Page 18 - Amigoe Aruba, Curacao

6 ZATERDAG
9 APRIL 2016
AWE NO: Making Noise to Fight Crime
‘Bochincha!’ is a well-known word in Curaçao. It
means noise. It is anything but negative. The move-
ment AWE NO [Not Today] is using noise to draw at-
tention to something negative in a positive way.
By Elisa Koek
“There’s too much crime in Curaçao,” says initia-
tor Danny Yanga. “That’s why we ask everybody
to go outside on April 16th, wearing an AWE
NO t-shirt, carry pots and pans, and make noise
together. The positive sound can strike sparks
everywhere.” The noise protest will be followed
by a big concert that same evening.
Danny Yanga was born in Curaçao and has
always been an entertainer. He participated in
the Tumba Festival, and played with artists like
Doble R and Magic Sound. In Holland, he played
the lead part in the musical Lion King. He loved
being on stage, but after a few years, life as a
star became too much. “I missed my family, and
being free to visit my island whenever I wanted
to do so. My life revolved around musicals, and I
realized this wasn’t the way I wanted to live.”
Danny moved back to Curaçao in 2014, but
even before moving back, he was already
thinking of plans to unite people: a movement to
spread positivity. “I noticed people were really
startled about the crime rate, so I wanted to do
something about it, something that would unite
people against crime. When a man was shot
during the Carnival celebrations this year, I knew of a stable lifestyle without crime. That’s what
this was the time to make it happen.” Danny
started AWE NO, a movement which aims at
IN tShPeOT LIGHT
People call him crazy ‘ Doing the Vierdaagse is more than
and can’t even begin to an excuse for a trip to Holland’
understand his motives,
but for Rensley Victoria Rensley
it’s a sheer fact every Victoria
year: the ‘ Vierdaagse’
in Holland. For the tenth
time this year Rensley
jumped on a plane to
Holland to walk for four
days during this event in
Nijmegen. His 10th anni-
versary is extra special,
because it’s the 100th
Vierdaagse ever.
By Elisa Koek
“When I lived in Nijmegen I supported the people from the Antilles,
but I never participated,” Rensley tells while reminiscing about his
time in Holland. Like many people now, he also couldn’t under-
stand why people from the tropical Caribbean wanted to run the
Vierdaagse in Holland. Now, he’s the one running while holding
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But, what’s so important about this event? For Rensley it goes a
lot further than an excuse for a holiday in Holland. “Although that
is important too,” he laughs. “I have a connection with Holland, so
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again. However, now it’s a goal I want to achieve every year. I’ve
always loved sports and It feels amazing to train for this goal and
to actually do it this summer.”
During the last ten years Rensley became better known in Hol-
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people from Curacao participate in the Vierdaagse, people are
interested and I get them to listen.” The social aspect of his trip to
Holland became more and more important to Rensley. He already
raised awareness for people with disabilities, childcare, and this
year he is focusing on mental care. To him, the right mental care
can do great things for the island. “If you’re not happy, you can’t
get far. Many people walk around while they need mental care
and help, but are not getting it for years. With the right help, these
people can contribute instead of create trouble for the whole com-
munity. During several receptions in Holland, I can get attention for
this.”
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making people aware and uniting everybody.
The start of AWE NO is a peaceful noise pro-
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violence in neighborhoods and seems to be
very effective. “Noise is contagious. If you hear
a neighbor participating when you aren’t, you’re
very aware of the fact that you’re not making a
statement against violence. We want to inspire
others and wake them up.” Because New Year’s
is celebrated with many bangs in Curaçao,
Danny thinks this kind of protest suits the island.
“We welcome the new year with noise, so let’s
welcome a fresh start without violence the same
way.” The noise protests will take place at vari-
ous times in the afternoon, at 12:00 noon, 13:00
PM, and 14:00 PM. The protest day will end with
a big concert by over a hundred local artists.
AWE NO doesn’t stop there. After the 16th of
April, they will start visiting districts around
the island. On weekends, they want to offer
people educational courses, but also to unite,
debate with, and talk to people. “Inspiration and
motivation are keywords of AWE NO. We want
to create chances for everybody, and get them
interested in choosing the right path, the path
AWE NO is all about: striking sparks to spread
positivity.”
5 Things You Can
Dispose of While Spring Cleaning
You are underwear, out-of-style clothing from the 60’s? Stop
attempting to begin hanging onto these old pieces that you’re not going
your spring cleaning, but to be wearing. If you need to purchase new clothing,
where do you begin? don’t do that unless you’ve parted with the old, oth-
erwise you’re just adding more clutter. Trash items
Excess clutter can impede upon your spring clean- that are torn or damaged, and if you can, donate
ing efforts, so decluttering your home will help you items that are in good condition.
complete that spring cleaning project. Here are Expired Medicines - If the date has expired, it’s
¿YHWKLQJV\RXFDQJHWULGRIWRGD\WRIUHHXSPRUH time to trash that medication. Expired prescription
space in your home: drugs can be harmful rather than helpful, so dispose
of old medicines. Be careful to safely and properly
dispose of the medications to avoid any incidents,
such as animals getting in your garbage and acci-
dentally consuming the potentially harmful meds.
Old Magazines and Newspapers - Those news Tupperware Containers - Lids may be disappear-
and entertainment articles are of the past, so why ing, cracks in the plastic may be developing, or you
hold onto additional paper clutter in the present? may just have way too many containers. Do you re-
Be honest with yourself: you’re not going to go back ally need all those plastic storage containers? Toss
and read these articles, so don’t let old magazines the damaged containers as well as the ones you
and newspapers clutter your household. don’t actually use because these storage containers
are ironically taking up storage space in cabinets
and in your home.
and get rid of old clothing. Holey socks, raggedy
SPRING CLEANING