Just under a kilometer from here, people were imprisoned during the war, in the Playa Pariba camp.
It was a colorful collection of prisoners:
Dutch members of the NSB, German, Austrian and Italian residents of Aruba and Curaçao, German sailors, but also communists.
And people who protested against the colonial power from the Netherlands.
Even Jewish refugees were housed there.
All together, in one camp.
A small melting pot.
What must it have been like for the rest of Bonaire? Every time I am in that place, I wonder this.
Nothing remains of the camp.
The wood from the barracks was used to build the hotel on the same spot.
Now grown into the Divi (Flamingo) hotel.
A place where diving tourists and other sun seekers enjoy their breakfast, the pool or the view over the sea.
It is now a symbol of freedom, while Playa Pariba was precisely a symbol of unfreedom, in an unsafe world.
In 80 years, a tremendous amount has changed, also for Bonaire.
You can see that everywhere on our island.
That small island community of then - with 6,000 people - has grown into a melting pot of 25,000 Bonaireans from various backgrounds.
People who were born and raised here, just like their ancestors.
But also people for whom Bonaire has become a beloved home later in life.
People like me.
But wherever your cradle stood, we all have something in common.
Each of us wants to live in peace and safety.
And many of us look with suspicion at what is happening in the world now.
Just like 80 years ago, you may feel that the world is on fire.
You can feel insecure and unsafe.
I am sure that none of us longs for a world of war and conflict.
Also on our beloved Bonaire, we want to live in peace and harmony with each other.
We will have to do something for that ourselves.
How can we guarantee peace, freedom, and safety in Bonaire?
I believe that it all starts with us.
The way we treat our neighbors, colleagues, and acquaintances.
Wherever they were born: in Bonaire, in the Netherlands, in Venezuela, or elsewhere.
Whatever their skin color.
Whatever their mother tongue.
Whatever their faith or belief..
And: whoever they love.
Peace, freedom, and safety begin with an open attitude towards all others around you.
An open attitude, because that other person is allowed to be there.
Because he or she has as much right to a place under the sun.
And has as much right to be seen and heard.
To live and love in Bonaire.
And I say this explicitly here in this square, because not so long ago, very different words were also heard in this place.
Words that violated the freedom of fellow Bonaireans.
It is therefore not always easy.
Where people differ from each other, it can also clash considerably.
And so we will have to keep making an effort to understand and feel each other.
Try harder to find understanding for the pain or longing of someone else.
But, I must honestly say, I also find that difficult sometimes.
When I am in the Netherlands, I notice that I am seen as someone from the islands.
While here I am often seen as one of them, from the Netherlands.
And I understand that all too well.
But at the same time, it sometimes makes me feel a bit uprooted.
And I believe that more people will recognize that feeling.
That is why it is important that we continue to recognize the most important thing in each other: that we are all human beings.
And when we realize that, we must also do our best every day to understand each other well.
And that is not always easy, because we have different (mother) tongues.
Many of us speak either Papiamento or Dutch.
Two languages that are spoken by few people worldwide.
And more and more fellow Bonaireans speak English or Spanish.
Two world languages.
So, in a world that is changing rapidly, it may be important to give more space to English and Spanish.
But whoever we are, we share the same deep love for this island.
This island has grown and changed since World War II.
All of Bonaire is now a special melting pot of beautiful and different people.
But however much we differ from each other,
we are all human beings, who can and may learn from each other.
We all want our beloved Bonaire to remain an island of peace and freedom.
I must think of a poem by the famous Persian poet Rumi.
It is called The Inn and goes as follows:
This human-being is a kind of inn
Every morning a new guest arrives.
A joy, a depression, a suffocation,
a flash of insight comes
like an unexpected guest.
Welcome them; receive them all hospitably
even if a crowd of sadness storms in
that violently smashes your whole house.
Then treat each guest with respect.
Perhaps he comes to clear you out
to make room for ecstasy…….
The dark thought, shame, the venom,
meet them at the door with a wide grin
and invite them to sit with you.
Be happy with everyone who comes by
the heavens have sent them one by one
to serve you as advisors.
By also embracing discomfort, we can live together in harmony every day.
I believe that we can realize this ideal.
Together and in freedom!
