WILLEMSTAD - “For four years now, this single mother has been cut off from water,” says Alejandro van Putten, of United Dominicans in Curaçao. The woman is not alone: Hundreds of families in Curaçao have been cut off from water due to financial problems. Human rights organizations are very concerned.
The woman, Van Putten is talking about, has lost her job after developing cancer. As a result, she has built up a debt with utility company Aqualectra, after which her water was cut off. The mother of three children is now being helped by the neighborhood with buckets of water.
A family with five children that has been disconnected from the water network for a year lives in the Brievengat district. The family lives below the poverty line and could no longer pay the water bill for the large family. They also depend on food packages. This brings them into contact with the DASH foundation, which helps them to be reconnected through the Ministry of Social Development, Labor and Welfare (SOAW).
At the beginning of the corona period - in March - Aqualectra would have reconnected about 200 households that were cut off from water because of the hygienic necessity surrounding the coronavirus. The then Minister of Economic Development, Giselle McWilliam, announced this at the time through the media. Aqualectra is said to have not yet connected 2,000 other households.
"This is against human rights"
"The question is whether cutting off running drinking water is acceptable according to international regulations," says lawyer Maya Elzinga-Soumah. In 2010, the United Nations (UN) determined in a resolution that the right to water and sanitation is a human right, which is included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "This is not binding, but it has a large political load," says Elzinga-Soumah.
According to the Human Rights Caribbean Foundation (HRCF), a foundation that works for human rights in Curaçao, water is a basic necessity. “Everyone needs about 20 to 50 liters of clean, safe water a day to drink, cook and simply keep themselves clean. A lack of water can not only cause diseases, such as not being able to wash your hands regularly, but it also affects human dignity,” says HRCF.
Work method utility company Aqualectra
According to the director of Aqualectra Darick Jonis, households that cannot pay their water bill must report to SOAW. "There is a subsidy scheme whereby SOAW reimburses the costs for these types of cases," says Jonis.
According to the director, Aqualectra receives a list of SOAW addresses every week whose water needs to be reconnected, so the problem is not so much with the utility company. SOAW minister Hensley Koeiman was not available for a response.
Government’s responsibility
Human rights organization HRCF is concerned about the households on Curaçao that are currently cut off from water. "Water belongs to everyone and it is the responsibility of the government of Curaçao to provide every resident, preferably as cheaply as possible, with sufficient water," says HRCF.
"In the past, SOAW has made agreements with Aqualectra about cutting off water, it is time to review the agreements and ensure that everyone in Curaçao continues to have access to water," said the human rights organization.
By Kim Hendriksen
