CHILD PSYCHIATRIST SPEAKS OUT 

AGAINST CORRUPTION IN ARUBA  & 

ITS FAILED JUSTICE SYSTEM

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Rita spent two years in Aruba fighting as a Child and Adolescent psychiatrist for the rights of children. She returned to the Netherlands in 2010, as she couldn’t achieve her goals because of a wide spread corruption. Leaving a large clientele behind, she felt compelled to write this book.

Aruba One happy island, is a dream of sun, sea, and white beaches. In 2008, the Netherlands offered me the opportunity of a childhood dream: working and living on a Caribbean island. I immigrated to Aruba with my two youngest children as a single mother.

The first months while I was there, I enjoyed working as a child psychiatrist with my youthful, multicultural clientele. When I saw for the first time a child with post-traumatic stress disorder after sexual abuse, I acted according to the guidelines of the Dutch protocol for medical doctors. I soon realized that I was bumping against invisible walls. I didn’t understand why this was, so I just continued my work. In 2009 and 2010, the media focused more and more on the theme of sexual abuse of minors. It became clear that police reports were not being processed, files disappeared, and victims were not protected by the government.

Only after a year I understood that the Dutch protocol against child abuse was not applied in Aruba. In Aruba, no physician—with some brave exceptions—broke his medical confidentiality when it came to an abused child. Colleagues feared reprisals and imprisonment.

I stood alone, looking for help from the Aruban government. The Minister of Social Affairs, Michelle Hooyboer-Winklaar, and the Minister of Health, Richard Visser, supported me. The Minister of Justice and Education, Arthur Dowers, said he understood but didn’t take action. Minister Michelle Hooyboer-Winklaar involved UNICEF and the Dutch AMK, and did everything to introduce the Dutch protocol against child abuse and the obligation to report child abuse (Meld code), but did not succeed in doing so.

I got the distinct feeling that the police sided with the perpetrators, and I didn’t feel safe anymore. As the only child psychiatrist in Aruba, without the support of a strong team, I was too vulnerable. In the winter of 2010, I left Aruba with my children and three dogs and returned to the Netherlands.

Because I left behind a large clientele and feel that something urgent must be done for the children in Aruba in protecting them from further abuse, I decided to write this book.

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