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the netherlands SOME TRACES OF COLA DEBROT The first issue of ‘Fraters CMM’ (2005) contained a contribution by Rien Vissers, CMM archivist, with the title: ‘Brothers and authors of Curaçao’. The brothers had taught, among others, the Antillean authors Tip Marugg, Jules de Palm, and Frank Martinus Arion. These writers occasionally refer to the brothers in their books and interviews. Tip Marugg, who had a Protestant background, spoke with great admiration of the instruction he had received from Brother Franciscus van Dieten. Recently the archivist made a special ‘literary’ discovery. A report of his findings follows. Cola Debrot’s portrait. Recently I found a fine little box, tucked away somewhere in the vast archives of the brothers. It contained an engraved silver cup. Upon opening the box I initially could only read: ‘Curaçao 1916 N. Debrot’. I immediately thought of the well-known author and diplomat Cola Debrot, founder of the Antillean-Dutch literature movement. I then read the entire inscription: Recuerdo à mi appreciable maestro fr. Herman Curaçao 1916 N. Debrot (‘A memento to my esteemed teacher Br. Herman’. Cola signed with the letter of his first name: Nicolaas.) The Antillean affiliation of the brothers with the authors went much further back than I had realized in 2005. Cola Debrot (1902-1981) hailed from a rich Antillean plantation family. His father’s family had a Protestant- Swiss background, his mother a Catholic-Venezuelan heritage. His father spoke mostly Papiamento, his mother Spanish. The family held liberal views on religious issues. Still, they had good reasons to send the young Cola to St. Thomas College of Willemstad, Curaçao, because it had a great reputation. J.J. Oversteegen writes this in the first part of the biography In het schuim van grauwe wolken: het leven van Cola Debrot tot 1948 (In the Froth of Grey Clouds: Cola Debrot’s Life until 1948). Most of the details in this article are taken from this book, published in 1994. 20
Class picture taken during the first years after 1910. Cola Debrot: first row, second from the right. The Antillean language debate Debrot took Dutch literature classes with Brother Herman Walboomers (1883-1967) during his last two years at St. Thomas College. They covered the period from 1914 through 1916. Brother Herman had arrived at Curaçao in 1914 and lived on the island until 1919. After his stay in Curaçao he taught Dutch for some decades at the Diocesan Teacher Training College in ’s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. Brother Herman used strict discipline in his classes and managed to make Dutch the language all students would be able to handle comfortably (before his arrival only the students in the more advanced classes managed to use the language adequately). He became intensely involved in the Antillean debate about language usage. The brothers promoted the Dutch language in the Dutch Antilles as well as in Surinam. They did this because, among others, the students would have better opportunities in their pursuit of higher education. Pastors showed more interest in the local languages since that would help them to remain closer to the people in their pastoral care. Top of the class Brother Herman, who completed his Master’s in Dutch literature in 1911, had an intense interest in poetry, as Brother Franciscus van Dieten did later. Brother Herman inspired Cola Debrot. It kindled the latter’s admiration of the Flemish poet Gezelle for the rest of his life. In the years at the college this boy, who belonged to the Antillean upper class, had many conversations with the brother. After his finals the boy went to The Netherlands to pursue higher education in Nijmegen. As token of appreciation he presented this beautiful cup to Brother Herman. The archives also contain two portraits he gave his former teacher. Debrot wrote his name on one class picture. It shows Brother Herman on the veranda in the background. Oversteegen incorporated this picture in his biography. The brother continued to take pride in his alumnus and admired him as his best pupil who had such outstanding achievements in the Dutch language. First publication Cola Debrot published his famous first work in 1935 Mijn zuster de negerin (My Black Sister), a beautiful, tightly constructed novella, which imitated the style of his friend and author E. du Perron and the literary periodical Forum. He was a well-known author, became a physician, and served as governor of The Netherlands Antilles for some years. It remains odd that Cola Debrot, who had gained such perfect command of Dutch under the guidance of Brother Herman, presented a cup with a Spanish inscription to express his gratitude. Or had his mother commissioned the engraving? Rien Vissers 21
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Page 5 and 6: CONCERNING BROTHER ANDREAS DO NOT R
Page 9 and 10: ‘PRISONERS ARE PEOPLE TOO’ On t
Page 11 and 12: Visiting Zonhoven. From left to rig
Page 13 and 14: Brother Louis de Visser invites his
Page 15 and 16: Shrine of Vincent de Paul at the ch
Page 17 and 18: From left to right: the Brothers Br
Page 19: CLOSURE VINCENT YEAR About eighty l
Page 23 and 24: sources ‘LOVE WITHOUT SELF-LOVE

brothers CMM

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