Speech by the Minister for European Affairs and International Cooperation, Ben Knapen, at the presentation of the Geuzen Medal 2011 to Dr Sima Samar and the Dutch armed forces
Your Royal Highness, Dr Samar, General Van Uhm, ladies and gentlemen,
We are here today to present the Geuzen Medal. As we Dutchmen all learned in elementary school, the term ‘geuzen’ comes from the belittling remark that Karel van Barlaymond made to Margareta van Parma about her Dutch subjects who pleaded for some compassion: “Ce ne sont que des gueux”; “They are but ‘beggars”. The dissidents thereafter proudly used it as a nickname in their struggle against their king, who ruled the Low Countries with an iron fist. They fought for what we now call universal values and human rights.
In the Second World War, a group of courageous men and women who named themselves ‘Geuzen’ risked or sacrificed their lives for freedom and human dignity. The Geuzen Resistance 1940-1945 Foundation keeps their memory alive. We are all familiar with their heroism in this country and with the execution of 18 resistance fighters at the Waalsdorper Vlakte back then.
Today we honour people who keep the flame of freedom burning in our own times. The recipients of the 2011 Geuzen Medal are Dr Sima Samar and the Dutch armed forces. Both have worked for many years towards a humane society in Afghanistan and respect for human rights in general.
Dr Samar, this is not the first time you have received an award for your work in human rights. All your life, you have fought for the rights and needs of women and children, in the country of your birth and in Sudan. As a doctor, and later, as the chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, your life has been threatened many times. But these threats have never stopped you doing your work. You have helped many women by providing access to health care and medical training. You and your organisation have also recorded the violent incidents that have taken place in your country, and the parties responsible for them. This information will be invaluable one day, when perpetrators are held to account.
Your struggle is directed not only against injustice, but against its root cause: ignorance. Your work contributes to self-knowledge, which is essential for reconciliation. You openly question the interpretation of Islam in Afghanistan. Islam does not require women to cover themselves from head to toe. Islam does not prohibit women from getting an education. There are many in your country who do not want to hear this. They prefer to create their own version of reality, and hold everyone else in contempt. But thanks to you, the awareness is growing, progress is feasible.
Nation building is never easy. Starting from that remark about ‘les gueux’, the Low Countries’ struggle for independence lasted eighty years, and brought much pain and suffering. But the result was the formation of the Dutch Republic. This new Republic was not built in a day. It took time in those days to found a nation and establish peace. And it still takes time. In an age of electronics and instant gratification, it is something we often forget. Nation building needs determination, patience and a lot of time.
I speak on behalf of the Geuzen Resistance Foundation and everyone here, when I say that this only increases my respect and esteem for everything that you have achieved so far. And I wish you every success in the future.
Gratitude is also owing to the men and women of the Dutch armed forces. No one can know better than the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, General Peter van Uhm, that making the world a safer and more peaceful place can demand the ultimate personal sacrifice.
Conditions were hard for all our troops there. Their homes, for months on end, were containers. They were thousands of kilometres from their families, in a desolate country with a harsh climate, among people who speak languages they did not understand.
We can be proud of our troops. Around the world, they have introduced a new long-term strategy. The Dutch approach combines defence, development and diplomacy, the three D’s. Our troops connect with the people they meet. They listen, consult and initiate development. Their interest in the ‘Other’ is genuine. This is how they build bridges to peace.
The Geuzen Medal honours the commitment and courage of the Dutch armed forces. Most of the time, their important work in distant outposts is given scant attention. Through the award of this Medal, the Geuzen Resistance Foundation gives our troops the recognition they deserve.
Finally, let me focus on the Geuzen Resistance Foundation itself. This is the Geuzen Medal’s twenty-fifth anniversary. I congratulate the Foundation and wish them every success in the future. I hope you will long continue to pay tribute to role models whose work for freedom and human rights transcends the instant emotions of our times. People like Dr Samar, General Van Uhm and the members of the Dutch armed forces.
Thank you.