SV Real Sranang exists 62 years. Founded in 1960 by a number of migrants from Suriname, the club from Amsterdam has grown into more than a football club. Program maker Koen Bugter explores what makes the club so special in a four-part series. In this third episode Koen tastes the famous Surinamese sandwiches and we see that it was not always fun at the club due to discrimination.
The kitchen of Real Sranang is so famous that players from other clubs leave their canteens to eat at Sranang. “Yes, we played football today at TOG, which is located next door, and we found this canteen. Delicious food with roast chicken and spare ribs. I think I will come more often,” says an enthusiastic footballer who is a guest at Sranang. “Opponents are always happy when they have to play against us because of the good food,” says chairman Jerrel Linger.
Sranang’s kitchen is run by chef ‘Pita’, who cooks the dishes “according to an authentic recipe”. Pita proudly explains that he “makes the tastiest Surinamese sandwiches in Amsterdam and perhaps in the Netherlands.” From bakkeljauw sandwich to nasi and from pom sandwich to roast chicken. “These are dishes with a Creole, Chinese and Javanese background that I learned from my grandmother and my mother. Sometimes they are also Dutch dishes, because we also bake chips.”
Pain in the heart
Former player Hendrik Comvalius also enjoys Surinamese dishes such as pom sandwich, bakkeljauw and fried rice. “But I do think it’s important that it contains vegetables. Nowadays, young people opt more often for fries. That hurts my heart. Diabetes type II is common among Surinamese, mainly because too little leafy vegetables are eaten. More exercise would be good too.”
Racism
The food is in great demand at Real Sranangt.when different teams of the club are playing. The Surinamese club is always fun, but it hasn’t always been that way. Hendrik Comvalius explains: “If we used to go to a club (in the late 1980s, ed.), it could happen that we heard discriminatory and racist lyrics. Especially if we played great football with tick-tock football.” There have been situations where bananas have been thrown on the field. “The referee did little about it. This ensured that we stood up for each other. It sometimes got out of hand and players were suspended. But it was not systematic. We also played very nice matches where the audience for our game applauded.”
Joyce Sylvester is a Dijkgraaf at the Amstel, Gooi and Vechtstreek Water Board and also has a connection with Real Sranang. Her mother worked in the kitchen and her father worked in the technical service, among other things. He drew the stripes from the fields. “I was also confronted with discrimination and racism. My parents told me and my sisters that it is important to keep your own course and not to worry about people who discriminate and are racist. It happens, those people are there But you have to denounce it, because it’s not right.”