Meanwhile in 020: community punishment bonuses for discriminators and free name change to get rid of your slave name

The city council of Amsterdam debates on Wednesday about ‘diversity and anti-discrimination policy’. Naturally, this includes a ditch of motions submitted (Everything from point 34). This includes some remarkable joint proposals from DENK (opposition) and GroenLinks (coalition). Mourad Taimounti and Simion Blom, for example, argue together for ‘community crimes aimed at racism and discrimination’ and a free name change for descendants of slaves. And a disappointment: Amsterdam is not about naming the Coentunnel.

The duo wants the municipality to urge the Public Prosecution Service (OM) to create ‘community service places that are specifically designed for (contact) community service punishment, in which the perpetrator starts a learning trajectory about racism and discrimination, followed by a community punishment in which the perpetrator comes into contact with victims of racism and / or discrimination ‘.

Then: according to the pair, there are many Amsterdammers who are descended from slaves and apparently suffer from the ‘painful past’ that is anchored in their last name (although Taimounti and Blom do not give examples or numbers of them). And that must therefore be different. And for free, too.

“The descendants of enslaved make it easier to change their name, assist them if necessary, and fully reimburse the associated administrative costs.”

Speaking of name change. There is of course the issue of the Coentunnel named after VOC Governor General Jan Pieterszoon Coen, also known as the Butcher of the Banda Islands. DENK and GroenLinks want to enforce a name change, but discovered that the metropolitan city council (as with many other matters, but Amsterdam sees itself as the navel of the political system) is not about it at all. Rijkswaterstaat is the owner of the tunnel, so the cabinet is about to change the name. The parties therefore request Mayor Femke Halsema cum suis to work on this in The Hague.

To be continued.

Also read – Amsterdam College wants day off for Keti Koti ‘just like King’s Day’

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