THE CARGO published in Dutch

HET TRANSPORT (The Cargo) is my latest novel, set on the Wadden Sea and elsewhere in the Netherlands, and in Kaliningrad (Russia). It is actually my first manuscript, which was put on hold last year in favour of my successful novel DE BATAVIER (The Batavian).

Het Transport is a very different book from De Batavier, a crime novel rather than an adventure story. The core theme is women trafficking by ship from Kaliningrad to the Wadden Sea. Sinister figures in Russia play a background role.

and then there were two!

Similar to what I noticed with De Batavier, I now regularly find pieces of news in the media that bear on the theme of my book. For example, on Saturday, October 2, a review appeared in the Dutch paper NRC of the book Putin's People, in which investigative journalist Catherine Belton tells about the dark dealings of Russian President Putin and his former KGB friends, who apparently have funneled large sums of money to Western bank accounts for years.

Het Transport tells of another a sinister plot involving former KGB operatives. I won't tell you too much about it (I’d rather see you read the book, which I'd love to publish in English!), but once more it appears that reality surpasses even my wildest fantasy. I will certainly order Putin's People.

To give you an idea, here is the English video trailer I made:

The core theme in Het Transport however, is the personal drama of ordinary people, who not just become entangled in a criminal network, but also become the victim of a heartless government that will not reach out to right a wrong. 

This is not a fabrication - official arbitrariness in combating human trafficking has been under fire from humanitarian organizations for years, as is also evidenced by the reports of a Dutch Governmental agency reporting on human trafficking. Politicians remain deaf and thus unwittingly contribute to maintaining a despicable earning model.

cover of the new book

The Dutch language version of HET TRANSPORT (ISBN 978 94 930 5941 2) can be ordered through bookshops or from Palmslag publishers.

An English translation of the manuscript is available for eventual publication in the English language domain.

THE CARGO to appear in Dutch on October 5th

Last week I wrote about the fire at Camp Moria and the shameful handling by Dutch and other European politicians of the Greek refugee camp crisis, the constant shadowy deals by governments to allow as few displaced people as possible a safe refuge in Europe, in spite of the UN refugee treaty concluded in 1951 (updated in 1967).

A few days have now passed and we now see the Greeks having set up a so-called "humanitarian" camp to receive the homeless people on Lesvos. They follow a military tactic, besieging and starving the homeless masses until they give in and voluntarily go to their new prison. Isn’t it remarkable that the people don't trust it, expecting to be locked for more interminable months and years? They have a bellyful of Greek asylum policy. A humanitarian camp - why couldn't that have been created sooner? Let’s ask the Greek authorities - I'd say to them: πρέπει να ντρέπεσαι για τη Μόρια - shame on you for Moria.

One of the driving forces behind the current refugee flow, regardless of the underlying causes (poverty and war), is human trafficking. We must not confuse this with the actions of humanitarian organizations rescuing refugees at sea, who as a result are being depicted by some European authorities as human traffickers. That’s just a political game. Those organizations have a humanitarian objective and, according to maritime law, are obliged to save lives, regardless of the question whether that fuels migration.

source: Sputnik

In my new book HET TRANSPORT (translates as The Cargo) I introduce a different face of human trafficking: dealing in women. Human trafficking is difficult to combat, but the means used by our Justice Department to collect evidence against human traffickers (a temporary residence arrangement for victims inducing them to testify) often presents the victims with an impossible choice. That dilemma runs like a red thread through the book.

My new book is not just a thriller. It also shows the harshness of governments mainly concerned with devising and implementing rules and procedures, thus disregarding the human dimension. As an author, when I researched the background to my story, I was shocked to see how often the approach to human trafficking is subject to official arbitrariness and political interference. Read the book and draw your own conclusions ...

As it is impossible at present to hold lectures and book presentations due to the limitations imposed by the corona crisis (my last presentation took place in March, before the lockdown), I made a promotional video, which, like a movie trailer, has the role of a digital presentation. I have used my own film footage of the Waddenzee and the IJsselmeer, where part of the story takes place.

 

HET TRANSPORT is available from booksellers, in Dutch, from October 5th. I have THE CARGO, an English translation, waiting for eventual publication in the English language domain.

Moria - a shameful dance

(Edit: new photos by MSF added) 

I actually planned to write the final announcement of my second book (Het Transport) today, but that can wait another week. I am furious, and it seems I am not the only one, having read the reactions of refugee support organisations and the papers this morning.

Some of you who read the English version may remember what I wrote in The Batavian, about a Greek refugee camp being set on fire. Well, the inevitable has happened: Camp Moria on Lesbos burned down. In a another way from what I described in my book, but still.

source: Médecins Sans Frontières

This is what happens when you put thousands of people in a filthy concentration camp and then subject them to a Covid-19 lockdown, making life even more difficult. The camp was torched - apparently a few people have thrown in the towel and set it on fire. Predictably, the Greek authorities' initial reaction is that the "culprits" will be punished.

Culprits? The real culprits are the indecisive, heartless rulers of the EU, who for five years failed to find a humane solution to a problem that will never go away. You can ignore it, you can put a fence around it, let yourself be blackmailed by a bunch of Eastern European autocrats who are holding the entire EU hostage. You can make a bad refugee deal with Erdogan, who has successfully turned it into a game of harassing the EU, but it won't go away.

source: Médecins Sans Frontières

Finally, Dutch politicians seemed to have seen the light. But only after a huge fire broke out in a refugee camp, resulting in thousands of people now sleeping out in the open. The last hurdle our right-wing Coalition had to overcome was the harsh stance of one coalition party, the VVD Liberals (Conservatives in UK parlance), who try with all their might to lock the gates on every refugee. Something had to be done, not out of charity, but in order not to endanger the right-wing coalition.

Let me be clear: I don't believe those people will be very happy here. They’d probably prefer a normal life in their own country instead of running away from war and poverty. But if more than a hundred Dutch town mayors back in April petitioned the Government, saying they want to do everything possible to accommodate young and vulnerable refugees, what is the problem? Yes, it will raise questions and no doubt it will cause adjustment problems. But we can handle that.

source: Médecins Sans Frontières

So what is the coalition doing now? They will allow one hundred of the thirteen thousand homeless people from Moria into the country. You have read correctly. ONE HUNDRED. I suppose that will solve the problem. 

Yet another shameful development in the refugee debate, and a compromise to be truly proud of. As always: too little, too late. "We take our responsibility," said Rob Jetten, one coalition party foreman. It’s what I call conscience money. 

By the way, these one hundred will be taken from the UNHCR ‘quotum’ of 500 fixed for next year. Refugee support groups are furious, but the creases in the coalition have been smoothed once more, and Parliament rests.

Kastellorizo once again

Kastellorizo ​​once again

Previously, I wrote about Kastellorizo ​​in this blog, and once again the remote Greek island recently made the headlines with a new Turkish effort to back up that country's claims to the sea area around the island. The Turks sent a research vessel to explore for natural gas, guarded by no less than five naval ships to frustrate any Greek counter-action. Even so, the Greeks are said to have forced a collision with the research vessel.

The Turkish ‘armada’ underway

Kastellorizo ​​plays a leading role in my novel De Batavier (The Batavian), which was published last year. Already during my visit to the island in 2013, the tension was palpable, even though the islanders do their shopping at the market in the Turkish coastal town of Kaş, which is only a few nautical miles away. A recent newspaper article even states that the islanders have a current account with the shopkeepers on the Turkish mainland!

Kaş harbour

However, the political situation remains grim, with repeated border incidents in the waters contested by both sides. The origins of all this lie in the past: the islands were mandated to Italy after the Turkish-Greek war of 1919-1922 and transferred to Greece in 1946. The Turks have never accepted this.

Kastellorizo

In The Batavian I stage a Turkish invasion of Kastellorizo, which is thwarted by Greek intervention. Later I describe the difficulties in rescuing distressed refugees in the disputed waters between Kastellorizo ​​and Kaş, as any border crossing by the coastguard of either country turns into an international incident of impossible proportions. The Batavian is a work of fiction, but the background is everyday reality. The Batavian can still be ordered (in Dutch only) from the bookstore or my publisher, Palmslag.

The Cargo

My new book Het Transport (The Cargo) will be going to the printer soon. As mentioned earlier, my publisher Palmslag will publish the book in early October. Due to current restrictions on large gatherings, no book presentation will be held for the time being. Instead, thoughts are turned to an online presentation, possibly an interview or a promotional film. I will discuss this with my agent, Hanneke Tinor-Centi, shortly.

I am writing this on board my yacht Manokwari, lying in the port of Harlingen, where part of The Cargo takes place. The plan was to sail to Vlieland, but bad weather has thrown a spanner in the works. We are waiting here for stormy weather forecast later today ...

For both The Batavian and The Cargo, English translations have been prepared.

To be continued...

A tale of Africa

As a seafarer I came to South and West Africa, during the 1970s. To be honest, at the time I saw Africa mainly from a European perspective, although even then I wondered what was the matter with apartheid in South Africa. We transported Western products to Africa, and the return cargo was mostly tree trunks and some tropical products. Thus, I did my share in the destruction of the rain forest.

loading tropical trees at Campo, Cameroon, 1978

Africa has been cruelly exploited for centuries - it was a source of raw materials, tropical products and cheap labour. Local rulers were bribed by unscrupulous traders and actively participated - you only have to read about the slave trade to understand. The consequences are still there: Africa is a rich continent with an enormous potential, but it is torn by war and the people are bad off. Three out of four people in Africa have no permanent job and no fixed income, they are mostly day labourers who cannot feed their children at the least setback.

Jamestown, Accra, Ghana, 2012

The problem is that almost no one invests in Africa - the exploitation continues as before, large Western and Chinese multinationals being the main perpetrators. A new colonization, which we in the West still benefit from. The corruption and collusion of African governments is often alluded to as the cause. But I think it is a vicious circle of despicable dealing involving outside parties that has still not been broken.

An example

Recently, my newspaper featured an article by a South African professor about vaccines for infectious diseases no longer being developed in Africa. Some initiatives have failed due to "financing problems". Even now, during the Covid-19 epidemic, Africa is only used as a testing ground for vaccines that are being developed elsewhere. Everything is made outside Africa and sold in Africa on our terms. Medicines and vaccines are expensive. This applies not only to medical applications, but to almost all achievements of the contemporary world.

Small wonder that the continent is so impoverished and young men are sent to Europe by their families, hoping to find work there and money to send home. To Europe, where they come up against fences and refugee camps, remaining in permanent poverty and insecurity. It is too easy to explain away the African migration as their own fault.

fish market in Elmina, Ghana, 2012

Fortunately, there are exceptions, where the local population gets a better chance. A friend of ours worked in Ghana for a long time. He managed to save an area of rainforest in the Atewa range, which a Chinese company was after because there is a 20 metres thick vein of bauxite underneath. The forest serves as a water extraction area for Accra and the local economy benefits from ecotourism. Our friend presented the local ‘chief’ with calculations proving that in the long run the income out of the forest would be more than the proceeds of selling it to the Chinese. There is an ongoing drive to declare the area a national park, which is better than it being pillaged by a Chinese mining company.

Africa in 1976

I remember a thief being caught on board my ship in Cape Town. Naturally you don’t want thieves on board your ship, but all the poor sod had stolen was an alarm clock from the first mate's cabin. I had the dubious pleasure of receiving the South African police on board, two big white-skinned cops in pale blue uniforms, shorts and flat caps. The thief looked rather innocent compared to them. He was a Cape Coloured, a descendant of the original San population and Dutch settlers. The first thing the policemen did was slam the thief’s head against the steel bulkhead. I stopped that, saying I did not tolerate that on board a Dutch ship. The men spoke Afrikaans (a form of Dutch) and understood me perfectly. The detainee was handcuffed and taken away. I don't know what they did to him later. They probably beat him senseless.

French colonial church in Kribi, Cameroon, 1978

At the time, Colonial influence was still strongly present in West Africa, in some cases probably still is. In 1978 I sailed to Senegal, Ivory Coast and Cameroon. The French connection showed in hotels and apartment buildings for the scores of French expats who lived there. Dakar (Senegal) looked like a French city on the Côte d´Azur. In Abidjan, Ivory Coast, the city center was a collection of tall tower blocks, surrounded by shabby slums.
 

Fort Elmina, Ghana 2012

Fort Elmina

I returned to Africa once more in 2012. In Ghana we were driven around by a local driver named Emmanuel, in a rented minivan. I still remember the visit to the slave fortresses at Cape Coast and Elmina. Elmina in particular made a deep impression on me. The fort was originally Portuguese (São Jorge da Mina) and was conquered by the Dutch in the 17th century. Ultimately, the Dutch West India Company controlled a large part of the overseas slave trade from what was then called the 'Gold Coast'.

the church in Fort Elmina, Ghana

The Netherlands was almost the last country to ban slavery (1863, remembered on Keti Koti day, the Broken Bonds, July 1st), although in the colony of Suriname the former slaves were obliged by law to continue working on the plantations for 10 more years. It was institutionalized human trafficking.

dungeon in Fort Elmina

The church at Fort Elmina is located directly above the dungeons, where for many years people were locked up, waiting for the next ship to take them to the Caribbean and the American mainland. Centuries later the dungeons still smell of excrement - there was a drain in the centre, but the stench is too deeply sunk in the floor and walls. The Dutch slave traders were singing psalms in the church upstairs, turning a blind eye to the ocean of misery underfoot.

I couldn’t meet the Ghanaian guide’s eyes for shame.

The Cargo

Almost three months have gone by, turbulent months in which the world had to deal with a continuing epidemic, which currently mainly rages in India, Latin America, Africa and the US.

Inevitably, the restrictions imposed on group meetings have also had repercussions on the book presentations featuring The Batavian, which I had planned during the spring and summer. These were all suspended.

This takes me to my new book Het Transport (The Cargo), publication of the Dutch version of which is expected in early October. The method of presentation of this book will strongly depend on the conditions of the moment. However, publication will not be postponed.

Cover by Palmslag Publishers

The Cargo is actually my first novel. Two years ago I had two manuscripts completed when Hanneke Tinor-Centi, my agent, put me in touch with my publisher (Palmslag). At the time, I chose to publish The Batavian first. That proved to be a good choice, so now it is the turn of The Cargo.

The Wadden Sea seen from the isle of Vlieland

The Cargo is a thriller rather than an adventure story such as The Batavian. It starts with a gruesome discovery by two yachtsmen on the Wadden Sea. The Wadden Sea has sometimes been described as our last real wilderness, a tangle of sandbanks and tidal channels in the North of our country, which is constantly in motion.

Sailing to Vlieland

The Wadden Sea is an ideal setting for anything that will not bear close scrutiny, in this case overseas women trafficking from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic. The main protagonists get caught in a web of crime and murder. Originally, the title of the manuscript was 'The Directive', which refers to the Human Trafficking Directive (probably a poor translation from Dutch), which plays an important role in the book.

A sinister encounter in the fog

The Human Trafficking Directive at first sight appears to be meant to protect victims of human trafficking. Reality is very different however: the Directive is aimed at providing the Justice Department with witnesses for the prosecution of human traffickers. In itself a good goal, but the victims’ safety often takes second place. That isn’t wild guessing on my part - I read the critical reports of the National Reporter on Human Trafficking in the Netherlands.

Using these ingredients I wrote a thrilling tale set in both the Netherlands and Russia, and inevitably also at sea. There is a fair English translation available of both The Batavian and The Cargo, which needs to be further edited before publication in the English language domain should be attempted. Sample extracts are available from my website.