Merry Christmas and Happy Monday from DeBrief

Merry Christmas and Happy Monday!

In this week's newsletter, we're covering the Netherlands' highly anticipated apology for its involvement in the slave trade and the effects of inflation in Suriname as the year ends.

Happy Holidays and as we enter the new year, feel free to share DeBrief with some of your family and friends if you think they'll be interested in Surinamese news.

Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating!

The Netherlands recognizes and apologies for its colonial past.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has apologized for the country's history of slavery. He stated that the process of addressing the country's history will continue together with Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles. King Willem-Alexander will attend a ceremony in Amsterdam on July 1, 2023, commemorating the abolition of slavery. PM Rutte emphasized the need for a healing process and greater recognition and understanding between the affected countries. The apology will also be heard at seven other places worldwide where the effects of the Dutch slave trade are still felt today.

The Chairman of the National Assembly reacts.

The Chairman of the National Assembly, Marinus Bee, expressed his approval of the apologies for the history of slavery made by the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on December 19, 2022. The Dutch government's recognition that the slave trade and enslavement of indigenous tribal peoples and African people were crimes against humanity is a historic milestone. These apologies are not new. The Dutch government expressed regret for its history of slavery in South Africa in 2001, and various authorities have expressed remorse and shame for the Dutch history of slavery since 2002. While Dutch authorities have increasingly spoken out, apologizing for the history of slavery in recent years; none of these apologies were adequately accepted. The latest apologies, made on December 19, 2022, after many missteps in the preparation process, may or may not be sincere and will require recognition or acceptance at some point. The statement, nonetheless, omits the suffering inflicted on indigenous people, the responsibility and liability for the damages caused by the slave trade and slavery, and a program for restitution. The Chairman emphasized that the slave trade and resulting slavery in Suriname, carried out during Dutch colonization, should be prioritized in terms of restitution for the damages incurred. Following the apologies, a phase of restitution can begin to address the disparities incurred by the descendants of the affected groups as soon as possible.

Inflation is still very high and present in Suriname as it celebrates one of its most arduous Christmas periods in recent memory.

Consumer prices in Suriname have increased by 49.5% in one year tracking prices from November 2021 to November 2022. The General Bureau of Statistics does not measure prices in the remote districts of Brokopondo, Marowijne, and Sipaliwini, where the depreciation of the SRD is expected to be much worse. In November, prices increased by 3.6% compared to October, with prices of vegetables, fruit, bread, grains, housing, maintenance, and repair of housing and utilities increasing the most. The consumer price index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in the price of a fixed package of goods and services of a certain quality and quantity intended for consumer purposes. There are 316 items in Suriname's CPI package, with price recordings made at 630 measuring points in various parts of the country. Suriname like many countries in the region and around the world is feeling the effects of a pandemic, the Russian invasion in Ukraine impacting prices of household staples around the world, and an already weak economy prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Safe to say, there’s a way to go for recovery.