Jeangu Macrooy will sing his lungs out during the Eurovision Song Contest and is proud that he plays for the Netherlands. But there is one day a year that he is struggling: during Keti Koti, the celebration of the abolition of slavery.
Jeangu Macrooy, 26, is at a point in his life that he could only dream of a few years ago. He calls his decision to leave Suriname 7 years ago and say goodbye to his twin brother to follow a music education here, he calls the most important decision in his life. He now has a number of hits to his name and he represents the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest.
“It won’t be?”
But there is something rubbing about the singer-songwriter when asked about his experiences with racism in the Netherlands. “I have never been openly confronted with it myself,” he replies first. But soon after, he changes his mind.
“However, I have experienced situations that I thought would not be because I am the only black person in this place? I know what it is like to sit on the train in front of someone and that person takes his bag and presses this one against him. “
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Song about ignorance
Macrooy’s biggest hit is the song Grow, with which he would perform during the Songfestival in Ahoy last May. Yet there is another song that is more important to himself: Gold, his first single in the Netherlands, released in 2016. The song is about ignorance and how he was confronted with the enormous wealth here on arrival in the Netherlands.
“I knew that the Netherlands was rich, but I had not realized it as rich. It became clear that part of that prosperity came from the colonies. At the expense of people whose lives were sacrificed to make a profit. “
Reporter Vanessa Lamsvelt walked through Amsterdam with Jeangu Macrooy
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Watch the report of the walk with Jeangu Macrooy here
Keti Koti in the Netherlands is still small
The abolition of slavery is celebrated every year on 1 July in Suriname during Keti Koti, which means ‘broken chains’. It is a national holiday in Suriname and Jeangu is shocked that it remains with small, local commemorations in the Netherlands.
“I walk to the commemoration in Oosterpark in Amsterdam every year and I notice that many people here are not aware of what the day is about and why it is important. I find that very painful. Keti Koti is the only day that I not quite seen feel here in the Netherlands. “
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Musical success
Musically it has the song Gold brought him great success, he was named 3FM Serious Talent in 2016. But the message of the song, he believes, has not gotten across.
“No, I don’t think a lot of people realize that until much later, and I think there are people who don’t understand it even now. But I hope that will change.”
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