On May 5 we celebrate our freedom. This year the celebration will start in Brabant, in theater de Lievekamp in Oss. Part of that celebration is the annual 5 May lecture. This year he will be nominated by the Knight of the Military William Order, Lieutenant Colonel Gijs Tuinman. But Liam Spikmans (13) from Eindhoven also has a very important role. He wrote the children’s lecture this year.
Liam sits relaxed on his bed. One leg under his buttocks, the other dangling over the edge. In his hand the tablet on which his lecture is written. It may take two minutes. And that was quite a struggle. How do you explain to all the people in the theater room and at home in front of the TV what freedom means to you in two minutes?!
“We take the teachers at their word, so what they say has to be right.”
“Freedom to me means a good school, with teachers who tell the truth and good media,” he says wisely. “Because we take the teachers at their word, so what they say must be correct. And what is in the newspaper or on TV must also be correct. Otherwise you will think things that are not true.”
These are wise words from a cheerful, smart teenager. His interest in the war and the subsequent liberation was only really awakened when he was in Normandy with his parents and brother. What he saw there made a big impression. “We saw the cliff that the Americans, the Canadians and the other liberators had to climb. With all the Germans around it. That could only mean one thing: that you died,” says Liam. “But they did it anyway and it worked. I still find that so impressive.”
Last year Liam participated in the ‘War in my Neighborhood’ project in Eindhoven. That’s how he got to know Wies. A lady who was six years old when the war broke out. Liam takes his tablet and shows a picture of him and Wies. “Look, this is Wies. She lived at the Catharinakerk as a child.” Liam became a heritage bearer of Wies’s story. He has promised to continue to tell her story, even if Wies is no longer there.
“Even in a war there is hope.”
“What I learned from Wies is that there is still hope even in a war. For example, there was a sign from the bakery on the corner of her house. On it was a biscuit with jam. Wies only wanted one thing during the war. Like this.” One rusk. After the war, she immediately started eating it and you know how beautiful it is! Wies still eats a rusk with jam every morning. That’s wonderful!”
Yet we are not careful enough with our freedom, says Liam. “There is still war. There are still people who are hungry and in danger. That is also freedom. Feeling safe.” That’s why he didn’t hesitate for a moment when asked who was interested in writing the children’s lecture. The National Committee for 4 and 5 May selected Liam’s entry and now he will be on that big stage on Thursday.
“Boss of a country need to think a little more.”
He finds that very exciting. “I actually thought it would be for the mayor or something, but now it is suddenly very important with Prime Minister Rutte and such.” Afterwards he is happy with it and hopes that people will listen carefully. “You know, when there is a war it is usually because two important people are arguing. That causes a lot of ordinary people problems. They just want to live their lives. Bosses of a country should think about that a bit more.”
Of course he would prefer that there be peace everywhere. “But of course that will never work,” he says resignedly. “We should especially talk about it. About freedom. And learn from it for the future.”
Omroep Brabant broadcasts the program around Liberation Day live from Theater de Lievekamp in Oss. From 10.20 on television.