BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 21. Colonial policies have pushed us to the brink of extinction, said James Finies, Vice President of Bonaire Human Rights Organization, during a press conference at the Baku Initiative Group office, Trend reports.
"By 2017, our population had taken a nosedive to 40 percent, and it is expected to hit rock bottom to less than a third by 2030. The population had already fallen below 32 percent at the end of last year," the VP said.
Finies emphasized that Bonaire is completely under the thumb of Dutch colonial rule, keeping it hush-hush from the rest of the world.
"As a people, we are still reeling from the devastating effects of the colonial policies that were forced upon us. The Baku Initiative Group has my deepest gratitude for giving us a platform from which to convey our situation and the lessons we've learned," he added.
To note, as a result of colonialism, the Dutch Empire expanded swiftly, and by the 18th century, it had borders in Guiana and Indonesia, as well as factories in India, Ceylon, and Formosa. Throughout its history, the Dutch Empire has represented numerous territories in various nations across the world.
Today, a number of territories of the defunct Netherlands Antilles still rely on the Netherlands: Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, and the Caribbean Netherlands, which includes the islands of Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius.
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