De Bijlmer - Fleerde

The Bijlmer is one of the most interesting neighbourhoods in the Netherlands. It was was built in the 60's. The first inhabitant entered his house in 68.
At that time Suriname got its independence and the Surinamers who wanted to keep their Dutch nationality came to Holland and found the Bijlmer like a good place to be. There were a lot of space and good houses.
The blank part of the Dutch did not want to live there: it was too far from the city centre and it was too dark skinned for their white minds. Then, it became a Black neighborhood. Later came Ghanian and Antillian and many others nationalities, including this Brazilian here.

With such a number of different cultures living in huge buildings, with the face of the elite turned towards to other direction and mainly the combination with big buildings, too many different nationalities, and parks all around, with areas with no normal streets and cars, the neighboorhood became almost a no go area, with many social problems, criminality and huge drugs issue.

In order to work out the problem, the dutch government decided to break down the flats and build in their places lower and let that area to become an another kind of neighborhood.


This picture shows one of the flats, Fleerde on its highest time.

Walking in Paradise

It was just done for us, but they thought we were too different,so they decided to break it all down and make it all again theirs. It was their land, but our heaven.

Daalwijk

De kleuren van de Bijlmerflats.