02 Sep 2025
I had the most wonderful and enlightening time with Henk, our lovely tour guide. Before going on the tour, I thought it would be about the queer struggle in the Netherlands, but instead, Henk made a very solemn and thought provoking connection to the Dutch political history at every step - and how queer people were always there, and were there for the country even when the country was not there for them. From his vast knowledge of dutch history and his dedication to the queer cause - my friend and i talked about it for hours after. This tour left me with questions that I will carry back to my own homeland - who were the queer heroes in my history? perhaps history books don't really carry the names of our queer historical figures, but they were a part of our freedom struggle nonetheless, they were there even if I don't know them. He not only made the queer dutch history relevant to everyone, no matter what our background is - international, dutch, straight or queer, and he kept it so grounded in the Dutch society.
This was such a well thought out tour, because even if I forget the specifics, I'll perhaps always get a tiny bit of courage from the men and women who have constantly stood up for the things they believed in & the things that mattered, to them and to people they cared about.