Bethesda, Suriname

Last updated
Bethesda
Former leper colony
De leprozerie Bethesda van de Protestantse Vereniging tot Verpleging van leprali, Bestanddeelnr 252-6244.jpg
Bethesda (1947)
Suriname location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Bethesda
Location in Suriname
Coordinates: 5°36′44″N55°03′51″W / 5.6122°N 55.0641°W / 5.6122; -55.0641
Country Flag of Suriname.svg Suriname
District Para District
Resort (municipality) Oost

Bethesda was a Moravian leper colony from 1899 [1] until 1933. [2] The name refers to the healing of the paralytic at Bethesda by Jesus. The colony was located near Paranam in the Oost resort on the Suriname River. [3] It was originally located on the former sugar plantation 'Great Chatillon', [4] that already served as a leper colony of the Dutch colonial state. [5] The Catholic leper colony 'Saint Gerardus Majella', founded in 1895 as successor of Batavia, was located nearby. [6] [7] In 1933 the Bethesda leper colony moved to Livorno, closer to the centre of Paramaribo, where it functioned as New Bethesda until 1964. Initially patient care at Bethesda was in the hands of German deaconesses. After the Second World War their leadership was taken over by the Dutch and the Surinamese. [8]

Contents

Overview

Bethesda was founded in 1899 [1] as a small leprosy colony. In 1902, Henry Weiss left for the United States with some pictures of the colony taken by the German deaconess Martha Stern in order to raise funds. [9] Weiss managed to visit President Theodore Roosevelt. [10] The mission was clearly successful, because the next set of photographs by Martha Stern display an American flag. [9]

The colony treated between 50 and 60 patients in the period 1910–1921. [1] Bethesda was a little agricultural village with several pavilions, and some residential houses in a park. The patients did not receive any wages, and were expected to work, if able. [11] Bethesda was reluctant to take in patients from other leper colonies in Suriname. Nevertheless, in 1935 there were 6 Hindu and 3 Catholic patients at Bethesda, possibly under the condition of conversion to the Moravian denomination. [8]

The care for the lepers was partially financed by private donations from the US, Germany and the Netherlands and partially by a Dutch government subsidy of 250 Dutch guilders [12] per year per patient. [13] On 25 October 1951, A.C.W. Lionarons, a doctor in Paramaribo, left his entire fortune to the foundation which as of 2002 was worth over a million euros. [14]

In 1933, the Bethesda leper colony was moved, because of flooding, to Livorno, near the present harbour of Paramaribo, and renamed to Nieuw Bethesda. [15] where it has remained in function until 1964. The number of patients in New Bethesda topped in 1949 with no less than 189 patients. It decreased from then on. In 1964 the last 4 remaining patients were transferred to Groot Chatillon. This state leper colony closed its doors in 1972, three years before the independence of Suriname. [8]

Lepers are nowadays treated in the Academic Hospital Paramaribo. [16]

The Bethesda Foundation is still active, and since 2007 has broadened its target audience to people with a severe handicap in Suriname, [17] because the rate of leprosy has declined. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramaribo</span> Capital city of Suriname

Paramaribo is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people, almost half of Suriname's population. The historic inner city of Paramaribo has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commewijne District</span> District of Suriname

Commewijne is a district of Suriname, located on the right bank of the Suriname River. Commewijne's capital city is Nieuw Amsterdam. Tamanredjo is another major town, while Meerzorg is the most populated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jodensavanne</span> Plantation community established in Suriname by Sephardi Jews

Jodensavanne was a Jewish plantation community in Suriname, South America, and was for a time the centre of Jewish life in the colony. It was established in the 1600s by Sephardi Jews and became more developed and wealthy after a group of Jews fleeing persecution in Brazil settled there in the 1660s. It was located in what is now Para District, about 50 km (31 mi) south of the capital Paramaribo, on the Suriname River. Sugarcane plantations were established and Black African people were used as slave labour. At its height in around 1700 it was home to roughly 500 plantation owners and 9000 slaves. The colony faced regular attacks from Indigenous people, slave revolts, and even raids from the French navy. The community eventually relocated to the capital of Paramaribo. Clearing of grave sites and maintenance of the synagogue ruins has been attempted at various times from the 1940s to the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tapanahony</span> Resort in Sipaliwini District, Suriname

Tapanahoni is a resort in Suriname, located in the Sipaliwini District. Its population at the 2012 census was 13,808. Tapanahoni is a part of Sipaliwini which has no capital, but is directly governed from Paramaribo. Tapanahony is an enormous resort which encompasses a quarter of the country of Suriname. The most important town is Diitabiki which is the residence of the granman of the Ndyuka people since 1950, and the location of the oracle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batavia, Suriname</span> Town in Saramacca District, Suriname

Batavia on the Coppename River in Suriname is a former cocoa plantation, military post and state leper colony of the Dutch colonists. Batavia functioned as a leper colony from 1824 to 1897, after which the location was completely abandoned. Since 2001 it has been redeveloped as a place of pilgrimage and tourism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Donders</span> Dutch Roman Catholic missionary

Petrus Norbertus Donders was a Dutch Roman Catholic priest and member of the Redemptorist Congregation. He served in various missions in the Dutch colony of Surinam. He started working in the capital Paramaribo, but is predominantly known for his work in and around the leper colony Batavia, where he died in 1887. Peter Donders was beatified as 'Apostle of the Indians and Lepers' in 1982. The miracle needed was found in the cure of a Dutch child from bone cancer back in 1929.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meerzorg</span> Resort in Commewijne District, Suriname

Meerzorg is a town and resort (municipality) in Suriname, located on the eastern bank of the Suriname River, directly opposite the capital Paramaribo. Its population at the 2012 census was 12,405. Since 2000 it has been connected to Paramaribo by the Jules Wijdenbosch Bridge, named after the former President Jules Wijdenbosch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oost, Suriname</span> Resort in Para District, Suriname

Oost is a resort in Suriname, located in the Para District. Its population at the 2012 census was 8,016. The main town in the resort is Paranam. Oost is also home to the former leper colony Bethesda. The Paranam alumina refinery is located near the town of Paranam. The Accaribo area is becoming tourist spot with the main attractions White Beach and Caribo Beach Resort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zuid, Suriname</span> Resort in Para District, Suriname

Zuid is a resort in Suriname, located in the Para District. Its population at the 2012 census was 6,113. The main ethnic groups are indigenous, Creoles, and mixed race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beekhuizen</span> Resort in Paramaribo District, Suriname

Beekhuizen is a former sugarcane plantation and currently a resort in Suriname, located in the Paramaribo District. Its population at the 2012 census was 17,185.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora, Suriname</span> Resort in Paramaribo District, Suriname

Flora is a resort in Suriname, located in the Paramaribo District. Its population at the 2012 census was 19,538. Flora is both the name of the resort and the neighbourhood within the resort. Flora was founded as a wood plantation in 1809.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livorno, Suriname</span> Resort in Paramaribo District, Suriname

Livorno is a resort in Suriname, located in the Paramaribo District. Its population at the 2012 census was 8,209.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">De Nieuwe Grond</span> Resort in Wanica District, Suriname

De Nieuwe Grond is a resort in Suriname, located in the Wanica District. Its population at the 2012 census was 26,161. Its main ethnic groups are East Indian, and Creoles. The resort is named after a sugar plantation in 1770. The plantation was already abandoned in 1863, when slavery was abolished, because that year, it was up for public auction. The area used to consist of small scale agriculture with a focus on vegetables and rice, but due to its proximity to Paramaribo, it has become a suburban area with a young population. In 2019, a new bigger market opened in the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornelis van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck</span>

Cornelis van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck was the first governor of Suriname after the establishment of the Society of Suriname in 1683. He was governor from 27 November 1683 until he was murdered by mutinous soldiers on 19 July 1688. Van Aerssen belonged to one of the richest families of the Dutch Golden Age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berg en Dal, Suriname</span> Village in Brokopondo District, Suriname

Berg en Dal is a village in the resort of Klaaskreek in the Brokopondo District of Suriname. The village is located on the Suriname River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Braamspunt</span> Nature reserve and village in Commewijne District, Suriname

Braamspunt is a nature reserve, fishing village, and a former military outpost in the Johan & Margaretha resort of the Commewijne District of Suriname. Braamspunt is the most western point of the Commewijne District at the combined mouth of the Suriname and Commewijne River. The capital Paramaribo is located to the south of Braamspunt. The name is a corruption of Byam's Point which refers William Byam who was a quartermaster of Willoughby.

The Brooskampers were a Maroon people, descendants of runaway African slaves, living in the forested interior of Suriname. The tribe is related to the Saramaka, and originated from Loango-Angola. The Brooskampers gained autonomy in 1863, but sold their land in 1917.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalebaskreek</span> Village in Saramacca District, Suriname

Kalebaskreek is an indigenous village of Kalina Amerindians in the resort of Calcutta in the Saramacca District in Suriname.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uitkijk</span> Village in Saramacca District, Suriname

Uitkijk is a village in the resort of Kampong Baroe in the Saramacca District of Suriname. The village is located on the Saramacca River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johannes Kielstra</span> Dutch politician (1878–1951)

Johannes Coenraad Kielstra was a Dutch professor and Governor of Suriname from 1933 until 1944. During World War II, he increased his authority and imprisoned political opponents causing the resignation of all elected members of the Estates of Suriname. On 28 December 1943, he was given an honourable discharge by the Dutch government-in-exile. He served as Ambassador of the Netherlands to Mexico from 1944 until 1948.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Groot Chatillon, Bethesda, and Saint Gerardus Majella (Surinam)". Leprosy History. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  2. ↑ "Repertorium van Nederlandse zendings- en missie-archieven 1800-1960". Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  3. ↑ "Where is Bethesda in Suriname?". Geo Targit. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  4. ↑ "Plantage Groot Chatillon". Suriname Plantages (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "Batavia en de Coppename rivier". Suriname.nu (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  6. ↑ Joop Vernooij: Lepra en katholieke kerk in Suriname in de 19e eeuw (in Dutch), Academic Journal of Suriname, Vol. 8, 2017, page 762-770
  7. ↑ "Batavia in history". Batavia Suriname. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 Stephen Snelders: Leprosy and Colonialism: Suriname Under Dutch Rule, 1750-1950, Manchester University Press, 2017
  9. 1 2 "Machtsverhouding fotocollectie Page 564" (PDF). The E-Journal of the Anton de Kom University of Suriname (in Dutch). 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  10. ↑ "Damiaan". Suriname.nu (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  11. ↑ "Bethesda". Leprosy History (in French). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  12. ↑ "De waarde van de gulden / euro". Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  13. ↑ "Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië - Page 55 - Armen en weezenverpleging" (PDF). Digital Library for Dutch Literature (in Dutch). 1916. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  14. ↑ "Het legaat van Lionarons". Bethesda Suriname (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  15. ↑ "MAJELLA STICHTING". Pix4Profs (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2020.[ permanent dead link ]
  16. ↑ "Geschiedenis van Lepra". Bethesda Suriname (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  17. ↑ "Bethesda Suriname". Bethesda Suriname (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  18. ↑ "Leprosy in Suriname". World Life Expectancy. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.