Kolebra Bèrdè
Between Kas Chikitu, Marchena, Morgenster and Veeris lies Kolebra Bèrdè — the Green Snake — so called after a cemetery at the location. The origin of the name is unknown. The cemetery was consecrated in 2003 and declared a national monument, but was formerly the cemetery of shame and was popularly called a chiké (di porko), a pigsty. That was a piece of unconsecrated earth at various cemeteries on Curaçao where criminals, prostitutes, non-believers and everyone who did not abide by the Catholic or social rules were buried.
Sweets for the dead
"At Culebra Berde, where the public sinners were formerly buried, it was the custom to treat the dead to sweets," Father Brenneker tells in Sambumbu. "Sweets, in small bags, were thrown over the wall from outside. Boys from the neighbourhood knew this and lay in wait to pick up the little bags and secure a haul of sweets."
The April Murders
During the Second World War, 420 Chinese stokers from Rotterdam went on strike to improve their life-threatening working conditions on Shell tankers and for protection against the violence of war at sea. Tankers were during the war a strategic target for German submarines. The striking Chinese were interned in the Suffisant camp on the Sportlaan. At the insistence of the Shell management the local police and the Shell security went to the camp to put an end to the strike. During this confrontation 15 strikers were shot dead. Older residents still remember the red trail of blood that the hearse left behind in Suffisant.
National day of remembrance
The strikers were buried anonymously at Kolebra Bèrdè. The event seemed to have been forgotten for years until the author, physician and researcher Nizaar Makdoembaks documented it. As chairman of the Stichting Eerherstel Oorlogsslachtoffers van Curaçao (SEOC, Curaçao War Victims Rehabilitation Foundation) he worked for the official recognition by the Curaçao government of the deceased as war victims. Since 2012, 20 April has been proclaimed National Day of Remembrance "the April Murders" (de Aprilmoorden), on which ceremonies take place at the military base in Suffisant and at Kolebra Bèrdè.
Meanwhile a name board with the names of the victims has also been placed, and at the location of the camp — which is nowadays called Muizenberg Bieu — signs, among other things, have been placed in memory of this gruesome event.
The April Murders form part of Curaçao history because they illustrate the working conditions during the Second World War.
Sports fields
Behind the cemetery lie the sports fields of Marchena, the cradle of many football and baseball players who later made a name for themselves in the Curaçao sports world.
The neighbourhood police officer, Pedro Matrona, was trainer and manager of the youth teams Marchena Ariba and Marchena Abou, which regularly played against each other. The matches between the famous baseball team Marchena Braves and the teams from various neighbourhoods, such as that of nearby Sint Helena, were also held here.
Kolebra Bèrdè and Ròm bèrdè (green rum)
Until around 1970 there was also a shap, as it is called, at Kolebra Bèrdè: the Bar Kolebra Bèrdè of Nèto Koster, and also a petrol station. When the petrol station was expanded, the bar, known for its authentic Ròm Bèrdè, moved to the Breedestraat in Otrobanda. It is nowadays a well-known meeting place and tourist attraction. The latter not only because of the green rum; being allowed to consume strong drink on the pavement along the public road also seems to be a unique experience for many American tourists.
Sources
- De Aprilmoorden.nl
- Brenneker: Sambumbu, various editions
With thanks to Kenneth Valpoort, Etzel Payá-Rosenda, Jeroen Heuvel and Frank Hanze.
