perhaps because, frankly, the questions of that survey were rather suggestive.
As part of your chair, will you do something about our knowledge gap about the Caribbean islands?
My role in this is of course limited. Specifically, I want to set up a new course on Kingdom Relations for professionals and administrators, both here in the Netherlands and on the islands. I also try to reach a wider audience with opinion pieces in newspapers and giving interviews on the radio, for example.
In addition, as many respondents also indicated, our education system should pay more attention to the Caribbean islands. As far as I am concerned, there is still room for this in primary education, for example in courses on geography, history or social studies.
What are the next steps in terms of research?
I have now recruited three research assistants on the islands. These are all local talents at the beginning of an academic career. They will set up a network and do interviews locally. That is logistically quite a challenge, by the way. Here in the Netherlands and on the islands, we will research election manifestoes. I will also get help from some student assistants from our own undergraduate programme who are from the Caribbean islands.
It is striking that you yourself do not take a stand, for instance on the independence of the islands.
That is not up to me; that is up to the islanders themselves. The islands can declare independence from the Netherlands; the other way around, the Netherlands cannot. De Hond's survey at the time showed that European Dutch did not really understand or appreciate that, but it is stipulated in international law. Incidentally, I see little appetite for independence among Caribbean Dutch citizens too. So we better work on mutual understanding.