Remembrance Day and Liberation Day are coming up. The days when we remember our war victims and celebrate our liberation. Relatives and a number of municipalities are calling for all inverted Dutch flags to be put straight again for those days.
The inverted Dutch flag symbolizes the general dissatisfaction with the cabinet and the farmers’ protests NOS. After BBB came out as the big winner at the Provincial Council, farmers’ organizations and BBB called for the protest flag to be turned around again. But not everyone listens to that.
Hurtful
In an open letter on LinkedIn, relatives of fallen soldiers write that the upturned flag has a completely different meaning for them: ‘It is painful for us to see that flag hanging upside down. Our child, our parent, partner, brother or sister came home in a coffin under the same flag,” the letter reads. ‘Lost their lives in the service of the Dutch people. For your peace and democracy. It’s been years, but it feels like yesterday to us.’
They therefore ask everyone in the Netherlands to hoist the red, white and blue flags on May 4 and 5. ‘The symbol for peace, freedom, an independent and democratic Netherlands, and out of respect for the fallen and war victims.’