Monday, August 21, 2006

The Kerwin Duinmeyer conmemoration

On August 20th 1983 the young Kerwin Duinmeyer was killed in Amsterdam. The killer was a fascist who killed him because of the colour of his skin. Duinmeyer became the symbol for anti-fascism in the Netherlands. Each year, his death is remembered with a manifestation, cultural performances and a quiet moment at a the sculpture Mama Baranka (Mother Earth) in the Vondelpark.




This year the demonstration took part for the 23rd time and people are always guessing about the public attendance. Is the amount of people a sign that people don’t care any more, or is it to much time ago, 23 years.
I visited the event together with friends. Our friend Christa Toppenberg, a very talented and renowned poet from Curacao performed with her own poems and with work of other authors.


The fact that Dijnmeyer was form the Antillean, always inspire the question why there aren’t more people from the islands taking part in the event. I think there are a lot of reasons as to why the participation of Antilleans is low in the Kerwin Duinmeyer- commemoration. At the other hand, a big part of the performers were Antillean, some, like some members of the drumming band Kalentura were very young Antilleans.



Each year when I visit the commemoration I feel a need to get involved. Fact is I have not!
I must find a way to get involved because of a lot of reasons.
I think it’s important to pay attention to the killing of a young, innocent man by a racist lunatic.
I think it’s important to make a big stand against racism in the Netherlands, a country which arrogantly have the idea they’re not racist. The French are, The Germans are, Italians, Spanish, American. The whole world could be racist, but they… not.
I still believe in the power of activism. I believe that another world is possible, if we can convince the people of it!

Listen to a radio-report (Dutch spoken) by the Radio Nederland Wereldomroep.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Churandy Martina making Curacao proud!

Netherlands Antilles' Martina can be the best, says coach Kitchens
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
by Gary SmithCaribbean Net News Sports Correspondent

EL PASO, USA: Following impressive performances in the outdoor campaign so far this season, Bob Kitchens, head coach at the University Texas at El Paso, believes with a little maturity and technical work Netherlands Antilles' world-rated athlete Churandy Martina can become the best sprinter in the world."Churandy (Martina) is further along at this point than I thought he would be," Kitchens told Caribbean Net News on Monday, "but I do believe he has a lot left that he can do."I believe he has a chance to be one of the best sprinters, if not the best sprinter in the world."At the UTEP Invitational at the Kidd Field in El Paso, Texas on Saturday, Martina improved his personal bests on his way to winning the sprint double with record breaking performances. He clocked 10.04 seconds to claim the 100m and 20.27 for the 200m title, but despite blowing away the field in both races, Kitchens said technically the Islander still has a lot of work to do - noting this will only make him faster."None of the races (this season) have been technically correct and therefore it would lend oneself to believe that he can run faster in both races (100m, 200m)," Kitchens said. "I think he is further along in the 100m and it is probably his best event. He definitely has more than one gear, but again for these things to happen he has to mature as a runner and that will take a little time."Martina has already run 10.17 and repeated 10.04 performances for the 100m in addition to his 20.27, which left many track and field supporters with the belief that he will burn out early and struggle to keep his present form in the future.However, Kitchens told Caribbean Net News that the sprinter's performances are a result of his talent and assured the public that the Antilles star is in good hands."We do have a history of good sprinters in this program," he confirmed. "He (Martina) has as much talent as any sprinter we have had here and that includes (Olapade) Adeniken (of Nigeria) and (Andrew) Tynes (from the Bahamas."We do quite a bit of base work in the fall and I don't believe he will burn out any time soon."He is an exceptional young man that has his head down to earth and is easy to coach."Martina is now the second fastest over the 100m this season behind Jamaican world record holder Asafa Powell's 10.03. After claiming top in the 200m with his 20.27 performance, Martina now trails American Xavier Carter, who leads the world with a 20.13sec run achieved in a head-wind."The atmosphere is very good for training and I am doing my best," Martina said. "I just want to keep improving in both the 100 and 200 every week."In the meantime, at the UTEP Invitational Erma Gene Evans also of the University Texas at El Paso, broke the Saint Lucia national record and improved on her personal best to win the women's Javelin Throw with a mark of 54.19m. Evans' performance ranks her as the second best thrower in the school's history and is fifth in the NCAA in this year.

Friday, August 11, 2006

My ol' bud Bongane wins gold medal!

In this edition of "Keeping It Real" Joe Hawkins interviews two-time Gold medalist Bongane Nyathi, who won a Gold and a Bronze medal in the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago. Bongane also discusses his inspirational journey from South Africa to America and the motivation behind his winning attitude.

See the interview, thanks to 'Keeping it Real'
Marlon Reina