This past Sunday, a ceremony filled with rich and interesting content marked the formal unveiling of the Anne Frank statue in the Wilhelmina Park in Oranjestad.
The ceremony attended by many dignitaries and government officials impressed and enchanted invitees with brilliant speeches, eloquent readings and many well-thought out symbolic gestures, carrying the message of Tolerance and Solidarity forward.
Board members received praise from Aruba’s first lady, Mrs. Doina Eman who is the foundation’s patron and godmother, for executing a flawless program, and delivering a world-class ceremony attended by international leaders such as Martin Luther King III, Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp, the former director of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam Hans Westra, and Aruba’s Prime Minister Mike Eman.
Members of the board of directors of the foundation worked tirelessly to put the program together, especially Gwennan Boekhoudt in charge of International Relations and Special Affairs who showed great creativity and dedication in orchestrating the unveiling.
Also worthy of distinction, foundation president Diana Gonzalez-Pieters, whose heartfelt and intelligent address was enthusiastically received by the audience as she spoke with great conviction and sincerity reiterating the foundation’s credo.
The audience was also appreciative and moved by the words of a young Aruban poet, surprisingly mature and insightful for her age, Angelle Stamper, whose beautiful words expressed hope for the future, in a better world, where freedom, human rights, liberty and equality are respected and protected.
RESPECT LIFE…always remember was founded to safeguard the rights of every member of society in Aruba, promoting tolerance, solidarity, freedom and equality of every co-citizen, and fighting specifically against practices of: racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia, which may rear their heads at any time.
Other foundation board members include Jose Fernandes Perna, vice-president; Martha Goldenberg-Lichtenstein, secretary, and Shereen de Cuba as treasurer, who also willingly donated their talents to the success of the event while volunteer emcee Lisa de Lannoy, charmingly navigated the line-up of speakers and ceremonial acts.
The statue of Anne Frank who kept a diary while in hiding during the 2nd world war, and perished in a concentration camp just before the end of the war may be visited in the Wilhelmina park, she is depicted with her hands are bound but her gaze if eternally optimistic, gazing up into the sky with hope and optimism for a better future. The statue is the work of Dutch artist Joep Coppens, and is cast in bronze.