Yu di Kòrsou, A Matter of Negotiation: An Anthropological Exploration of the Identity Work of Afro-Curaçaons

Being Human and Having Rights

“…However, all four countries have different hegemonic essentialized national identities (i.a. Essed and Hoving, 2014;Allen and Guadeloupe, 2016;Wekker, 2016; see, also chapter 4). An institutionalized and hegemonic discursive national identity on the Kingdom level, encompassing the citizens or peoples of all four countries, is non-existent, despite the fact that the Kingdom as a sovereign state does exist and that citizens of the four countries all carry the Dutch legal nationality.…”

“…The (contemporary) dominant national founding myth and hegemonic national identity of The Netherlands is an essentialized one that presupposes whiteness and the Dutch language as the norm (ia. Blakely, 1993;Geschiere, 2009;Starink-Martha, 2014;Wekker, 2016;Allen and Guadeloupe, 2016). 310 Dutch racism, both everyday racism and institutionalized racism, -although often denied -is still a real problem and affects people differently when intersecting with other social constructs such as gender and class (e.g.…”

“…These forms of in-and exclusion enabled different forms of domination and exploitation of racialized groups. As Allen and Guadeloupe (2016) explain, class relations in Curaçao and the wider Caribbean have thus 'been racialized from the inception of Western imperialism in the region'.…”

“…groups present on the island. 322 However, despite the fact that Afro-Curaçaoaness and its association with blackness -which is not primarily about 'race' (Allen and Guadeloupe, 2016) -is part of the national identity myth, blackness continues to be associated with inferiority and lower social standing, while whiteness is associated with superiority and higher standing. And despite the hegemonic national identity ideology of unity, the idea of race, and racism, white supremacy and colorism still persist in Curaçaoan society (i.a.…”

“…Because of Curaçao's natural harbors, salt banks and strategic geographical location, the island was primarily of geopolitical and economic use. The people who lived on the island before European imperial expansionism started around the sixteenth century, were called Caiquetio (Roe, 2016) or Arawak (Allen and Guadeloupe, 2016). However, there is not much written knowledge about nor is there much discussion about the Caiquetio or Arawak, despite the still existing Kaketio linguistic, ethnobotanical and spiritual presence (Ansano, 2017).…”