Liberation Day in Schoonoord today was all about having lunch together. Residents of Schoonoord and the surrounding area were invited to enjoy soup and sandwiches together. It is the first time that this is organized in Schoonoord.
The lunch is organized by the library, the village hall and Samen aan Tafel Schoonoord. “Freedom is a very big word, but in practice it can also be found in small things,” says Eva Dunlop, on behalf of Biblionet Drenthe. “So lunch is a very nice way to reflect on that.”
Freedom lunches and meals are organized throughout the country and even in the Caribbean on May 5 at the initiative of the National Committee 4 and 5 May. The freedom soup is the symbol, which was made this year by All of Holland Bakt-jury member Janny van der Heijden.
In Drenthe, freedom lunches or meals have been organized in more than forty places. Characteristic of the lunches and meals is that there are discussion cards and special placemats on the tables to invite a conversation about freedom. “It’s very casual. Everyone can just join in,” says Dunlop. More than fifty residents enjoyed lunch today and chatted with each other.
“Freedom means that we can be here and say what we think without being monitored,” says one resident, as she spoons her soup. “Of course within limits that exist in all kinds of ways,” adds her husband, who is sitting opposite her. “But those boundaries are wide in the Netherlands.”
Although freedom meals have been organized in the country for a number of years, this is a first for Schoonoord. The organization hopes that this is the start of a new tradition.
