Bureaucratic Aruba, and Belgian principles collide to produce heartbreak
A heartbroken reader writes: I had a good friend here, Belgian-born, like me, and she is a house doctor. She was asked a few years ago by AZV to come and work on the island as a GP, because they were short of house-doctors.
She left Belgium, with her partner and two children to take over Dr. Van Hoorenbeeck’s practice. Now comes the sad part: They are really happy here, the practice is running perfectly and they wanted to stay….but…..DIMAS made their life hell!!! They did not want to grant the doctor’s partner a permit, yes, they were living together, under a samenlevings contract, as a legally bound couple, in European spirit, committed but not legally married – so DIMAS kept sending them threatening letters that, if they don’t leave the island ASAP, he will be deported!!!!
So think about it, the GP was first ASKED to come here!
She looked after 2,500 patients.
AZV, the health insurer, promised to help solve the partner’s permit challenge.
She even talked to a few ministers, they promised to make the issue go away, but nothing.
Consequently, with pain in their hearts, they decided to leave and go back to Belgium in November!
Very, very sad!!
It’s November, and they are gone. What a loss, she is/was a wonderful doctor, specialized in tropical disease, but apparently there is no cure for bureaucratic fever.
She is one that went on house-calls when no one else wants to, I am heartbroken.
End of the reader’s note.
I checked, and heard the following: The problem with Dr Katrien Adriaenssens was not with her permit, but with the permit for her Belgian partner. Dimas was not willing to give him a permit because they were not legally married. Following months of negotiations, Dimas wouldn’t budge. I believe that when Dimas finally relented, the family was fed up and left anyway!
I cannot even begin to think of the emotional consequences for 2,500 patients, and for the doctor’s family members.
As I said: Crazy Island Life story
Aruba is bureaucratic, and the Belgians famously hardheaded, marriage is out of the question, and then these forces collide to produce heartbreak.
I also heard of an EPB teacher, who worked here for six months, had excellent results, a wonderful evaluation, EPB really wanted her to stay, they NEEDED that teacher, but she couldn’t stay, because she has a Belgian school diploma, not a Dutch one….They wanted her to go back to school for FOUR years at IPA in order to obtain the Dutch certification, no, no other accreditation options.
You can’t make shit like that up!
