Kerwin Duinmeijer
Encyclopedia
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, August 21, 1983) was a Netherlands Antillean
Netherlands Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...
boy from Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
who died as a victim of Pointless Violence
Pointless Violence
Senseless Violence or Zinloos Geweld is a term frequently used by among others the media, politicians and NGOs to define the nature of several shocking events in Belgium and the Netherlands in recent years. The term expresses the perceived senselessness of the occurred acts of violence...
. It has generally been accepted in the past that racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
had a major role in his murder, this is however a recent point of discussion.
Duinmeijer was stabbed to death outside a snackbar in the Damstraat. The perpetrator of this crime was the 16-year-old Nico Bodemeijer, a Dutch skinhead
Skinhead
A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods,...
whose Jewish father, awkwardly enough, was a survivor of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After he had been stabbed, Duinmeijer ran to the Dam Square
Dam Square
Dam Square, or simply the Dam is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the most well-known and important locations in the city.- Location and description :...
where he tried to acquire a taxi. The taxi drivers told Duinmeijer to wait for an ambulance, because they are legally not allowed to transport seriously injured passengers. The ambulance arrived 20 minutes later and Kerwin Duinmeijer was taken to hospital. However, the ambulance had taken too long and the medical help was futile; shortly after arriving at hospital Kerwin Duinmeijer died from his injuries.
Bodemeijer was condemned for the murder, but according to the judge there was not enough proof to define and see the act as an act of racism. Bodemeijer was placed under the authority of the Dutch government within the under 18's - TBS system, a psychiatric-based programme. He was released in 1988 but was jailed once more for another, non-lethal, stabbing, in a bar in 1990. In 1998 he threw a wheelclamp on the car of a parking warden, which generated some new publicity.
A memorial is held in the Vondelpark
Vondelpark
The Vondelpark is a public urban park of 47 hectares in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located in the stadsdeel Amsterdam Oud-Zuid, west from the Leidseplein and the Museumplein. The park was opened in 1865 and originally named the "Nieuwe Park", but later renamed to "Vondelpark", after the 17th...
every year on the 20th of August. In this park one can find the statue of Mama Baranka (Mother Earth (Rock)) -by the Dutch/Antillean sculpturer Nelson Carrilho- which was raised in remembrance of Kerwin. A street in Diemen
Diemen
Diemen is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands with a population of around 24,000. Diemen is located in the province of North Holland directly to the east of Amsterdam within the capital's metropolitan area.-Geography:...
was named after Kerwin. This street was later renamed Kerwin Lucasstraat.
The song Zwart Wit ("Black White") by the Frank Boeijen Groep
Frank Boeijen
Frank Boeijen is a Dutch singer and guitarist. His best known songs are Kronenburg Park about a prostitute, Zwart Wit about the racial murder of Kerwin Duinmeijer in Amsterdam and Twee gezichten about a split personality...
was based on the murder on Kerwin Duinmeijer.
"Kerwin, symbol of our time" (Kerwin, teken van de tijd), was a documentary film by Froukje Bos, broadcast by NOS-tv and European Broadcasting Union in 1984, receiving the Grand Prix d'Anube and press-award at the International film festival Bratislava 1985, as well as the J.B.Broeksz award 1985 (VARA).