Many Caribbean Dutch victims of the benefits scandal
Many Caribbean Dutch victims of the benefits scandal
Photo: Neumine Marshall was also wrongly identified as a fraud. Photo: Sam Jones Productions
February 1, 2021 | Sam Jones
Caribbean Dutch people who are victims of the benefits scandal have taken the neighborhood back to the islands. “People have been terrorized and tell me crying that they are going back to the islands,” says claims lawyer Orlando Kadir.Lucia Martis from the Amsterdam community building organization ProFor also knows the stories. “People have been branded as fraudsters by the tax authorities and are afraid of getting into more trouble and fleeing to their country of origin.”Text continues below the video
Victim Neumine Marshall tells her story. By Sam Jones
It is estimated that around 30,000 parents in the Netherlands are victims of unjustified fraud with childcare allowance or victims of the 2013 tax authorities's tough approach. The cabinet has now acknowledged the mistakes, has resigned, victims have been promised an amount of 30,000 euros and the debt to government agencies will be forgiven. But much is still uncertain and the victims are still living in fear.
'It concerns approximately 8,000 Caribbean Dutchmen'
-Claims lawyer Orlando Kadir
The victims of the benefits scandal also include a “disproportionate number of families with a Caribbean background,” says Orlando Kadir, an injury and claims lawyer who assists various victims. According to him, it concerns approximately 8,000 Caribbean Dutch people. “Some people take two or three extra jobs just to repay their debts. Kadir quickly lists the abuses he hears from his clients. “People have been terrorized and tell me crying that they are going back to the Antilles.”“We prefer to solve our problems internally”Tahirah Kleinmoedig, Youth Protector in the Rijnmond region and recognizes the stories. “Many of our people are afraid of Child Care. Afraid they will lose their children and then they flee to the Antilles.” According to her, it's just the tip of the iceberg because “we prefer to solve our problems internally.” Even Kleinmoedig, who is from Curaçao, doesn't often hear the stories. “Hardly anyone dares.” But because she herself is also a victim of the benefits scandal, she does take care of something outside of work. “Every now and then, you get a PM or app from people looking for help. Then I'll refer them.” Caribbean Dutch, Surinamese and dark-skinned others were also discriminated against by the tax authorities, says Kadir. “People are talking about 'everything looks like a nest of Antilleans'. It's downright racist.”
'At the tax authorities, they talk about 'blacks', when they mean Antilleans'
— Lawyer Khadija Bozia
Lawyer Khadija Bozia, who manages around 30 victims — including Caribbean Dutch people — has been following the developments in the long-running scandal for years. “Around December 5, officials were not talking about “package day” but “package day” and they are talking about “black people” when they mean Antillean people. That is a gross form of discrimination,” says Bozia. “When you see what it did to people. People have been unjustly destroyed and financially and emotionally damaged. Trust in the government has been damaged,” says the lawyer. Petty is himself also scorned and humiliated. “They want their file but they can't do anything with it anyway”, Kleinmoedig quotes the tax authorities. “I was treated as a criminal. Two guards chased me when I went to collect my file from the tax authorities.” She is still seething when she tells her story.
'Caribbean Dutch people try to solve everything internally: keep it small is the motto'
-Tahirah Kleinmoedig, Youth Protector
“We won't be taking out our dirty laundry anytime soon. We are trying everything to solve it internally,” says Kleinmoedig. Kadir notes the same attitude with many of his Caribbean clients: “It happened to you. It's a shame. Keep it small. Maybe it will go away on its own.” The Dutch government may welcome the victims, but private creditors are already at the door. The debts that the victims have range from 30,000 to 200,000 euros. Injury and claims lawyer Kadir: “Twenty of the victims owe 30,000 — 35,000 euros and as much as eighty percent 130,000 — 200.00 EuroNeumine Marshall sometimes did not know how to provide her children with basic necessities. Photo: Sam Jones Productions
Martis (ProFor) “The newspaper says you're a fraud, so you get stressed because these are big amounts.” The result is that the bills cannot be paid, parents have no money for children's clothing. “People are going down the wrong path,” Martis notes. “They deliver 'packages' for a small amount of money and they sell their bodies, prostitution.”
“If you're in trouble, get help!”The material damage is extensive and on top of that the immaterial damage is added. Kadir. “That's 35,000 to 40,000 euros. I'm the only party that enforces that.” Many Caribbean victims are unable to claim that damage. Kleinmoedig believes that Caribbean Dutch people should not be ashamed to sound the alarm. “If you're in trouble, get help.”
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