There is a lack of knowledge, especially among young people, about their own role models ehOne of the reasons why Naks has been committed for ten years to making Surinamese who have made a special contribution to the country visible. On Friday, the tenth edition of the Surinamese Icon Calendar was presented in a packed center of Naks on Thompsonstraat, with twelve new names.
Text and image Sharon Singh
In recent years, people from other ethnic groups have been included in addition to Afro-Surinamese icons. The idea for the calendar came from Romeo Grot at the time and was adopted by the Naks board. “Now ten years later, there have been ten editions and a whole decade in which we have brought 120 Surinamese icons out of the shadows and given them a permanent stage,” explains Naks chairman Siegmien Staphorst. “This is not just a calendar that counts the days and months. This is a social document,” says Staphorst, who characterizes the calendar as “a living archive.”
“We need thinkers, not talkers”
Gerrit Barron
The initiative has survived for ten years despite very little government subsidy and the absence of structural financial support from the government. The project has been continued with Surinamese ingenuity, resilience and the efforts of the Naks collective. Staphorst thanked the business community, the school communities and the volunteers who made their contribution. “This success is not Naks’s alone, but a success of, for and by our entire society!”
The twelve icons of this edition are Lydia Ravenberg (district judge and human rights defender), Fred Derby (trade union leader), Margo Kramp (educational expert), Wilma Plett (singer and culture bearer of Afro-Surinamese music), Hermes Libretto (first district commissioner of Sipaliwini), Elly Purperhart (culture bearer), Ifna Vrede (first female Maroon administrative official), Erwin de Vries (visual artist), Gerrit Barron (writer and poet), Eddy Jharap (pioneer and first director of Staatsolie), Astrid Roemer (writer and poet) and Paul Woei (visual artist).
Founder of Staatsolie
Among the notable attendees was Staatsolie director Annand Jagesar. He came especially when he heard that Eddy Jharap would be honored. Jagesar recalls that Jharap laid the foundation for the company that Staatsolie is today. “We often hear him say: ‘Staatsolie has become so big’, but if he had not laid the foundation, we would not have had this company,” the current director makes clear in conversation with the True Time.
Jagesar pointed out Staatsolie’s contribution to the government budget and the circumstances under which Jharap built up the company. He mentioned, among other things, moving a drilling machine from Commewijne to Saramacca and drilling the wells.
According to him, Jharap was able to achieve results with his confidence and perseverance, even when circumstances were difficult. “That is why our slogan is still: ‘confidence in your own abilities’.”
Knowledge of own history
Preserving history and introducing young people to Surinamese icons is an important part of the project. However, interviews at various schools show that students can hardly name Surinamese role models.
Staphorst recognizes that problem. “They can list all kinds of icons off the top of their head, for example artists such as Britney Spears. They can sing well, but many do not have solid content. What we present here in terms of icons is the result of a lot of research. We show what these role models have meant to the country. And we go for integrity,” she told the newspaper.
That is also the message that Naks wants to convey during the student exhibition: ‘honesty and integrity can go a long way’. The organization also wants to take the exhibition to the districts and inland, but the financial resources are lacking.
There were already plans to organize exhibitions with schools in Para and Brokopondo. This would require transporting students from different villages to Brokopondo Center, but that is very expensive. “The will is there, both within the organization and the schools. But we do not have the resources. We approach governments, but no support is provided,” Staphorst reveals. She thinks it is a shame that honoring exemplary figures and preserving one’s own history and thus identity does not receive sufficient support.
(read more below the photo)
Awareness of young people
Margo Kramp states that awareness of Surinamese history and culture should start at an early age. Education has an important role in this. “The sooner children come into contact with this, the easier they learn to think as a Surinamese. When we were young, we learned earlier about Dutch history than about Commewijne, for example. And that’s where it all starts,” she makes clear.
Kramp also believes that not only students in Paramaribo should be able to visit the exhibition. Children in the districts and the interior should also be given that opportunity. She has a concrete idea for this: “I have a dream. She (Naks, … ed.) could, for example, purchase a caravan with which they can travel across the country. This allows the exhibition to be brought to the districts and inland. That is one of my wishes, which I would like to pass on to the next generation.”
Education is inadequate
For Gerrit Barron, the lack of knowledge about Surinamese icons is not an isolated problem. He sees it as a sign that education does not sufficiently familiarize children with their own history and identity. According to him, education should pay more attention to the development of Surinamese people and society. “We need thinkers, not talkers,” Barron said.
He advocates leaders with substantive knowledge and a clear vision. He also believes that education should not be dependent on changing political insights, but should be developed based on a long-term vision.
Barron called on Naks to further expand the expertise he has acquired and to develop his own philosophy of life for children and education based on cultural thinking. The student exhibition is from November 16 to 27 in the Naks center. About eight hundred students are expected to visit the exhibition.
