Feest van de Mensheid. Wát een feest, mensen! Al die nationaliteiten, prachtige ontmoetingen, de expo 'Wij Zijn Zaanstad', heerlijk eten, toffe muziek en workshops.
“I don’t have it easy at the moment, because my last friend here in Zaandam just passed away. Now I don’t have anyone, except family abroad. I call them every Saturday. But I don’t complain. Never! I enjoy every day; I enjoy the sunlight and the view on the trees from my window on the top floor of my apartment building. Did you know I still drive?
“I dream about to one day build a new house in Sri Lanka. Due to the civil war, I fled the country and with that the violence and the hunger almost twenty years ago with my husband and four young children. It was a very traumatizing time. Thankfully, I have four fantastic children and I got used to the culture here, which is so different. I also distract myself through my work at Schiphol Airport. But even so, whenever I think about home and my family, tears come into my eyes. On those days, my mouth smiles but my heart aches.
“In the beginning of the ‘60s he stood in front of my door in Chili: Arnold, a Dutch sailor. He worked on the same ship as my brother and they became friends. During a vacation he came to visit. Sadly, he only stayed one day, though shortly after I received a letter in which he declared his love for me. I hesitated. Wouldn’t he, as a sailor, have a different lover in every port?
