THE HAGUE – Newly elected D66 Member of Parliament Heera Dijk used her maiden speech in the Dutch House of Representatives to connect her personal family history with longstanding structural challenges in the Caribbean Netherlands. In her first contribution as a parliamentarian, Dijk addressed issues such as poverty, environmental concerns, and housing on Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba.
Dijk opened her speech with a poem written by her 12-year-old daughter in memory of her grandmother. Her mother passed away during the election campaign, a loss Dijk described as deeply personal. Despite the grief, she said it was a special moment to deliver her maiden speech on behalf of what is now the largest D66 parliamentary group in the party’s history.
Three Life Lessons
Drawing on three life lessons she said her mother taught her—independence, following one’s heart, and listening without judgment—Dijk outlined her personal background. She spoke of her family roots spanning Suriname, Curaçao, Aruba, and the Netherlands, and addressed her connection to the history of slavery, noting that she descends from both enslaved people and plantation owners.
According to Dijk, meaningful progress within the Kingdom is only possible if this full and complex history is acknowledged and confronted.
Focus on Caribbean Netherlands
In the political portion of her speech, Dijk focused explicitly on the Caribbean Netherlands. She raised questions about the Selibon landfill on Bonaire, expressing concern about environmental damage and potential health risks for nearby residents.
She also pointed to persistent financial pressures on the islands, including high housing costs and the rising cost of living. Dijk argued that temporary subsidies and pilot projects do not provide residents with sufficient long-term security and called for more structural policy solutions.
In addition, she questioned why funding for school meal programs in the Caribbean Netherlands is only secured until mid-2026, while similar programs in the European Netherlands have a permanent funding basis. Dijk said this discrepancy is difficult to reconcile with the principle of equality within the Kingdom.
Equality and Shared Identity
In closing, Dijk linked the concept of equality to cooperation and shared identity, referring to the recent success of Curaçao’s national football team. That achievement, she said, demonstrated that people do not have to choose between “here” and “there,” but can carry multiple identities at the same time.
With her maiden speech, Dijk positioned herself as an MP who brings together personal experience, Caribbean history, and structural policy questions in the ongoing debate about the future of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.