Curaçao: Covid-19, demonstrations and the right to education

Covid-19 has affected the entire world. Some however, have been affected more than others. The institutionalized racism present in our societies causes racialized people to be disproportionately more affected by this world-wide crisis. In this contribution, we focus on the effects this has had and has on education in Curaçao.

Misguided delinking
Curaçao has been a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for centuries. But even during the best of times Curaçao is looked at by the Dutch as an appendage attached to the host, something to be discarded when convenient, but never as an equal and integral part of the whole. Dutch (pre and post colonial) institutions delinked Curacao conceptually and legally from the Netherlands. This has served as a tool to create, legitimize and in turn perpetuate socio-economic and political inequalities. Dehumanising inequalities have always existed in the narrative of “they are different from us”: in Europe slavery is illegal but there in Curacao it can exist, in the Netherlands we can vote (1919) in Curacao we can’t (1948), in Curacao is where people can have less equal rights.

Changes were eventually consolidated in 1954 when the Charter of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Statuut) was adopted. The racialized peoples of Curaçao– in a legal sense – became less unequal. They irrefutably obtained Dutch nationality, and were allowed to have a say in local government. However, built on the centuries old “us-them” narrative this same Charter solidified the dominant position of the Netherlands and perpetuates institutionalized racism within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This is something that can be observed in constitutional frameworks throughout the Caribbean.

Algu otro
Generations of Caribbean Dutch citizens, academics, politicians and workers have been continuously contesting this constitutional framework, and there is an ongoing call for change, change that enables people to live their lives as worthy human beings. People are acutely aware that the choice between the status quo, independence or integration into the Netherlands will not necessarily bring about the needed change. People want something different and this is exactly what our young generations are now saying: ‘nos ke algu otro’. It is a very real call to action that should be taken seriously, and this cannot and will not be solved with just another constitutional change. What ‘algu otro’ is, only time will tell. 

Charter and common interests
Fact is that from an institutional perspective the framework of the Charter of the Kingdom of the Netherlands binds us. This Charter starts off with proclaiming that the countries within the Kingdom will serve the common interests. Article 36 states that the countries provide help and assistance to one and another. Ideally this would at least mean that the countries take care of the common interests of every citizen with a Dutch nationality. This then means that anyone with a Dutch nationality, regardless of where they are born, whether it be in Curacao or the Netherlands, are deserving of equal opportunities. Reality however has proven to be cold, harsh and painfully different. Not in the least are our constitutional inequalities highlighted during this current Covid-19 crisis.

The problem is that Kingdom politics often decay into an us-them narrative. In this case leading the Netherlands to adopt a familiar policy of trying to get away with doing as little as possible, leaving people in Curacao largely neglected. Covid-19 assistance from the Dutch government consists mainly of loans. Loans which force a policy of austerity on an already suffocated economy and democracy. Austerity measures that have already shown to be disastrous for social spending, with the Curaçaoan government and Parliament having to cut in every sector, including education.

Education
Dutch government and parliament has historically invested as minimally as possible in educating disadvantaged people in Curaçao. From 1954 onwards, larger numbers of the population were finally able to enjoy more than a basic Catholic missionary education. Calls for more and better investments in formal education in Curaçao have always existed. Calls ranging from contesting a Eurocentric perspective, to calls for providing proper buildings and facilities, and calls to deal with the issue of language. And let us not forget the often overburdened and grossly underpaid educators. An illustration of this chronic underfunding of education was observed by PhD researcher Delgado. For some courses, secondary schools almost exclusively use textbooks from the Netherlands. Textbooks that a myriad of scholars have found to be horribly outdated and arrantly Eurocentric. The only hope is that the renewed Dutch canon will soften this Eurocentricity. Another example of the deplorable financial situation in Curacaoan schools is the infamous and disgraceful adage that many schools cannot even afford toilet paper for their pupils.

It is in this context that now more cuts are to be made in formal education. A sector already lacking decent facilities, proper materials and adequately paid educators. It blows your mind to think this is the reality that pupils and educators have to live through in 2020, in this Kingdom, where every human being supposedly has the same rights.

Recently there have been yearly four-country consultations (Vierlandenoverleg) on education. While we wholeheartedly agree that certain issues can be solved by discussions and agreements, we find that this is not enough. The Dutch government and parliament should put their efforts – including money – where their mouth is and make sure that anyone within the Kingdom is afforded a proper education. This should not be viewed through the antiquated and racist lens of the Dutch savior myth - a narrative too often used in combination with article 43 of the Statuut - , but from the perspective that every single human being in our Kingdom is worthy of equal rights including proper education. This should be a guiding principle and is the only morally justified way of thinking about investments in education. The establishment of yet another lopsided cultural fund will not be sufficient to improve education in any meaningful way and will not remedy the historic and chronic underfunding of education that has been present since colonial and post-1954 periods, and whose funds today again being cut to balance government budgets.

Knowledge production
With regards to Eurocentricity in education some final and important remarks. Curaçao knows a rich knowledge production in which human agency, migration, flexible use of multiple languages, non-essentialized identities, and intranational relations are central. It is a type of knowledge production that refuses to turn life into unworthiness or mere commodities and numbers. This knowledge can be found in a multitude of places, including songs, documentaries, social media, and scholarly research. They have existed at least since the time of Tula and Sablika. Take this knowledge on board in education. In this way and when pupils’ lived realities are taken seriously, pupils no longer have to exclaim: “nos no ta sina nada di bida” (we don’t learn about life).