How do you reflect on freedom?
4 and 5 May in Delft
As a 22-year-old, I grew up in a time when freedom seems self-evident. I know of no curfews, no sirens that mean you have to take shelter, no food stamps or safe houses. And yet every year, 5 May feels special. Not just because it is a day when everything stops for a moment, but because it touches something deeper inside me. Especially now, at a time when wars seem closer than ever.
What does freedom mean to me, as someone who has never had to fight for it? Perhaps it is precisely that realisation: that I don't know what it is like to lack freedom, that makes it so important to dwell on it. I notice that I am becoming more and more aware of this. Certainly also because of what is going on in the world right now. Wars don't feel far away There are many young people my age who live in completely different situations. In a world where war is once again a reality for so many people, I feel grateful. Grateful that we can still celebrate freedom every year in the Netherlands.
This is why I choose to really pause on 4 May and listen on 5 May. One of the things on my list is the lecture on Kees Chardon, a young Delft man who helped hundreds of Jews go into hiding during the war. He was betrayed and died just before the end of the war, aged only 25. Trudy van der Wees, who wrote a book about him, tells his story during a series of lectures in Delft. Such a story makes you realise how valuable freedom is, especially when it involves someone almost the same age. Also on my list is exhibition "Vrij vertelt" in OPEN on the Vesteplein. Hanging there are wartime photos that were in people's homes for years. Not archive documents, but personal memories. These suddenly make the past a lot more tangible.
I end the day by celebrating freedom at the Liberation Festival in the city. A nice way to reflect on freedom with friends or family, in a light-hearted way, with music, conviviality and encounters. Will I see you at one of the spots? Let us know how you celebrate freedom. Because that is perhaps the power of this day. That we pause together, celebrate together regardless of age, origin or background. Because freedom cannot be taken for granted.
