Definition Yu di Kòrsou specified in 2002

WILLEMSTAD — During the past weeks, there was much fuss about the definition of ‘yu di Kòrsou’/Curaçao citizen, employed by the coalition parties MFK, PS and MAN. Particularly, opposition party PAR regularly criticizes this.

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However, the employed definition is not new and stems from the policy plan ‘Rumbo pa Independensia Mental’ (En route to mental independency), which was approved in 2002 by the then Board of Governors, in which the same PAR was also seated.
The definition, where all the fuss was about in the past period, departs from the fact that a Curaçao citizen must comply with a number of criteria. "A yu di Kòrsou is someone who lives on Curaçao or outside, who understands Papiamentu and is prepared to labor for the advancement of Curaçao. Someone, who declares before the world that he or she accepts his or her culture and history, without being ashamed. Someone, who accepts and observes the multi-cultural situation of Curaçao and accepts that cultural diversity. He or she is also someone that does not consider the cultural elements of his or her own ethnic group as the culture of Curaçao, but as a part of the culture of Curaçao. He or she also accepts that the afro-Curaçao elements dominates the greater part of the Curaçao culture."
It was this definition, which caused a fuss during the past period. However, the coalition parties grabbed this with both hands and even included this as first and most important comment in their coalition agreement Pa Un Kòrsou Soberano, Solidario i Sostenibel (For a Sovereign, Sympathetic and Permanent Curaçao). The first sentence of the prologue of the agreement reads: "We consider the political birth of our country as a possibility for the Curaçao citizen, based on his/her own values and standards, the knowledge of his or her culture, to become a well developed citizen with a strong self-image laying the foundation for a strong, healthy and safe Curaçao." The document mentions that the definition of a Curaçao citizen, as employed by the parties, originates from the cultural policy and action plan of 2001, which was approved in 2002 by the then Board of Governors and the Island Council. The later director of the culture institute Kas di Kultura established in that year had drawn up the policy plan. It can also be found on the website of the institute: www.kasdikultura.an under the menu ‘documents’. The policy plan was at the root of establishment of Kas di Kultura. The responsible deputy, entrusted with Education, Sports and Culture at that time, is the current PAR-leader Emily de Jongh-Elhage. In the policy plan, one also thanks her for her support to the project.