The Surinamese

Making up about 2% of the Netherlands’s population, immigrants from Suriname, the former Dutch colony on the northern coast of South America, are an integral and important part of the Dutch multicultural society of today. Their unique make-up and their unique origins warrant further study and examination.

A Brief Demographic History of Suriname

The pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial history of Suriname is probably unique in the world. Arguably, there is no nation on earth with such a diverse population as Suriname, and no non-micro nation with such a large proportion of it’s people living abroad. Suriname was first “settled” in the mid 17th century. The first to arrive were the English and Dutch, who quickly went about the business of establishing lucrative sugar plantations, imitating the success of the Spanish and French in the Caribbean. Of course in doing so, they decimated local Native American tribes and pushed them out of the fertile coastal plain and into the jungle. Following a settlement with England, the Dutch took full control of the area that would become Suriname as the 17th century came to a close.

To work their plantations, the Dutch imported thousands of African slaves. By 1750, they made up over 90% of the population. Many were able to escape into the jungle, from which they were psychosocially able to raid plantations for women, supplies, and weapons. Over time, they formed unique cultures, communities, and unique languages that eventually won sovereign recognition from Dutch authorities. African slaves, reconstituted African tribal communities in the jungle (known as the Maroons) Native-Americans, Dutch settlers, and Creole peoples (mixed White-African-Native American), today make up some of the most important segments of Surinamese society.

The ingredients of Suriname’s diverse ethnic makeup however, does not end there. Slavery was abolished in 1863, and Dutch plantation owners had to look elsewhere for labor. A treaty with the British, concluded in 1873 (in effect until 1916), brought in thousands of workers from India. The Dutch also found a ready source of labor in their colonies in Indonesia (especially from the island of Java), from which they imported workers until the outbreak of World War II. Chinese immigrants also arrived during the 19th century (as they immigrated to countries throughout the Western hemisphere), as did a significant number of Jews. Most workers, though officially brought in for temporary 5 year contracts, ended up staying and settling in Suriname.

The result is one of the most ethnically, culturally, linguistically, and religiously diverse nations on earth. The current background of Surinamese citizens today is as follows:

Creoles and Slave descents reprsent 23% of Suriname’s population. “Maroons” represent 10% of Suriname’s population Indians represent 35% of Suriname’s population. Javanese (Indonesians) represent 16% of Suriname’s population. Chinese represent 7% of Suriname’s population. Native Americans represent 4% of Suriname’s population. The remaining 5% consists of Whites, Jews, and other immigrant groups from places including Lebanon, and more recently, arrivals from Brazil.

While the primary language of government, administration, and education remains Dutch, the most common language on the streets is Sranan, a creole language based on English with a vocabulary incorporating Dutch, Portuguese, and African languages. To a large extent, Sranan (which was initially repressed by the Dutch, but encouraged by the military government of the 1980’s) serves as a Lingua Franca for the country. But due to the large and relativity equal sizes of the various ethnic groups in the country, Chinese, Indonesian languages, Indian languages, and Maroon Creoles are also still widely spoken, as is Spanish, English, and Portuguese. The civil war of late 1980’s closed many schools in the interior of the country, which caused further linguistic confusion, as it resulted in the shutdown of many primary schools which had previously taught Dutch. Today, there is great debate in Suriname over whether or not one language should be selected as the official language of the country, with some arguing for Dutch, Sranan, English, and Spanish. The question is far from settled, and the practical reality is that Suriname is extraordinarily linguistically diverse.

Predictably, Suriname is also religiously diverse. There are large populations of protestants (due to Dutch influence), but also large numbers of Catholics (influenced by proximity to Brazil and other heavily Catholic South American countries). Suriname also sports a number of animist African religions, and holds the distinction of having the highest proportion of Muslims of any country in the Western hemisphere, at 20%.

Thus, when we talk about Suriname, we are talking about a nation of incredible ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity. This of course has major implications for Surinamese migrants to the Netherlands and on the Dutch multicultural society.

Surinamese Migrants to the Netherlands

At the time of independence, in 1975, Dutch subjects living in the colony of Suriname were given the choice of Dutch or Surinamese citizenship. Amazingly, 200,000 out of a population of 450,000 left Suriname for the Netherlands – a level of migration that is staggering in size and scope. Today, the population of Suriname has rebounded to roughly 450,000, while 300,000 people in the Netherlands trace their ancestry to Suriname. While only 2% of the population of the Netherlands is Surinamese, 40% of the Surinamese population lives in the Netherlands.

Like all immigrant groups, the Surinamese experience in the Netherlands was initially rocky, with high rates of poverty, crime, drug use, and unemployment plaguing Surinamese communities. But, similar to the path followed by the Indo’s (immigrants from the Dutch colonies in Indonesia), Surinamese have slowly and steadily integrated into mainstream Dutch society without any major obstacles or delays. Unlike migrants from Turkey or the Middle East, Surinamese migrants spoke Dutch and were at least marginally familiar with Dutch culture. Additionally, the migrants who came from Suriname were generally far more educated than those who stayed behind, a fact which helped them find jobs and independence.

In a 2006 study, 40% of Surinamese respondents said they felt “Dutch” first and foremost. Of the second generation Surinamese surveyed (those born and raised in the Netherlands), a clear majority said that they felt, first and foremost, “Dutch.” By contrast, only 20-30% of immigrants and their descendants from Turkey and various Middle Eastern countries felt the same way. Clearly, Surinamese familiarity with Dutch culture and the Dutch language (amongst other possible factors), is allowing them to feel as if they are a part of the Dutch nation in a way that more recent migrants, who have no connection to Dutch culture, can not. Additionally, amongst immigrant populations, those of Surinamese descent are far more likely to agree with the statement that “the average ethnic minority resident is not doing enough to integrate,” while migrant populations from Turkey and Morocco are, according to the study, “the least likely to agree by far.” The fact that Surinamese feel a real pressure to integrate is evidence of their willingness to do so and the importance they place on becoming members of mainstream Dutch society.

Today, according to one commentator, Surinamese have “not just integrated into Dutch society, but have actually become a part of Dutch identity.” Despite the incredible diversity amongst Surinamese populations, assimilation into mainstream Dutch society has gone remarkably smoothly (as an interesting aside, many prominent Dutch soccer stars are of Surinamese descent). In fact, the diversity of Surinamese immigrants may actually be a cause for their rapid integration. Unlike Indo populations, which shared a more or less unified culture, Surinamese immigrant groups were so diverse and fractured that they were perhaps less able to resist absorption into mainstream culture. And though many cultural traditions of the various Surinamese groups continue to persist in the Netherlands, anecdotal evidence suggests that they are proving far more vulnerable to assimilation into Dutch culture than Indo culture has. Because Surinamese immigrants have only been living in the Netherlands for 35 years (prior to independence of Suriname, only a few thousand Surinamese lived in the Netherlands), the jury is still out on whether the diverse and varied Surinamese culture (and it’s constituent sub-cultures) will be able to survive independently in the sea of mainstream Dutch society. Will the Surinamese become part of the Dutch “multicultural” society, or become part of “Dutch” society? Only time will tell.