Curaçao has never lacked talent. Our island has produced exceptional professionals — men and women with the highest academic credentials, advanced degrees from top universities, and a record of innovative projects, peer-reviewed publications, and exclusive research breakthroughs. These are the people whose work has been cited internationally, whose ideas have been tested and recognized by respected global institutions, and whose vision has the potential to reshape our future.
And yet, too often, these very minds are sidelined at home.
The Pattern We Cannot Ignore
Instead of being integrated into nation-building efforts, these professionals find their projects ignored, diluted, or deliberately obstructed. Sometimes the reasons are cloaked in bureaucratic excuses; other times, the attacks are personal — a slow-burning form of character assassination that undermines reputations and drives innovation out of our borders.
It is a destructive pattern: the more groundbreaking the idea, the greater the resistance from those who feel threatened by change. The results are devastating — not just for the individuals involved, but for Curaçao as a whole.
Excellence That Finds a Home Abroad
When their contributions are rejected here, these professionals take their expertise to the world. They find receptive partners in Latin America, Cuba, Suriname, India, and the Netherlands, and they collaborate with global bodies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Their work appears in internationally recognized journals, they present at high-level conferences, and their methods are adopted in public policy and corporate strategy far beyond our shores. In the process, they gain what their homeland denied them: recognition, respect, and the ability to see their ideas put into practice.
The Cost of Local Short-Sightedness
Every time Curaçao loses one of its brightest minds to this cycle, we lose more than a résumé line. We lose potential public health breakthroughs, economic development models, education reforms, technological innovations, and cultural initiatives that could have strengthened our island’s resilience and prosperity.
We cannot pretend this is harmless. These destructive forces — whether rooted in politics, personal grudges, or institutional inertia — have taken away a better future from our island. They rob us of solutions we desperately need and leave us dependent on outside expertise we could have cultivated ourselves.
A Call to Value Our Own
If Curaçao is to thrive, it must replace the culture of obstruction with a culture of collaboration. We must create pathways for our most qualified and innovative professionals to lead — not in exile, but here, where their impact is most needed.
The world already values them. The question is whether we will, before it’s too late.
