WE EXPOSE INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA

The Cape Verdean diaspora in the Netherlands clearly demonstrates how a history of colonialism and slavery has resulted in an intergenerational trauma of the Cape Verdean today. The social issues deeply imbedded in the Cape Verdean culture and society such as self-identification, alcoholism, domestic violence, sexual abuse, mental illness, mass migration, colorism, single parent homes, etc. are not only prevalent in the country itself but also very present in the Cape Verdean diaspora, which means also here in the Netherlands (Beijers, 2004). In the context of Cultural Diversity I argue that the history of slavery and colonialism has resulted in an intergenerational trauma that has effected the self-identification and social issues of the Cape Verdeans today. Although all the social issues listed above are relevant, in this essay the issues of self-identification, colorism, single parenthood and crime are the only ones being discussed. Because all of them are too great to tackle in one single conceivable essay.

To define intergenerational trauma and its existence within the Cape Verdean population studies within the African American context were used, because the research about this phenomenon has prominently been done in the USA. This form of trauma has mostly been defined in the same manner. “Intergenerational trauma refers to the transmission of traumatic experiences across generations. Yellow Horse Brave Heart (1999) defines it as “the collective emotional and psychological injury both over the life span and across generations , resulting from a cataclysmic history of genocide.” Here it already becomes clear that centuries of trauma can cause intergenerational problems to the affected population.

Mullan-Gonzalees (2012) urges us to consider that enslavement and the subsequent emotional, physical, and psychological abuse that spanned generations is still remembered and mourned today by many African Americans today, according to many psychologists and sociologists. Psychological strain, joined with the unresolved traumas of chattel slavery and daily inner-city violence, has prompted many African American males to resort to the externalization of their pain. If we view this from a racial identity perspective, high rates of incarceration, homicide, and other externalizing and aggressive behaviors can be seen as a way of regaining a sense of power and esteem.

A syndrome that has been linked to this type of behavior is the Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (PTSS). This syndrome has been defined as a condition that exists when a population has experienced multigenerational trauma, resulting from centuries of psychological and emotional enslavement, and continues to experience oppression and institutionalized racism today (Mullan-Gonzalez, 2012, p.76). With this definition of PTSS I think It becomes even more clear how Cape Verdeans definitely suffer from the same awful legacy of trauma as the African Americans and other descendants of enslaved people today. Just looking at the history of the people it becomes logical for such a syndrome to have developed.

In The Netherlands, Cape Verdeans are known as ‘de stille migranten’ the quite migrants, because of how they blended in to society without demanding too much social attention and also working hard. According to Batalha and Carling (2008) The Netherlands is probably the only country in the world where the Cape Verdean population is sufficiently large, and the quality of statistics sufficiently good, to make quantitative comparisons with other immigrant groups. Cape Verdeans are often positioned between the Moroccans and Turks on the one hand, and the Surinamese and Antilleans on the other. One characteristic which Cape Verdeans have in common with the latter groups is the high proportion of single mothers. Among the Cape Verdeans, one in five women in their twenties is a single mother (Batalha & Carling, 2008, p.95).

Single parenthood is another characteristic which reflects Cape Verdeans’ positioning between the main ethnic minorities. one fourth of Cape Verdean households are composed by single parent families. Yet, it should be noted that these rates are not so different from those observed in Cape Verde, where 42 per cent of the children are brought up by single parents, usually the mother (De Freitas, 2016, p.162). The position and role of the Cape Verdean man is controversial within the Cape Verdean community. He is debated about and mocked in his society. Women are the parents who have to take care of raising the children, often next to working outside the house to earn sufficient income for the family. This style of living is not uncommon for Cape Verdeans in The Netherlands (Beijers, 2004, p.44). In addition, masculinity has been traditionally associated with polygamous behavior. Women also keep more than one relationship at the time but they are expected to start new relationships only if they are single. Cape Verdean women in Rotterdam appear to have become less tolerant of polygamist relationships (De Freitas, 2016, p.162).

The high divorce rate and the high number of single mothers in Cape Verde and diaspora are also explained as a result of the history of migration and separation due to slavery. Male slaves used to be separated from the women, sometimes to work abroad on plantations in Africa (the Portuguese forced many men to work on the plantations in Angola or St. Tomé and Principe). Even after the abolishment of slavery, the only way to leave the country or earn sufficient money was to go out as a sailor and stay away for a long time, or do seasonal work abroad. The explanation of current family structures, is that the separation of men and women and breaking of families is part of the Cape Verdean way of life (Beijers, 2004, p.44).

Not only in The Netherlands but also in the rest of the world Cape Verdeans are known for blending in so well and being mostly silent. But wherever they are they always keep that sense of longing for home and their “Cape verdeaness” alive. Batlha and Carling (2008) acknowledge that the event of migration for the Cape Verdean is multidimensional. The common experience of relocation serves as a basis for solidarity among Cape Verdeans in different locations, and even different countries. The trope of departure of leaving ‘nha terra’(my homeland) is evoked as a defining moment in the development of Cape Verdean diasporic peoplehood (Batalha & Carling, 2008, p.256).

Their identity construction is one of the main issues. Because of the mixed race (mestiço) origin of the people, even though the majority have embraced their African heritage, there exist debates about whether they are more African or Portuguese to this day. “The internalization of colonial oppression and simultaneous acquisition of upward social mobility led lighter-skinned, privileged Cape Verdeans, some of whom served as administrators in mainland colonies, to identify more with the Portuguese than with the Africans. While ‘racial democracy’ exalted racial miscegenation for obliterating racial distinctions, it simultaneously promoted whiteness as the social and physiological ideal. Thus, the colonial legacy of Cape Verde created a concomitant legacy of the promotion of one’s Portuguese heritage over one’s African heritage. (Batalha & Carling, 2008, p.261)”

The concept of Colorism naturally developed alongside the racial division in the country’s development. As the number of mestiços increased the race of the population became more diverse and complex. The strict black and white distinction, changed into “brown,” “light tan,” “dark tan,” and when skin color was not sufficient enough the type of hair, face and nose were also used (Batalha, 2004, P.49). That is why people still refer to each other as light or dark. Even though they are all creolos . Even hair became such a political instrument. For a long time straight pulled back hair mostly on women was the acceptable norm. If we look at cape Verdean youth in 2018 we can see that almost everyone boy or girl walks the streets with their natural hair. This switch began in approximately 2010 and Is linked to the accessibility to the internet and the influence of the American and European natural hair movement (Borges, 2017).

Direct consequences of this trauma, social and economic disadvantages have caused an increase in crime within the Cape Verdean youth. “In the past decade, Cape Verde has been facing severe and growing problems of youth delinquency and gang-related violence. The state has reacted to this challenge mainly with a securitization politics, expanding and modernizing its security forces. As a result, the Cape Verdean prison population has more than doubled over the same period. (Zoettl, 2014)” These problems also pertain to the Dutch context, with young Cape Verdeans now being associated with crime in Rotterdam (De Freitas, 2016, p.164). The youth is searching for a purpose and meaning within the rap scene, but then also want to associate with the violent gangster image and gangs.

Claudia de Freitas (2016) pointed out that in the Netherlands in the early 2000s young Cape Verdean men were identified by the police for criminal activities. This at the time came as a surprise, because of the “stille migrant’ status. Young Cape Verdeans scored the highest among all ethnic groups in two surveys measuring youngsters’ self-reported aggressive and delinquent behavior in Rotterdam. The high rates of criminality refer mostly to petty crime such as aggression, small thefts, etc. The majority of second generation Cape Verdeans have Dutch nationality. This makes it difficult to match the offenses they report with their actual participation in crime. She also argues that it should be noted that being known as ‘quiet’ may offer an extra motivation for Cape Verdean youngsters to adopt a tough behaviour at school as a way to avoid the shortcomings usually associated with falling into an underdog position. This could have led some of the youngsters to over-state their involvement with crime. Other factors such as problems at home, residence in relatively deprived neighborhoods, their over-representation in special education and a low level of education (in average), should be considered when talking about the cause of this problem. Linking the youth to crime without caution may lead to stigmatization and contribute to their segregation (De Freitas, 2016, p.165).

In this essay I have illustrated how in this day and age the heritage of trauma of the Cape Verdean population first of all exists not only in Cape Verde but also in the diaspora. In the Netherlands and especially in the city of Rotterdam where majority of Cape Verdeans reside the social issues and self-identification problems of the Cape Verdean is has prominent as in any other country.
There has been change in regards to for example how natural hair is being accepted and alongside it the African identity, but these changes are still on a surface level. The issue is still that the cause of the problems which is this trauma is not yet recognized. The issues in this community did not just appear out of thin air and are definitely not ‘the nature’ of black people, but something that stems from deep wounds passed on trough generations. With my essay and project within Cultural Diversity I want to voice this fact so the conversation about it can start. Our group has formed a collective who wants to tell the story from the other side, we want to decolonize the main story and talk about issues and perceptive that are often left out. Our goal is to start the conversation about the presence of colonial thinking in our daily lives. And by focusing on the general idea of trauma and PTSS to tell stories from the other perspective and by simply sharing story after story being in the form of a zine, film or photography. I can begin to tell the story of the Cape Verdean.
I believe the Cape Verdean in Rotterdam is the perfect example of a whole community of people that hasn’t been heard enough. I want my project to help break the silence about this issue in Rotterdam in the hope that someday we will be seen and begin to heal.

References

Batalha, L. (2004). The Cape Verdean Diaspora in Portugal: Colonial Subjects in a Postcolonial World. Lanham: Lextington books.
Batalha, L. & Carling, J. (2008) Transnational Archipelago: Perspectives on Cape Verdean Migration and Diaspora. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Beijers, H. (2004). People with a Mission: Meanings of Psychosocial Distress of Cape Verdean migrants in The Netherlands (thesis) Retrieved 8 December 2018, from http://amma.socsci.uva.nl/theses/beijers.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0YNkvcIRwAd8NuKrFSt6HzFDznvM58ArtO3KbKCVLRpJ-0EaM4BBKhChQ
Borges, S. (2017). Uso do Cabelo natural ganha mais espaço na sociedade cabo-verdiana Retrieved 10 December 2018, from http://kriolmodel.blogspot.com/2017/04/uso-do-cabelo-natural-ganha-mais-espaco.html
De Freitas, C. (2016). Cape Verdeans in the Netherlands: population profile, identity and integration. Retrieved 8 December 2018, from https://pascal.iseg.utl.pt/~cesa/images/files/diaspora2016_texto8.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3qpAK3E81HCSHmC-umdOJdOuBkc9uI0K25U6OSZUliE0uanitH0ZQ7BtM
Hampton, R., Gullotta, T., Crowel, R. (2010). Handbook of African American Health. New York: Guilford.
Mullan-Gonzalez, J. (2012). Slavery and the intergenerational transmission of trauma in inner city African American male youth: A model program—from the cotton fields to the concrete jungle. (Dissertation). Retrieved 17 November 2018, from
Stewart, C. (2007). Creolization: History, Ethnography, Theory. London: Routledge.
Zoettl, P. (2014). Morabeza, cash or body: Prison, violence and the state in Praia, Cape Verde. Retrieved 17 November 2018, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1367877914528530