| Duration | 105 min |
The power and pain of solidarity
Here in The Hague, where so many Moluccan, Indo-European and Indonesian communities with a colonial past live, curator Esmée Begemann invites us: Let's come together on Keti Koti. To explore how the history of the slavery past of Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles touches yours and mine. What chain reactions it has triggered. How it can connect us. This evening is an exercise to reflect on the power and pain of solidarity. Full of conversation, dance and music.
Dancer and choreographer Jefta Tenate kicks off the evening with a TeniuE Hiaka Alifuru - a Moluccan warrior dance. Then writer and historian Lara Nuberg moderates the evening with speakers such as Reza Kartosen-Wong -on where slavery/colonial histories intersect- and Noraly Soedito on the migration history of her ancestors Java to Suriname. And cellist and composer Alfian Emir Adytia? He will alternately play us into stillness.
Keti Koti, literally ‘broken chains’ and marks the end of slavery in Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles every year on the 1st of July. Although this commemoration stems from the history of slavery in the Trans-Atlantic territories, it also raises questions within communities with roots elsewhere. How do we - as people from the Indian, Moluccan and Indonesian communities - view this day? And what does it take to stand in solidarity?
Esmée is a director/theatre maker, moderator, clown for refugee children and programme maker. For the third time, she is putting together a programme in Korzo during Keti Koti. With her work, she tries to contribute to a society in which everyone can participate and all stories are told and heard. One in which we are invited to think critically about the role we play within the cultures/identities we are part of.
Jefta Tanate | Explosive dancer who connects
Jefta is a choreographer and dancer who moves across the floor with explosive energy and emotional depth. Fascinated by themes of identity, family and the search for connection, he draws on his Moluccan background and personal experiences. TenuE Hiaka is the Moluccan dance of the fire of the earth, the fire between heaven and earth and the fire of the cosmos. The dance used in ceremonies to open processes. A dance in solidarity to Keti Koti and where Jefta moves the spirit of his ancestors.
Lara Nuberg | How the past belongs to us all
Historian and writer Lara Nuberg publishes on Dutch colonial history and remembrance culture. She presents the Indische Boekenpodcast and The Future of Remembrance, a new podcast series by the Amsterdam 4 and 5 May Committee. In April 2025 her book: The most beautiful letters of Kartini'', came to life which she co-edited with Indonesian journalist Feba Sukmana. Lara moderates the evening from a historical perspective making connections suddenly seen and felt.
EMIR | live music that really lives
Musician and composer Alfian Emir Adytia sees live music as more than theory and skills. For him, precisely because of all the experiences of an audience and also the specific place where you play it, it takes on a life of its own. With his cello, he shows us how his Javanese and Minangkabau background, his father who once taught him to play the cello and his lessons at the Royal Conservatory, connect his past, present and future. He'll play two pieces that you'll not only feel in your body, but also have something spiritual about them. There, side by side in Korzo.
Reza is a writer, media culture scholar and lecturer at the University of Amsterdam, and he is going to get us thinking. With his knowledge of themes such as cultural identity, “belonging”, anti-racism, colonial history, slavery and Asian diaspora, he can dissect solidarity like no other. Together, we reflect on how this can take shape within the Indo-European, Moluccan and Indonesian communities. We also have the honour of hearing in advance an excerpt from his new children's book.
Noraly Soedito | What we had to go through together
Speaker Noraly Soedito has a remarkable story. As Managing Director for ABN AMRO's special management department, as a mother, as a member of Korzo's Supervisory Board and, above all, as a woman of colour. Namely that of finding one's own cultural identity. And how to then give voice to that. She builds diversity and inclusion daily with special leadership programmes, but tonight she shares her personal history lessons. Those of her ancestors who ended up in Suriname from Java.
This evening is for anyone who wants to reflect on our shared history and its spillover into the present. For everyone who wants to connect - not only with the past, but also with each other. For this evening, we would like to pass on to you that solidarity starts with a willingness to listen.
