Anton de Kom's goal was not limited when he wrote his book "We Were Slaves in Suriname." The book, which became a classic and spread throughout the world, sought to shake off the shackles of Dutch rule in his country, Suriname. He expressed his broader goal and conviction, saying: “No people can reach full maturity as long as they remain burdened by an inherited sense of inferiority.”
The feeling of inferiority, the fascination with the victor, and the “Khawaja complex” are no less destructive in their impact on peoples than the occupier’s deadly weapons of war. Through starvation, intimidation, division of ranks, and attempts to break the will, the occupier works to control the peoples whose blood and wealth he absorbs. Therefore, resisting the occupation, Whether it is military, or economic, you must start by getting rid of the feeling of inferiority.
This wonderful book takes us inside Suriname, a multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual country in northern South America, which was suffering under the weight of the Dutch occupation, where we hear between its lines the sounds of the groans of the tortured, but also the sounds of their struggle in the face of injustice.
Anton de Kom: He was born in Suriname in 1898. His father was a gold prospector and his mother was a simple farmer. He was exiled to the Netherlands because of his struggle against colonialism. He worked there as a writer and journalist and continued his political activity. His book in our hands caused a great stir, even though its first edition was deleted by censorship, and its distribution was permanently banned in Suriname and other Dutch colonies. In 1940, De Kom joined the Dutch resistance against the Nazi occupation regime, after which he was arrested and died in Nazi concentration camps in 1945.
