KRALENDIJK – The documentary Si e baranca por a papia: Storianan di sclavitud by Aruban journalist and filmmaker Melissa Stamper will have its premiere on Bonaire on Friday, September 4. The screening takes place at 19:00 at Fuhikubo. Admission is free. Visitors who are able to do so are invited to make a voluntary donation to Fuhikubo, which is making this screening possible.
The title Si e baranca por a papia poses the question: if the rocks of Aruba could speak, what would they tell us about this period? In the documentary, Stamper explores the history of slavery on Aruba, a history that has long received insufficient attention, through the lens of historical sites that are still part of the island’s landscape today.
The documentary takes viewers to locations including Fort Zoutman, Seroe Biento, Moko, Rooi Tambu and Paardenbaai. Historians and those involved share which traces of slavery and colonial history are still present at these sites, and explain why so many of these stories remained virtually invisible in collective memory for so long.
With the screening on Bonaire, Stamper aims not only to share the history of Aruba, but also to open a conversation about the historical ties between the Caribbean islands. After all, the colonial and slavery past did not stop at the borders of a single island.
The documentary drew considerable attention during earlier screenings on Aruba and Curaçao. The premiere on Bonaire marks the next step in the effort to present the documentary on all the sister islands and to spark a broader Caribbean dialogue about this shared past.
