WILLEMSTAD – This year’s Emancipation Day celebration on Curaçao was the largest and most powerful to date. During a moving speech at Fort Amsterdam on Tuesday evening, Governor Lucille George-Wout emphasized the importance of recognition, healing, and unity within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. 

She described the evening as a historic moment—one filled with energy, creativity, and strength, symbolized by the rhythm of the Tumba, which she called an emblem of freedom. 

Reflecting on recent milestones, the governor highlighted the 2019 petition by Plataforma di Sklabitut, the official rehabilitation of freedom fighter Tula in a 2023 letter from King Willem-Alexander, and the apology from Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in 2020. “The circle is now complete,” George-Wout said. 

She also recalled the King’s words from 2023, in which he asked for forgiveness. “The chains have been broken, but we must remain vigilant,” she warned, referring to ongoing systems of exclusion and oppression. 

According to the governor, July 1 represents more than a historical remembrance—it offers hope for true liberation from the past and the opportunity for Curaçao to chart its own future as a united community. 

“Biba Kòrsou!” she concluded, calling on all to celebrate freedom and progress with pride.