On the picture Director Pieter Bogaardt and AMADE President Caroline of Monaco – Picture by Princely Palace of Monaco.
By Director Pieter Bogaardt.
A year after it’s successful launch at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, AMADE Nederland continues championing the rights of children and this year more particularly of the child refugees. AMADE Nederland is a Dutch charity organization, the latest branch of AMADE Mondiale, the largest charity organization in Monaco, chaired by HRH The Princess of Hanover, Princess Caroline of Monaco, standing up for the most vulnerable children in the world regardless nationality, origin, or religion all over world trying to improve their surroundings in terms of healthcare, education and the protection of their rights.
This year (2015) AMADE Nederland organised a beautiful soirée on the 6th of November at the Mauritshuis in The Hague, a city castle, built in the 17th century by the best architects, now transferred into a magical museum where the finest paintings from the Golden Age are exhibited.
The group of approximately 80 distinguished guests, amongst them Mr Aldo Verbruggen, president of AMADE Nederland, Mr Pieter Bogaardt, member of the Board and of the Executive Committee of AMADE Mondiale and vice-president of AMADE Nederland, Prince Floris van Oranje-Nassau and his wife Princess Aimée, Mr Mark Vogt, Senior global PSFR officer at UNHCR. AMADE has concluded a cooperation agreement to support UNHCR’s worldwide campaign “Time to Act”.
This event in the Mauritshuis was focussed on the refugee children with the aim of preventing a lost generation and breaking the barriers of access to health care and education. Aldo Verbruggen emphasized in his welcoming speech that humanity demands sacrifice referring to his visit together with Pieter Bogaardt to the Syrian refugee camp Za’Atri in Jordan last year, which visit, as he describes himself, was “a lesson in humility”. Jordan, with only six million people, accommodates more than two million refugees.
After the welcoming speech, guides accompanied the guests along the highlights of the Mauritshuis. Beautiful paintings of Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals and Fabritius were explained in an original way and walking through the Mauritshuis the guests could enjoy the intimate atmosphere of the Golden Age in a modernized setting.
In the Golden Room of the Mauritshuis, overlooking the Court Pond, Maison Van den Boer served an exquisite dinner and before the last course Professor Wiep van Bunge, a famous Dutch philosopher, associated with the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, held a most interesting exposé about the refugees through the centuries. He stated that the strong position of The Netherlands in the Golden Age was related to the refugees the Dutch society welcomed and accepted. More than 900,000 immigrants came from Germany. Most of them were very poor.
The Jews coming from Portugal were completely different due to their customs and habits. Despite the differences all contributed to the prosperity of The Netherlands. Of course there is a difference as most refugees coming to Western Europe are Muslim, but that should not be a problem. The Netherlands should accommodate 60,000 up to 80,000 refugees now. In the light of the history of Western Europe Wiep van Bunge pleaded for a generous asylum policy.
Pieter Bogaardt pointed out that children must be able to dream and have the right to accessible education and healthcare. “That’s where AMADE is standing for and the evening in the Mauritshuis contributed to. The financial support of AMADE is just a small drop in the Ocean. Let your heart speak and make children dream and play again in a save and caring environment”.
Humanity demands sacrifices.
