Where oh where Wednesday: Suriname

50 years ago much of the world was in turmoil. As a child I was quite interested in maps and flags and countries. We had an encyclopedia - a set of books in which you could find all sorts of information, a paper “Google” if you will - and I would spend hours looking at and copying over the flags of the world. But it was difficult in those years because there were a lot of changes taking place, a lot of new flags. 

Many of the countries that had been colonies were declaring and finding the independence from their colonizers. Africa was changing rapidly, as was much of Asia. Even in South America there was some change. One of the little countries on the shoulder of South America also declared independence. Suriname was a colony of The Netherlands. Although the country at the time barely had a population of 300,000, it was rich in natural resources. 

Even today, Suriname only has a population of around 600,000 of which half live in the agglomeration of the capitol city, Paramaribo. But the country is still rich in natural resources and the population is still quite diverse - a remnant of its colonial past. And it is this colonial past which still calls many from Suriname to the Netherlands. The official language is Dutch and many young people have in the past traveled to the Netherlands to study. 

In 1975 Suriname declared its independence from The Netherlands. This was celebrated recently in The Netherlands by the Dutch and the population which was originally from Suriname. There are approximately 350,000 Surinamers in The Netherlands. At the time of independence, people from Suriname could choose to keep the Dutch nationality and many idd, emigrating to the Netherlands. 

The current president of Suriname is Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, the first female president of the country. She was elected this year by the parliament who are also elected for a term of 5 years. The Netherlands has recently offered official apologies for its part in the slave history of the country. The flag is a red center stripe with a yellow star, framed by a green stripe above and below and a white stripe operating the center red field from the green stripes.