Amy
Renes' host dad, Wim Philipsen and sister, Jet Philipsen, hold signs
while attending a demonstration in Amsterdam.
Maybe Dutch government officials are looking through my file now: 17-year-old American with anti-government tendencies. Highly doubtful and not even true, but I like to imagine my life as a fascinating movie. My life is not a movie. Still, my time here in the Netherlands has put me in some out-of-the-ordinary situations. One of my first interesting experiences was a demonstration. Hence the anti-government tendencies.
In the Netherlands, freedom of expression is very important, as it goes with democracies. From what I have seen, it is very important that the Dutch to be able to say something when things are not right. If it is important enough, they should be able to say it loudly.
Amy
Renes' host dad, Wim Philipsen and sister, Jet Philipsen, hold signs
while attending a demonstration in Amsterdam.
Demonstrations are, however, not a regular part of the Dutch life. My family told me I was lucky to see this demonstration because the last one happened several years ago.
My access to the demonstration came through my parents, who had received free train tickets from the workers’ union. I was invited along, to travel to the other side of the Netherlands, with my host dad and sister, Jet. Though it meant getting up early on a Saturday, I gladly agreed.
I could not believe I was going to be part of a demonstration. As far as I could remember, I had done nothing remotely similar in my life. I was excited and a little unaware of what a demonstration included.
The first thing I found out it included was a large crowd. This is the best way to make a point: lots and lots of people. This was easily accomplished with the fore-mentioned free tickets. Of course the money-respecting Dutch would not pass up on a free ride to Amsterdam.
We had a fairly hectic train ride alongside our fellow demonstrators. Many people had taken advantage of their train tickets. The amount of people on the trains was just a little preview of how many we would see during the whole day.
Finally, we reached the open area where the demonstration was taking place, between the Van Gogh and Rijks Museum. If I go back to that same place, I probably would not recognize it because, during the demonstration, it was just a mass of human bodies. I was quite blown away. I am not good at estimating, but we heard later that an estimated 250,000 people were in Amsterdam for the demonstration that day. I still can not imagine that number, even though I was there that day.
The three of us wedged ourselves into a corner of the crowd and watched a big screen showing the stage, which seemed about a mile away.
Just
a few of the demonstrators walk through Amsterdam, Netherland's
capital, to take the train home following the protest.
I was there simply to be there. I wanted to have the experience, see everything, and take some pictures. Even with these plans, I had fun getting in the demonstration mindset. I was mostly unaware of the issues discussed, but I figured out the timing of when to raise my hand and yell “Yeah!” with everyone else. Being mad at the government turned out to be very fun.
My dad, sister, and I watched speakers and bands for a couple hours. Of course we had to stand up this whole time because chairs were not given and quite unpractical since people were packed four to a square meter.
It really struck me how crowded it was. I came to the Netherlands this year wanting to become acquainted with the country, and I am sure that I had to squeeze past and be uncomfortably close with half the country during that one Saturday.
Still, I had a good time and am now proud to say I have been to a bona fide demonstration. We did make it home alive after a few long train rides, but I do not think demonstrating will become a habit of mine. Trying new things will be my new habit. And while I am doing that, I will be sure to keep an eye out for any suspicious government officials.