Latest from Fréderike Geerdink
In a Diverse Corner of the Netherlands, Geert Wilders Didn’t Win
Following Geert Wilders’ victory, fear has dissipated and given way to a reckoning – and somewhat uneasy affirmation – of what it means to be a Dutch Muslim and person of color in the Netherlands.
Kurds Are Poised to Vote for a Kemalist
That Demirtas, a political prisoner, is not electable doesn’t seem to bother his Kurdish fans. Many of them believe that Demirtas wants them to vote for Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), even if they neither trust nor like him. To the Kurds, anyone with a chance to defeat Erdogan is a win.
Groningers Struggle as Dutch Gas Debate Flares Up
Residents in this unassuming, agricultural part of the Netherlands are in the political crosshairs of the biggest European crisis in decades. When Russia invaded Ukraine eight months ago, the Dutch government was already reducing gas from its Groningen gas fields. Now there are calls to reopen the taps to bring down gas prices and weaken Vladimir Putin.
The Legal Battle for the Future of Scotland’s Highlands
In northern Scotland, along the wide and rugged coast, a high-tech platform will soon be built to launch rockets. It will provide the community with jobs and the local coffers with a bigger budget. But first, a court battle against Scotland’s biggest private landowner had to be won.
Why Kurds Fight
Whoever “goes to the mountains” — the metaphor that Kurds use for joining the PKK — must undergo an education on a wide range of issues, from the basics of evolutionary biology and early human migratory patterns out of Africa to the intricacies of Kurdish nationalism and many things in-between.