{"id":197515,"date":"2026-04-29T13:33:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=197515"},"modified":"2026-04-29T13:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:33:09","slug":"terug-of-niet-meer-en-meer-nederlands-caribische-studenten-verkennen-die-vraag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2026\/04\/29\/terug-of-niet-meer-en-meer-nederlands-caribische-studenten-verkennen-die-vraag\/","title":{"rendered":"Return or not? More and more Dutch-Caribbean students explore that question"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you stay where you studied after graduating, or do you return to your home island? Students from the Dutch-Caribbean islands struggle with that question. Employers are keen to have them back and travel to the Netherlands every year to persuade young people to return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To return home or not? That question is central to the Return&Rise evening at Buitenplaats Rozenlust.<\/p>

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\u201cBon bini, bon nochi<\/em>. Welcome and good evening\u201d, begins organiser Tanja Fraai at the Return&Rise event, for people from the Dutch-Caribbean islands who are considering returning to their \u2013 or another \u2013 island. The student association Dutch Caribbean Association Rotterdam (DCA) is a co-organiser. On this sold-out Wednesday evening at Buitenplaats Rozenlust, Dutch, English and Papiamento are spoken interchangeably, just as on the islands themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remigration<\/h2>\n\n\n
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All 150 tickets for the Rise&Return evening sold out, and there was a waiting list.<\/p>

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Six major employers have flown in to convince young talent to return. The Central Bank of Aruba, for example, has come with a team of six. In addition to Rotterdam, they will also attend events in Utrecht, Groningen and the two-day National Career Fair in Amsterdam. The Caribbean pavilion there has grown in four years from thirty to seventy different employers. Other employers present this evening are HBN Law & Taxs, Grant Thornton, Curoil, Maduro & Curiel’s Bank (MCB) and Aqualectra. All are driven to get people in the room excited about their company \u2013 and about the \u2018remigration schemes\u2019 such as plane tickets, support in finding housing, shipping furniture, and help with repaying student debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interest and doubt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of those interested is Tamika Raap: \u201cI came to the Netherlands with the idea: I\u2019ll go and stay\u201d, says the fourth-year Business IT & Management student at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. \u201cIn the final year I\u2019m starting to feel homesick for the warmth and sociability of home, Cura\u00e7ao.\u201d She has built a good life here and, after an internship, is already working in her sector. She hopes to explore her doubts about returning further this evening.<\/p>\n\n\n

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DCA chair Claudia Ponte da Costa is considering returning to Cura\u00e7ao after her medical degree.<\/p>

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Claudia Ponte da Costa, a third-year Medicine student and chair of the DCA, recognises that mix of interest and doubt. The islands suffer from a brain drain, with educated young people not returning after their studies. Although the medical student prefers to speak of a brain gain, \u2018because the islands have much to gain and we can contribute to that\u2019. She also has doubts about career opportunities: \u201cIf an island already has, for example, five internists, is a sixth needed? So I wonder: will I become a doctor my island needs, or one I personally really want to be?\u201d She is considering a minor in management or finance so she can be deployed more broadly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

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Een lijst met artikelen<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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