AMSTERDAM–The Municipality of Amsterdam on Thursday gave some thirty new students from the Dutch Caribbean a warm welcome to the city. This was the tenth time that the welcoming ceremony was held. Last year, it could not take place due to the pandemic.
Amsterdam’s Acting Mayor Egbert de Vries welcomed the students on behalf of the city. He lauded the students for taking such a “big step” by moving to new scenery, a new house, a different culture and language and a next phase in their school career.
De Vries, who spent part of his youth in Curaçao, said that Amsterdam has an extensive history, but also a great future with people from all parts of the world. “Make use of that diversity. Get to know new people. But also make use of all that Amsterdam has to offer.” He urged the students to seek help if things got rough. “We all need help sometimes. There is nothing wrong about that.”
The acting mayor noted that this year, during the annual Emancipation Day commemoration “Keti Koti” (Break the chains), Amsterdam’s government extended its formal apologies for the city’s slavery past. “We found it necessary to do so because some members in government at that time were involved in the slave trade. We need to talk about this past.” read more