by Denis Campbell
Early May in The Netherlands is a time of painful remembrance and quiet contemplation. From Amersfoort to Alphen a/d Rijn, Zelhem to Zevenaar, at 8 pm on the Eve of Liberation Day the entire nation comes to a standstill for 2 minutes. Pictured is my 9-year old niece Ilse Bullee and other Scouts standing solemnly in Zelhem’s village cemetery. Each scout stands quietly by the grave of someone lost during five torturous years of Nazi occupation.
It’s called the national “Dodenherdenking” or Remembrance of the Dead. The normally busily bustling Dutch capital of Amsterdam… stops. Motorways grind to a halt as cars pull onto the shoulder or simply stop driving right where they are. Radio and television commentators cease talking. Bicyclists and pedestrians dismount and stand in place. There is a deep and eerie silence everywhere in the land for two full minutes. In Amsterdam’s Dam Square, Queen Beatrix lays a wreath at the base of the statue remembering those who died. It is a deeply emotional time for the quietly proud Dutch.
This coming Friday in Apeldoorn, a new, very private ceremony will be held including Queen Beatrix and a small group of Royal Family members. Once again the nation will come to a complete stop. This time it is to honour the memory of those who fell during last Thursday’s Queen’s Day attack and allow all to grieve together with families and rescuers who tried to help revive those stricken just one week earlier in that city.
As we saw last week, a madman deeply scarred this nation’s and, perhaps, even the world’s psyche when he was nearly successful in wiping out the Royal family with his car. While he fell short of his target, he killed 6 and seriously injured a dozen innocent bystanders. So many viewing the story asked, “the Dutch, why them? Nobody hates the Dutch…”
He introduced a tragic bit of domestic terrorism to a normally quietly vigilant nation. Security was not lax, it’s just unnecessary. Queen’s Day is a joyous celebration and every year Her Majesty chooses two villages months in advance for a visit that often includes open top bus tours, cycling, dancing and mingling with the people. Older Dutch citizens like my mother-in-law Jans beam with pride at the remembrance of their meeting of or even seeing Queen Beatrix from a short distance. The Royals have a playfully respectful mutual relationship with their monarch (Michelle Obama’s hug-gate would not even have become an issue in The Netherlands!)
Queen Beatrix is beloved by all. Many remember the war-time messages of her mother Queen Juliana during the occupation lifting otherwise bruised spirits. When I heard the news my first concern was for my wife’s mother, how was she taking the news? Vreselijk is the Dutch word that conveys tragedy and it was used a lot across all media along with heads shaken to try and understand.
The USA gets ready for Memorial Day weekend celebration in three weeks time. For many it signals the approach of summer as barbecues are dug out of attics and garages and the first barbecue of the year is held. Rolling Thunder descends on Washington as thousands of Vietnam era (and later) veterans ride to commemorate the passing of their brothers and sisters in arms, President Obama will likely visit Arlington National Cemetery to honour the war dead and speeches will be made trying to remind Americans of the ultimate, real sacrifice so many made vs. 8 years of sloganeering. Parades are held and gravesides visited.
No one need remind the Dutch. This is a week where the other simple words we all will use with each other are gecondoleerd and sterkte… condolences and wishing each other strength to handle this tragedy.
