"Tur kos ta bon": The perception and practice of human security among "natives" and the European Dutch in Willemstad, Curacao

Abstract

With this thesis we attempt to give insight in the lived experience of security among inhabitants of Curacao. We stated that there is an ethnosocial related difference in feelings of (un)safety and (in)security, the perception and practice of these feelings and the accompanying coping strategies between the native population and the European Dutch in Curacao. We conducted our research based on perceptions, risk assessment, coping mechanisms and the practice of security. We determined that there is an area of tension when it comes to the relationship between perception and action/practice. Although we established there is an absence of cohesion between the native and the European Dutch groups, there seem to be few differences when it comes to their practices in order to cope with the decrease of human security due to the presence of crime and other threats. With both groups, denial appeared to be the main way of coping. We conclude that even though the motivations behind these practices do differ, the perception of and the practice of feelings of (un)safety and (in)security do not.