Marjo van Dijken is a household name within the Labor Party, especially in Groningen. She has a pin for 50 years of membership, was chair of the Groningen municipal council and a member of the House of Representatives. Van Dijken has experienced 1 May celebrations in full glory. She thinks it’s a pity that Labor Day is now celebrated less.
A full Treslinghuis in the Groninger Oosterparkwijk, the choir De Volksstem on stage with the Marianne song and of course the Internationale, a speech by ‘one placed above us’. The Groningen celebrations of 1 May are still clear in Marjo van Dijken’s mind. ,,When De Volksstem started the song ‘Ben Ali Libi, de Magicelaar’ I was immediately ready to go. So moving, but also a clear warning against debauchers.”
Deliver red tulips
But 1 May was and is more than that for Van Dijken. “You know, it started with delivering red tulips to older party members in the morning. Are we still doing that now? I really do not know. Volunteers were always asked for. I’ve never seen that request again. But that gesture, as far as I’m concerned, 1 May also stands for that. A moment of togetherness and looking after each other.”
For Van Dijken, Labor Day is also a day to show what social democracy has achieved. “Education that is accessible to everyone, that was not always the case before. As the first child of our family (and our entire family…) I was allowed to go to college. When I got there, I was confronted with unfamiliar manners and all kinds of words that I did not know. And then you have to remember that I was going to study Dutch.” Van Dijken just wants to indicate how great the distance to good education was in many places and from certain backgrounds. “Maybe it’s less now, but it’s still happening.”
Having a job and not being able to make ends meet
There is also an eight-hour working day. “We have a nice division of eight hours off, eight hours of sleep and eight hours of work. And that is also a point to consider on Labor Day. In addition to the bitter conclusion that it is a shame when very ordinary people with a very ordinary job and a responsible spending pattern cannot make ends meet. Then I know that the battle is not over yet.”
Since the beginning of this century, the celebration of May 1 has become less. “At the time, we were of course divided up to and including. The depillarization has good sides, because Christian gymnastics is of course nonsense. But with the depillarization, interest in the May 1 celebration also decreased.
We no longer look at each other
The diminished interest in the social-democratic movement also plays a role, Van Dijken realizes. “The number of members has decreased. But even then it is a pity that the celebration of May 1 has become less. For me, May 1 is a day of being together and knowing that you have a shared base. As local comrades, but also internationally. That is badly needed in this society.”
“And then you can talk about big things, but you see it reflected in much smaller ones. If you want to use a walker or pram on the sidewalk through the Hamburgerstraat in Groningen, you will not succeed. You will not pass all the parked bicycles. Have you found a parking space for the disabled in the city, you cannot get out of the car, because the door cannot be opened because of the bicycles chained to the pole. People don’t take each other into consideration.”
Everyone a piece of the fish
“Inclusion, in other words: everyone belongs and is allowed to belong,” says the former politician, “that should be the starting point and not just come along at the end of the delivery. Often with the conclusion that something has not gone quite right again. And that in turn means that it is becoming more difficult for ever larger groups of people to participate in society.”
A fact that, according to Van Dijken, is at odds with the idea of May 1, a day of international solidarity. “Then it is a pity that that day is celebrated in fewer and fewer places. It’s not just about economics or politics. It’s also cultural, it’s about people and fair sharing. Not about who catches the most fish, but that everyone gets a piece of the fish.”