WILLEMSTAD – Reparations for colonialism and slavery are often associated with financial compensation, apologies or the return of cultural objects. But a research project involving Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire is examining a broader question: how does colonial history continue to influence everyday life, culture and the way people see themselves?
The project, REPAIR – Learning Cultural Justice from the ABC Islands, is being conducted by Utrecht University in cooperation with cultural organizations on the three ABC islands and the Eye Filmmuseum in the Netherlands.
Rather than starting with a predetermined definition of reparations, researchers are examining work already being done by cultural organizations on the islands and asking how those activities could contribute to repairing the consequences of colonialism.
On Curaçao, the Association of Museums & Heritage of Curaçao is participating in the research.
Its chair and co-founder, Zhwendeline Pieter, is examining how heritage organizations work together to preserve, document and “activate” Curaçao’s cultural heritage amid the continuing legacy of colonialism and rapid social change.
The concept of activating heritage goes beyond preserving historical objects in museums or archives. It involves giving history renewed meaning in contemporary society and asking which stories have disappeared from public view, whose histories receive attention and whether communities recognize themselves in the way Curaçao’s past is presented.
According to Utrecht University researcher Jamila Mascat, the fundamental difficulty surrounding reparations is that historical injustices such as slavery, colonial oppression and the destruction of Indigenous societies cannot simply be reversed.
Reparative measures therefore cannot erase what happened. Instead, Mascat argues that societies must confront the continuing consequences of those events and determine what can be rebuilt in the present. That could involve symbolic, emotional or material forms of repair.
The researchers emphasize that there is no universal formula.
Internationally, reparations debates can include financial compensation, land restitution, changes to education and cultural policies, and measures aimed at addressing present-day economic inequality.
REPAIR deliberately avoided beginning with a list of measures that Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire should implement. Instead, participating organizations were asked to identify what is already happening locally and what they themselves consider potentially reparative.
Researchers also caution against treating the Dutch Caribbean as having a single colonial experience.
Although Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao share elements of colonial history, their experiences and present constitutional circumstances differ. Curaçao and Aruba are autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while Bonaire is part of the Netherlands itself.
For Curaçao, the project ultimately raises questions about who determines how the island’s history is preserved and presented, which forgotten histories should be brought back into public consciousness and how local communities can have greater influence over their cultural heritage.
Researchers say those questions demonstrate that colonialism is not simply a historical subject. Its consequences can continue through institutions, cultural representation, education and perceptions of identity long after formal colonial structures have changed.