Page 12 - AHATA

A9
LOCAL Thursday 19 december 2024

Meet Aruba’s biggest hero
Boy Ecury

(Oranjestad)—This past May who printed and distributed the risks of him being active On November 6th, 1944,
4th, Aruba as well as The the rebellion newspaper. This again in the big cities. Ecury was executed. He was
Netherlands commemorat- would be the first of three re- Eventually, he proved him- only 22 years old.
ed those who sadly perished bellion group that he would self right. On November 5th,
during the Second World join throughout his 4-year ser- 1944, Boy Ecury was arrested Ecury was buried with mili-
War. As is known around the vice to the resistance. by German soldiers. He was tary honor. In 1949, the Aru-
globe, this chapter in world placed in the “Oranjehotel” ban Government erected
history is one of the most Boy’s primary task as mem- prison in Scheveningen, The a monumental bust of him
tragic yet, and many soldiers ber of the group was to dis- Hague, where he was ques- in front of what is now the
and rebels have died on the tract the German soldiers tioned. Despite being given linear park trail, and in 1984
frontline during this time. while others ran into hiding away by an acquaintance, he received the Resistance
into alleyways. This he was he himself never gave away Memorial Cross postmortem.
One of those rebels who able to do because of his the names of his comrades. Source: “De Kolibrie op de
have fought against the skin color and confronting Famously, he told his cell Boy’s life motto was this: “In Rots (en meer over the ge-
Nazi regime, was an Aru- demeanor. Boy also partici- mate: “I will die with a smile my father’s house, there is schiedenis van Aruba)” by
ban named Segundo Jorge pated in the multiple sabo- on my face.” no place for a traitor.” Evert Bongers.
Adelberto “Boy” Ecury. Born taging operations against
in Aruba on April 23rd, 1922, the German military oc-
Boy spent his childhood on cupying The Netherlands.
the island, before being sent These included bombings on
to The Netherlands by his fa- German military trucks and
ther when he was 15 years trains. The group also helped
old to continue his studies people go into hiding, as well
abroad. This was in 1937, as opened fire against allies
three years before WWII of the Nazi regime. In these
broke out. operations, Boy really stood
out for his cold bloodedness.
During the war, he actively
participated in the rebellion In 1943, he received a no-
in The Netherlands against tice to be placed for work in
the Nazi regime, but his re- Germany. This he refused, of
bellious streak and constant course, and went into hiding
drive to fight for justice be- using multiple addresses in
gan even before the war multiple cities. Because he
broke out. Being a person was a wanted man, he of
of color with a Haitian heri- course could not continue
tage living in The Nether- to be active as a rebel. How-
lands made him vulnerable ever, stubborn and naturally
to discrimination, and this rebellious as he was, he al-
inspired him to be an ac- ways tried to join in on the
tivist, to stand up and fight operations regardless.
against discrimination and
oppression. In 1944, after his friend Luis
de Lannoy, a fellow rebel
After seeing the horrific from Curacao, was arrested
bombings of Rotterdam first- and executed, he moved to
hand, he decided to join the Delft, where he joined his
resistance. At the same time, third and last group in Rot-
he was still studying and living terdam. During this time, he
with family in Tilburg. It was wrote a goodbye letter for
there where he met people his family, possibly knowing