NOS News•today, 9:58 PM•Amended today, 10:05 PM
Writer and resistance fighter Anton de Kom is commemorated at the Loenen National Cemetery. The commemoration marked the 79th anniversary of the Surinam-born activist’s death. It was the first time the meeting was held.
The commemoration is a citizens’ initiative and was created in consultation with the municipality of Apeldoorn. The mayor of that city, Ton Heerts, gave a speech. Chairman Linda Nooitmeer of the National Institute for the History of Slavery and Heritage (NiNsee) also addressed those present. Afterwards, wreaths were laid on De Kom’s grave on the National Field of Honor.
“It is very important that we commemorate him. He is a hero for all of us. White or black, for everyone,” Nooitmeer says. “We must let these types of heroes live on. Because his legacy takes us further in the battle we are currently fighting with each other about equality.”
Exiled and betrayed
De Kom grew up as a descendant of enslaved people. At the age of 21, he left for the Netherlands, where, in addition to his work as a representative, he became politically active, including for the Indonesian independence movement and the black consciousness movements.
When he returned to Suriname in 1932, his activism quickly attracted the attention of the colonial authorities in Paramaribo. De Kom was subsequently exiled from his native country without trial. His book published in 1934 We slaves of Suriname was an indictment against colonial rule and a plea for equality.
During the Second World War, De Kom joined the resistance in the Netherlands. He wrote for various resistance magazines when he was betrayed and deported in August 1944. On April 24, 1945 he died in Sandbostel, near Neuengamme concentration camp.
Last year, the government officially apologized to De Kom’s family “for the suffering he and his family experienced at the hands of the Dutch authorities at the time”. In 2020, the resistance fighter was given a place in the Canon of the Netherlands, a thematic overview of the country’s history.
One of the Apeldoorn initiators of the commemoration at the National Field of Honor is Ben Brown. He would like the meeting to be organized annually in honor of De Kom. “It is important that he is not forgotten,” he told Omroep Gelderland.
“It’s time that more people knew who this man was. And who he still is,” said Mayor Heerts’ speech tonight. “For his voice still resonates for those who will listen.”
