“Today I apologize. Awe mi ta pidi diskulpa. Excuse me taide mi wanni taki.” Outgoing Prime Minister Rutte said these three sentences exactly a year ago at the National Archives in The Hague. He apologized for the role the Dutch state played in slavery. With an apology, the outgoing government allocated 200 million euros “for measures in the field of awareness, participation and follow-up.”

Concretely, there are a number of measures on the table, says the Interior Ministry. From next year, anyone with a surname that suggests slavery can change it for free. Changing the last name still costs at least 835 euros, and this is only possible under strict conditions. Since the apology, Curaçao hero Tula, who led a slave revolt, has also been rehabilitated. On January 31, there will be another meeting of Kachues with interested parties and Rutte.

But since the November election results, there have been concerns among community stakeholders. They fear that as right-wing parties gain more seats in the House of Representatives, the social conversation about slavery will decline again.

Gilberto Mauricao, Prime Minister, says there is a consensus among members of the outgoing government “that something needs to be done.” Dutch Caribbean Advisory Body (OCaN). For example, he points out that there should be more money for research into the impact of slavery. “But I also see that different groups in society are not positive about apologies and anti-racism, and that worries me. We fear that support for what we started will disappear.”

Maurichau points out, among other things, an issue surrounding the National Coordinator for Combating Discrimination and Racism. Since 2021, this position has been held by Rabin Baldusing, former Chancellor of The Hague. Just last week, Baldusing presented a comprehensive program that includes 29 agreements concluded with the Council of Ministers.

The package discussed greater attention to slavery in education and the formation of a committee to decide on declaring July 1 a national holiday and remembrance day. But if it were up to the Freedom Party, the coordinator would have to “look for another job.” Baldusing said this in the Volkskrant newspaper last week He’s apprehensive Regarding the growth of right-wing parties, he said: “Many of our hard-won gains are suddenly under pressure.”

Dagmar Oudshoorn, former chair of the Advisory Council’s Dialogue Group on the History of Slavery, also acknowledges that steps have been taken since last year. But according to her, there is still a lot of work to be done in the area of ​​recovery: “I’m talking about eliminating the backlog that is a result of slavery.” For example, it is about combating inequality in the labor market. Oudshoorn fears that this conversation will reach a dead end in the new political landscape.

In addition to Prime Minister Rutte, the king also apologized for the history of slavery last year. The Dutch Slavery National Memorial Foundation wants these apologies to be enshrined in Dutch law and submitted an application to this end in October. Oudshoorn describes it as “worrying” that the country’s largest party now wants to withdraw the Dutch state’s apology.

She and Morechu admit that there is still no agreement on such points in The Hague. However, they are concerned that issues on which there was consensus are now back on the table. “It is not wise to go back to the steps that have been taken,” says Oudshoorn. “But we live on reclaimed land. I hope future coalition partners will think about this carefully.”