To my delight, I discovered that Suriname is one of the most multilingual countries in the world, and it seems fitting that its many languages should read like a poem: Dutch, Sranan Tongo, Hindi, English, Sarnami, Javanese, Malay, Bhojpuri, Hakka, Cantonese, Saramaccan, Paramaccan, Ndyuka, Kwinti, Matawai, Cariban, Arawakan, and Kalina, as well as Portuguese and Spanish.
What makes this list even more impressive is that Suriname has a population of under 500,000, while as many as 330,000 people of Surinamese origin live in the Netherlands. They are an integral part of Dutch culture, particularly in Amsterdam. I love Surinamese food, my children use words like duku (money) and fattu (joke), and players like Gullit, Rijkaard, Seedorf, Kluivert and Davids have helped make Dutch football a pleasure to watch. And yet it was poetry that sparked my curiosity, distilling the essence of complex issues, sketching history and culture with a few well -chosen lines, and prompting me to check my bank balance to confirm that there wasn’t enough for a ticket to Paramaribo.
I’d like to thank Raj and Ezra for pointing me in the right direction by sharing two of their poems about Suriname. Hopefully, they will inspire you to take a closer look at the cultures around you and to celebrate the diversity of the world just beyond your front door.
Heritage (Raj Mohan)
I have carefully immersed
the shadow of my ancestors
in the streaming waters
of Banáras
beside an old bathing spot
in the lap of Mother Ganges
sludge of Suriname
clinging to my soles
still leaving tracks
on the shining flagstones
of Holland
step by step
Paramaribo (Ezra de Haan)
Phosphor white lights
up the heavens
in broad nightlight
when thunder strikes the table.
The swaying silhouettes of palms
reflect in puddles
where sidewalks are lacking
the street streams like a river
and cars become ships.
Nature is briefly a beast
growls, snarls and strikes
out its claws.
Then skulks away.
Sleeps.
(The poetry of Raj Mohan and Ezra de Haan is published in Dutch by In de Knipscheer. I also urge you to take a look at this clip of Raj singing in Sarnami.)
Richard
Relevant pages:
- Foto Mensen Suriname Van
- Nieuw Amsterdam Suriname
Nieuw Amsterdam google map. Satellite image of Nieuw Amsterdam, Suriname and near destinations. Travel deals.
- In Overstroming Suriname
PARAMARIBO/BOVEN-SURINAME, 8 mei – In tientallen dorpen aan de Boven-Suriname is het maatschappelijk leven ontwricht door overstroming. Honderden zijn dakloos en ...
- Suriname Wildlife
- Dagblad Suriname
