| Chaos

mosaek magazine

CHAOS
Vol 15 | # 2 | 2014

2.50
Vol 15 | # 2 | 2014
Interdisciplinary
Cultural Magazine
www.mosaiek-magazine.nl

Li Wei

Henry Adams (1838 - 1918)

Chaos was the law of nature; Order was the dream of man.

Editorial

Colophon
Contact
Mosaek
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Maastricht
mosaiek@maastrichtuniversity.nl
ISSN 1566-6859

Editors
Saskia H. Herrmann
Maxime Hensels
Writers
Iris Becx
Michelle Friese
Katrin Geyer
Maxime Hensels
Saskia H. Herrmann
Jeska Onderwater
Denise Op den Kamp
Codruta Pohrib
Pia Sombetzki

Graphics
Saskia H. Herrmann
Denise Op den Kamp
Ana-Maria Eftodi

Acknowledgements
Observant

Cover Illustration
Love at the high place 1
Li Wei, 2004

Categorisation, frameworks, theories, concepts, formulas; the list is endless.

There is an obsessive urge to make sense of the world around us, for the
mere purpose of reaching a state of illusion. The illusion of control, and
knowledge. Chaos can be found in all walks of life, and often it is ascribed
with a negative connotation because most people do not know how to react to
the unknown. Those who bring about change, however, are not most people.
The impetus to consciously, or even unconsciously, disrupt a structure, is
the engine of change. There lies a subtle irony in realising that we constrain
ourselves through structures in the attempt to free ourselves from the fears of
the unknown. It is only when we whole-heartedly embrace chaos that we see
that there was no order to begin with.

Advisory board
Koen Beumer
Iris Fraikin
Riki Janssen
Nicolle Lamerichs
Jim Pedd

Print
Copying articles without
permission from the
editorial is not allowed
by any means. All rights
reserved.
Mosaek

mosaek magazine

Mosaek is an independent non-profit magazine made by students from the

Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences (FASoS) at Maastricht University. The magazine
is an interdisciplinary mixture of theme related and submitted articles on culture.
Mosaek is a platform for students and graduates.
3
Editorial

Content

3 | Editorial

28 | Canon | EN

___________________

Memory of Justice: The Act of Killing

7 | Column | EN

Codruta Pohrib

The Beauty of Conscious Wilderness

___________________

Jeska Onderwater

32 | Column | NL

___________________

Lets Exchange Fluids

10 | Essay | EN

Iris Becx

Chaos in Michoacn

___________________

Katrin Geyer

34 | Column | EN

___________________

Life in Translation?

20 | Column | EN

Michelle Friese

Guess its time for the Judgement

___________________

Day

38 | Interview | NL

Zuid - Limburg, je zal er maar wonen

Pia Sombetzki

___________________

Maxime Hensels

25 | Mixtape | EN

___________________

Denise Op den Kamp

The Magic Black Box

Sherzando

46 | Poem | EN

Catherine van Harinxma

Mosaek

The Beauty
of Conscious
Wilderness

Retrieved from: http://bit.ly/11r6HzL

Jeska Onderwater

Occasionally, on late afternoons

of a day with a clear sky, I have
a tendency to sit in front of my
window and watch the sky getting
darker when the day is ending.
Upon gazing out of the window and
dreaming of long summer nights, I
detect a strong desire for nature
and wilderness in my soul. Endless
green fields, majestic mountains
and long-stretched beaches cross
my mind as dreamy images, whilst
I long for the freedom of holidays
in which I wish them to become
reality. When I recently gazed out of
my window in my apartment placed
in a man-made, organized city I
was longing for wild, unpredictable
nature. Subsequently, a thought
about our purpose as human beings
arose within me. How does living in
organized, structured, man-made
cities affect us when we originate
from wild, truly natural environments
as evolution theory shows us?
How does this opposition within
ourselves affect our consciousness?

I think it is a peculiar phenomenon

that we, as humans who are part
of nature, increasingly started
distancing ourselves from what one
could perceive as chaotic, irrational
nature. Of course, wilderness is
way harder to tame than streets
with cobble stones and except
for a few exotic jungle tribes,
most human beings are not able
to survive in the wild anymore.
Mans relation to nature has been
changing and ambivalent for ages;
when Adam and Eve became aware
of their nudity, the rise of a human
consciousness which separated
itself from nature, commenced.
The attitude of the modern Western
man towards nature has a strong
foundation
in
Enlightenment
thinking which emphasized the
faculty of reason as the superior
faculty human beings possessed
and thereby placed man above
the rest of nature. Ever since the
modern man came into being, we
seem to have distanced ourselves

7
Column

mosaek magazine

more and more from nature. The

Romantic movement constituted
a turn in this conception, but even
though Romanticism advocates
the idea of nature as an organic
whole with us being part of it, it
did not necessarily reform our
lifestyle according to that notion.
The current way of living most
humans on planet earth adapted
seems to be centered around urban
areas and some countries are
even seen to have lost all traces of
wilderness due to this urbanization.
There surely are a number of good
reasons for this development and
many have contributed to improved
living standards and survival
chances for human beings. It seems
however, that when my deepest
nature opens up there is still a strong
longing for purity and nature. The
popularity of movies such as Into The
Wild (2007), in which the protganist
withdraws himself from civilization
to live in the wilderness, could be
easily explained if one assumes a
universality in the longing for nature
somewhere buried in our souls.
Placing a high importance on
logical, ordered reason can as
well increase as reduce the quality
of our consciousness in my view.
By rationalizing each thing that
happens or each decision I make,
I would deny the emotional, wild
part of my nature. However, without
critical thinking my life might end up
in a total chaos by merely following
my drives and desires. Finding the

right balance between intellect and

intuition, between order and chaos
remains a life-challenge. Studying,
thinking and discussing are activities
which make me grow as a human
being; the knowledge I acquire
could help me strengthen my
natural consciousness of the world
and of myself. But feeling, marveling
and experiencing are just as big a
part of getting to know myself and
understanding the path of my heart.
And that is why I love to
compensate my rational day of
studying in the library with gazing
out of the window to watch nature
touch my life in an enchanting
way, knowing that this nature
is inextricably part of me, even
though the how and the why of
the earth and of life goes beyond
the limits of my rational reason and
touches upon that other part of me:
Chaotic, inexplicable wilderness.

8
Column

Item
:
Cost 1 challe
:1e
n
xciti ge
Size
n
:
Imp S, M or g year
act:
L
XXL

This year, were challenging ourselves to wear the

change we want to see in the world.
CHOOSE YOUR SIZE & JOIN THE FASHION SHIFT

Join the movement & find out more by sending your challenge + an inspiring quote to
fashionshiftnow@gmail.com

www.FashionShiftNow.org

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Advertisement

Mosaek

Chaos in Michoacn

mosaek magazine

Why Auto-Defense Groups in Mexico take the law

into their own hands.

Retrieved from: http://bit.ly/1y66kq2

Katrin Geyer

10

A few months ago, a short

youtube video has gone viral on
Facebook among my Mexican
friends.
The disturbing 7
minutes clip reveals the extent
of violence that the Mexican
government is deploying
against its own citizens. The
sound of shootings, shouting
and screaming dominate
the first minutes of the video
which was shot shortly after
the Mexican Army had killed
four citizens, one of them was
an eleven-year-old girl.
Since the beginning of
2014, the conflict between
self-defence groups and
the Knights Templar drug
cartel in the western state of
Michoacn has reached new
levels of intensity. Considering
these developments, why
did ordinary Mexican citizens
decide to take the law into
their own hands and build
self-defence groups against
organized crime? Why does
the government attack and
as a matter of fact kill its own
civil population? Can this kind
vigilantism be justified at all
in a democratic state? These

were the questions I asked

myself after seeing the video.

First of all, I will give an
overview of the most recent
developments. By doing so,
I want to understand why
citizens formed self-defence
groups in the first place and
what kind of impact that has
on the civil population and
their relationship with the
drug cartels. I will proceed
by analysing the relationship
between the Mexican state
and its citizens, investigating
if the Mexican government
has
broken
the
social
contract, thus having failed
to protect its citizens and the
rule of law. Can vigilantism
ever be justified, or should a
democratic state always and
unconditionally forbid its civil
population to take up arms?
Chaos in Michoacn
Escalation of the Conflict in
January 2014 Vigilante groups
already emerged in 2012 as a
response to end the Knights
Templars (Los Caballeros
Templaros) activities. The
drug cartel controls most
of drug trafficking activities

11
Article

mosaek magazine

in Michoacn, being one of

the nine major cartels operating
in Mexico. After the death
of the founder of the Familia
cartel in 2010, it had dissolved
and re-emerged as the
Knights Templar Cartel. Since
then, extortions, kidnappings
and murders were directed
against both wealthy local
businessmen and peasants
as a means to increase their
revenues. However, having
over-extended the use of
violence and the widespread
application of quotas, the
Knights Templars began to
be confronted with a growing
number
of
auto-defense
groups (Conn, 2014). The
latter argue that they are fed
up with the lack of action
and lack of protection by
Mexican security forces. As
a consequence, they see
themselves forced to defend
themselves against extortion,
murder, rape, kidnappings
and
expropriation.
What
complicates the situation is the
fact that the Knights Templar
as well as the Mexican state

accuses self-defence groups

to collaborate with other rival
cartels, mainly the Cartel
Jalisco Nueva Generacin.
This collaboration is, however,
vehemently denied by the
auto-defense groups (BBC,
2014; Conn, 2014).
In January 2014, the
conflict intensified because
vigilante groups initiated a
new offensive with the aim of
ending all of the gangs drug
activities in the region. The
last straw for many was a
shocking sequence of rapes
by the cartels members,
resulting in 40 girls being
pregnant from their rapists.
Most appallingly, the raped
girls were all between 11 and
14 years old. Dr Jose Manual
Mireles points to these realities
in an interview, explaining and
justifying why him and others
decided to take up arms.
He says: We wanted to do
something against it, but we
were scared, all the time. ().
They wanted 1000 pesos for
every cow we were selling, the
butchers had to pay 15 pesos

12
Article

mosaek magazine

for each kilo of meat that they

were selling, the tortilleras had
to pay 4 pesos for each kilo of
tortilla that they were selling
(.) Every Monday, we had to
pay 15 pesos for every child
that went to school. But the
problem really started when
they (members of the cartel)
said: I really like your woman,
I will take her. But meanwhile,
bathe your daughter because
she will stay with me for a
couple of days - and then they
returned them pregnant.
It was Mireles that triggered
the new wave of auto-defense
attacks. In February, together
with a group of civilians, he
took over two town halls that
were controlled by the Knights
Templar. The video that has
gone viral was taken when the
auto-defense groups sought
to liberate Apatzingn, the
central zone of Michoacn.
However,
the
governor
of
Michoacn
effectively
prevented the taking of the
city by disarming the autodefense groups. When the
latter demanded their arms

back, a soldier suddenly

opened fire and killed one
fighter and three citizens,
among the 11-year-old girl.
Regardless of the initial lack of
success, since then, they have
taken control over more than
20 municipalities, cleaning
the towns of criminal elements
and setting up checkpoints
to control who is entering
and leaving (Len, 2014). In
addition, they have returned
countless houses, and farms,
disowned families and seized
houses of narco bosses.
Likewise, they have captured
the local policemen and in
some cases even elected
officials and expelled them
out of the city.
Can vigilante justice be
justified in a democratic
state when considering the
philosophical and political
aspects of self-defence?
Is there a way to justify
vigilantism? How do the
vigilante groups themselves
justify the taking up of arms?
As a matter of fact, they
justify their actions by means

13
Article

mosaek magazine

of the social contract. But

firstly, lets define what a
vigilante group actually is.
According to Sundar (2010),
it is an organized group
of citizens who take upon
themselves the protection
of their district, properties
etc. Vigilantism refers to the
methods, conduct, attitude
etc. associated with vigilantes,
especially militancy, bigotry or
suspiciousness and reflects
the failure of the judicial
system (ibid). He further
maintains that the twin face of
vigilantism is a displacement
of culpability by both the state,
which can blame the people
for taking law into their own
hands, and by people, who
can blame their own action on
state inaction (Sundar, 2010,
p. 114).
Most
famously
Locke,
Hobbes, Kant and Rousseau
have discussed the concept
of the social contract. Even
though they all take a slightly
different approach, their main
idea boils down to the same
concept. Individuals have

consented to the authority and

legitimacy of a government.
According to Rousseau (1762),
the consent is especially
explicit in a democracy,
where individuals give their
approval of a government by
means of elections. In return,
individuals give up certain
rights in order to receive the
governments protection of
the remaining rights, most
importantly ensuring security.
These rights are traditionally
so-called natural or negative
rights that include freedom of
speech, freedom from violent
crime or private property.
According
to
Rousseau
(1762), the social contract, law
and a political order are not
natural but are rather human
creations that are merely
the means towards an end,
namely serving the individual
and providing him or her with
essential benefits he or she
would not have otherwise. This
political order is only legitimate
as long as each party fulfils
its
obligations.
Likewise,
Locke (1689) asserts that

14
Article

mosaek magazine

individuals agree to give up

some rights if the government
acts as a neutral judge that
is in charge of protecting the
lives, liberty and the property
of its citizens, acting as
impartial, objective agent of
the originally individuals right
to self-defense (Locke; 1689).
The
self-defense
groups in Michoacn argue
that the Mexican government
has failed to protect its
citizens and the rule of law.
As a consequence, normal
citizens
see
themselves
both forced and entitled to
take up arms to ensure their
protection.
The
brutality
and cruelty deployed by the
cartel on the civil population
damages the trust and belief
in the governments authority.
Equally, the corruption in public
institutions and among state
officials contributes further to
an increased dissatisfaction
among citizens (International
Crisis Group, 2013). Thus, the
question arises if the Mexican
government has failed in its
duties and if so, how? Lets

take a closer look.

In 2006, former President
Filipe Calderon announced
the war on drug cartels that
entailed an aggressive attack
on the criminal gangs. Since
then, violence escalated,
leading to an unbelievable
number of 70,000 drugrelated deaths (ICG, 2013).
Even though Caldern could
claim some successes and
did try to fight corruption and
impunity, the impunity rate
for homicides was at 80.4
percent in 2010, a number
that had even increased since
the beginnings of the war on
drugs in 2006 (ICG, 2013).
Likewise, during Caldern
offense, the governmental
military in charge of fighting
the cartels were accused of
murder,
disappearances,
sexual abuse, torture and
robbery. Additionally, many
of the drug-related dead
were normal citizens that just
happened to be in the wrong
place at the wrong time. In light
of this, it seems outrageous
that current president Pena

15
Article

mosaek magazine

Nieto declared in 2012 that the

big majority of the people that
had died in the drug war were
criminals (ibid).
Pena Nieto, elected in
2012, created the Pacto por
Mxico that seeks to reduce
homicides,
extortions
and
kidnappings. He promised to
establish new institutions that
would ensure peace and reduce
impunity, shifting the focus away
from the war on drug cartels to
the eradication of violence. As a
matter of fact, despite some major
detentions of cartel leaders, the
war on drugs has tremendously
failed, a reason for Nietos
decision of shifting the strategy.
However, cartels and organized
crime continue to cause fear,
human rights violations, violence
and death, and the cartels still
earn with the drug business and
other illegal activities between
U.S$ 19 billion and U.S$ 29 billion
dollars a year (ibid).
Considering these pervasive
realities, it can be understood why
the civilians took the law into their
own hands. The state failed to fulfil
its obligations in protecting the
lives, the liberties and the property
of its citizens. What contributes
even more to an understanding

16
Article

of a broken social contract is

the fact that the government
not only failed to protect its own
citizens but even attacked and
killed them. As a consequence,
the trust in the government has
decreased while uncertainty
has increased. Illustrative of
the citizens bewilderment and
incomprehension of the states
failure to keep up the social
contract is Father Cortzs
question, a priest of Apatzingn:
How can it be that those who
are supposed to take care
of us can cause the death of
civilians? (Len, 2014). It does
seem dubious that the governor
of Michoacn Fausto Vallejo
deployed so many security
forces against the auto-defense
groups when these sought to
overtake Apatzingn, a move that
has long been awaited by the
citizenry. Strikingly, Vallejo had
been accused of being elected
by a threatened population,
which had been pressured by
the local cartels bosses to vote
for the PRI, the ruling party (ibid).
It would not be the first time
that government officials are
accused of collaborating with the
drug cartels, a charge that has
increased since Nieto shifted the

mosaek magazine

strategy from the war on drugs

to the eradication of violence.
Not surprisingly, collaboration
with cartels is often more
promising in reducing violence
than seeking to eradicate them.
Currently, evidence hardens
that government officials and the
Knights Templars cartel have
been collaborating, having led
to various detentions already
(Huellas de Mxico, 2014).
However, even without that proof,
it cannot be denied that the
government did fail to protect its
citizens and to maintain the rule of
law. Not only from the perspective
of the social contract but also
from a much more emotive
and subjective standpoint, the
response of Michoacns citizens
seems justified.
Lastly, it has to be noted
that unfortunately, the autodefense groups interest are
not always only security and
safety for their fellow citizens.
The danger of individuals joining
the auto-defense groups that
are motivated by their own selfinterested agenda increases,
being covered by the laudable
motive to protect the citizenry.
Diaz (2014) warns that the social
movement of the auto-defense

groups can explode and become

a civil war, dragging new actors
in that might seek to pursue other
objectives than the original ones.
By the end of January, Nieto,
has allowed the vigilante groups
to keep their weapons, granting
them temporary legal status by
redefining them as Rural Defence
Corps until the leaders of the
Knights Templar are arrested
or killed (BBC, 2014; Fausset,
2014). The new strategy, that
entails a collaboration between
official security forces, the army
and vigilante leaders is an
impressive demonstration of the
civil populations achievement.
Together, they are now searching
house by house for leaders of
the Knights Templar, having
already arrested two alleged
cartel founders (Fausset, 2014).
At the date of writing this article,
the auto-defense groups were
intensely looking for the last
remaining principal leader La
Tuta of the Knights Templar
cartel. Despite the successes
that the auto-defense groups
have achieved, they remain very
critical towards government
officials, still pointing to the
corrupt government and state
institutions that are infiltrated by

17
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organized crime. The most

recent dubious move by the
Mexican government in April
2014 is a proposed Internet law
that would broaden government
control and surveillance of the
Internet (Al Jazeera, 2014).
The proposed law, that claims
to combat illegal activity, has
triggered a huge wave of protests,
since the Mexican population is
worried that the government could
block communication signals at
protests. Seeing that the Internet
is also a highly important platform
for the auto-defense groups, the
actual implementation of this law
could trigger a renewed distrust
in the government and the weak
ties of the social contract are
again threatened to break down.
What effectively is lacking in
Mexico is the consequent fight
against widespread corruption
among state officials and an
ineffective justice system that
is marked by a high degree
of impunity. If Nieto does not
ensure that the drug cartels
are prosecuted, and especially
government officials that continue
to collaborate with the cartels, the
lack of trust in the government

will continue to exist. In order

to counteract the widespread
violence, police officials have
to be trained in order to respect
human rights and to resist
corruption.
In terms of a much broader
and more long-term perspective,
poverty is a fertile ground for the
recruitment of the cartels. Thus,
it is essential that the structural
poverty and the tremendous
inequality
is
combatted.
There have to be other legal
and
economically
feasible
opportunities for young Mexicans
that decrease the temptation to
make fast but dirty money in the
drug business. Last but not least,
it should not be forgotten that
as long as there is demand for
illicit drugs, there will always be
supply. Europe and especially the
U.S is the lucrative clientele that
contributes to the persistence of
drug cartels in Mexico.
Next to the international
demand for illegal drugs, the U.S
is the main supplier of arms to
Mexico, thereby contributing to
the intensity of the conflict (ICG,
2013). address this issue also
within their own borders.

18
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mosaek magazine

Accordingly and next to

domestic efforts, the international
community should not just point
the finger to Mexico but seek to
address this issue also within
their own borders.

Reference List:
Al Jazeera. (2014). Telecom changes cause alarm in Mexico. Retrieved 23rd of April, 2014
from
http://www.aljazeera.com/video/americas/2014/04/telecom-changes-cause-alarmmexico-20144244586740605.html | BBC. (2014a). Mexican president pledges help for troubled
Michoacan state. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-26043866
| BBC. (2014b). Mexico vigilantes parade through Knights Templar stronghold. Retrieved
15th of March, 2014 from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-26112067 | Conn,
C. (2014). How Michoacns armed Self-Defense Groups are retaking Power from Mexican
Cartels. SOccupy.Com. Retrieved 17th of March, 2014 from http://www.occupy.com/article/
how-michoac%C3%A1ns-armed-self-defense-groups-are-retaking-power-mexican-cartels
|
Fausset, R. (2014). Mexico to bring Michoacans self-defense groups into existing force. Los
Angeles Times. Retrieved 20th of March, 2014 from http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/
la-fg-wn-mexico-michoacan-self-defense-groups-20140127,0,5559980.story - axzz2znlqa99A
| Huellas de Mexico (2014). Uriel Chvez, la red poltica del alcalde Templario. Retrieved
22nd of April, 2014 from http://huellas.mx/politica/2014/04/23/uriel-chavez-los-contactos-delalcalde-templario/ | International Crisis Group (2013a). El desafo de Pena Nieto: los crteles
criminales y el Estade de Derecho en Mxico. Informe sobre Amrica Latina, 48. | International
Crisis Group (2013b). Update Briefing - Justice at the Barrel of a Gun: Vigilante Militias in Mexico.
Latin American Briefing, 29 | Len, O. (2014). Will Mexicos Successful Anti-Cartel Militias Seek
Systemic Change? The Real News. | Len, O. (2014). Mexicos Vigilante Groups Are a Force
to Reckon with Security Forces and Army. The Real News. Retrieved 29th of March, 2014
from http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74
&jumival=11417 | Locke, J. (1689). The Second Treatise of Government. Cambridge: Hackett
Publishing Company, Inc. | Rosseau, J. (1762). The Social Contract. In Simon&Schuster (Eds.)

19
Article

Hoe bevalt
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IN THE YEAR 3535
AINT GONNA NEED TO TELL THE TRUTH, TELL NO LIE
EVERYTHING YOU THINK, DO AND SAY
IS IN THE PILL YOU TOOK TODAY
IN THE YEAR 4545

20
Column

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se minci blaoreet, quat aute tie faccums an- ipsum dolorem dolore duis ex eugiam
digna facillaor in henim velis nibh exerius duipis auguercinibh ero dolorero cor si.
cidunt vullums andion henit lorperaessit La consent wis eugiam nonulluptat acilisse
lobore exerit adion venismo luptat. Mod mincilla feugait utet ullam vero do etuerat.
magnim zzriure el endre volorero et ipisl Ut wis at, venim quat alit praessent dolorel utatetum quipsummy nim quat venit er sim iusto odio cor sum delissecte digna
nostrud molore enim in essequisit ut wis aliquat am, core diamet dolorperat wissed
dolum dolesti onsenis alit ut la feum vel exeratuer summy numsan vel diamet aculla aciduis molore modit adit wis ad ta- cum dolenim quametu eriliquipit aci ex
tetuer sum digna feugait aci te faciduipisse eraesequi tis et ip eugait velit lore dunt ut
feu feugait vullutpat auguer ing ent wisse lore con ent num ilis eugait adit, sustiscil
coreet, veratet delesequam nim illamcoreet dolenim nim aliquissi tis etummy nulaccum dolore faccums andrerc ipissisi. luptat. Ut iure delenim vulla conummy
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21

Retrieved from: http://bit.ly/1AIEBPH

Mosaek

mosaek magazine

Guess its
time for the
Judgement Day
Pia Sombetzki

Zager and Evans sing In the

year 2525 in 1969. Repeating
numbers like 2525 and 5555
sound nice in a song but arent
we already now -- in 2014 -aiming for a status in which our
legs got nothin to do and our
arms are allowed to limp at
our sides? We have smart little
smart phones on which we run a
zillion of helpful apps that make
everything easier for us. They
organise our calendars, save
all the contacts we could never
remember on our own, and
remind us of meetings which
our stuffed brain would maybe
have forgotten otherwise. With
an internet connection, the
opportunities are endless of
what we can do with these

smart tools. Life generates

chaos but inventions such as
smart phones help us to easily
order what can be ordered in
life chaos reduction, is what
we practice, so to say.
Once thinking about all the
other means that mankind is
envisioning to further reduce
the chaos in our daily lives, a
stinky smell of fear arises. Will
we keep the control of the things
we build? In regard to smart
phones, hesitations come up
when answering this question.
Discussions about tracking
persons and personal data that
is saved on companies servers
rise more frequently. How will
those things further develop
when there eventually will be

22
Column

automatical robots and other machines that then replace the need
for peoples arms, legs, and maybe also brains? Mostly, we see
the handy sides and certainly there are many. Nevertheless, how
do we ensure that we keep control of the inventions we create?
Dont we maybe also need chaos to think creatively? Shouldnt
we draw conclusions from unexpected chaotic situations, to
further develop on a human scale? Sometimes it is for example
the cruelty we see that motivates us to do better. When everything
is programmed, life is easy -- but is easy always good? Have we
maybe already taken our permanent seat in 2525? To put it in
Zager and Evans words (http://bit.ly/1AIEBPH):

In the year 9595

Im kinda wonderin if man is gonna be alive
Hes taken everything this old earth can give
And he aint put back nothing
Now its been ten thousand years, man has cried a billion tears
For what, he never knew, now mans reign is through
But through eternal night, the twinkling of starlight
So very far away, maybe its only yesterday

23
Column

Chamber Music (2008) by Brian Hinkle

redactioneel

Sherzando
Mosaek

Denise Op den Kamp

During the producing stage of this issue, a new genre was thought of: the mixtape. Mosaek writers were able to express their feelings and ideas when listening to one of the music pieces, preselected by me. I would like to thank all writers for participating and sharing their views on the music. The mixtape can be
listened to via this following link: http://tinyurl.com/mosaiekchaos
Violin Concerto by Einojuhani Rautavaara
Denise Op den Kamp

Rautavaara is a contemporary Finnish composer. Unfortunately, his name is

not common to people outside of orchestras or the music world. I would say
that Rautavaaras music carries very mystic elements, especially in this violin
concerto. It is very chaotic and sinister but also at the same time mysterious.
What keeps me listening is the fact that dissonant tones strangely fit together
as well as that there are many different themes, variations and dynamics.

24
Advertisement

25
Mixtape

mosaek magazine
mosaek magazine

The Unanswered Question by Charles Ives

Musique Klezmer by Itamar Freilach

Katrin Geyer
Penetrating and pervasive, very very sad, almost makes me cry and
makes me think about a lot of sad things that have happened to me and
my close friends recently. To me, it kind of reflects the tragedy of life.

Michelle Friese
Im walking down some tiny Italian streets, Im
walking and walking with enthusiam yet with
time, smiling. Its warm, the sun is shining upon
my face, people are greeting. It is a happy day.
Im just walking, walking, enjoying the moment,
more people are coming across, smiling. I
am shortly stumbling, but quickly walk on.

Denise Op den Kamp

Ives composed a very interesting piece of music. With the Unanswered
Question he wants to represent Central Park. A speaker questions the
audience with the same question (the trumpet) over and over again. The
public replies at first by debating and discussing but turn agitated by the
speaker over time (the woodwinds). All the while, the strings represent
the atmosphere in Central Park. You can hear this in the music as the
woodwinds play more dissonant and faster notes and the strings constantly
play soft harmonious notes in the background. I chose this piece of music
to be included in my mixtape as it represents the chaos humans are able to
cause in our harmonious world.

Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin

Iris Becx
This song is like a rollercoaster! One moment I am sitting in a smoky jazz bar,
the next I am in the middle of New York City. It sounds like I am
part of a Disney movie, a pretty garden, narrow streets and majestic
boulevards. Id say its pretty chaotic, but a nice kind of chaotic.

Csrds by Vittorio Monti

Denise Op den Kamp
A fact few people know is that this Csrds is used by Lady Gaga
as introduction to her song Alejandro (2009). Originally a Csrds
is a Hungarian folk dance, to which both men and women dance.
Gypsies took this music genre to other countries where it became
more popular over time. Montis Csrds is the most well-known in the
world and is written for both violin and piano. It has seven different
tempos, making it one a chaotic and virtuosic piece of music.

26
Mixtape

Primevera Portea by stor Piazzolla

Denise Op den Kamp
stor Piazzolla is a well-known composer
of tango music. I specificially chose to put
his Primevera Portea tango on the Chaos
mixtape because of its diversity in tempos,
scenes and moods. Primevera Portea is a
compisition which together with three other
tangos form The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.
This tango represents springtime in Buenos Aires and has also been
adapted for violin and string orchestra. Both arrangements are equally
interesting. I imagine myself walking in the streets of Buenos Aires during
springtime, the busy life on the streets and the new leaves rustling in the
wind. But at the same time I hear the tranquility and beauty of the city.

27
Mixtape

Retrieved from: http://bit.ly/1pge8Vq

Memory as Justice:
The Act of Killing
Mosaek

Codruta Pohrib , a Ph.D. candidate at Maastricht University research-

ing into childhood memories from the communist period in Romania. Her
project, "Tales from the Golden Age-Narrating Communist Childhoods in
Romania", addresses recent, alternative discourses on the communist
past from the point of view of a generation growing up in Romania in the
1980s. Her general research interests concern childhood, media and
memory studies; she has a particular interest in transmedial narratology
and the affordances of new media as well as representations of childhood across media. Pohrib obtained her MA degree in Cultural Studies
at the University of Bucharest with a thesis on postmodern revisitations
of Enlightenment paradigms on childhood.
28
Canon

mosaek magazine

The Act of Killing

Production year: 2012
Countries: Rest of the world, UK
Cert (UK): 15
Runtime: 115/159 mins
Directors: Christine Cynn, Joshua
Oppenheimer, Anonymous
Surprisingly brushed aside in the
Academy Awards 2014, Joshua
Oppenheimers staggering 2012
accomplishment, The Act of Killing, has nonetheless secured a
stronghold place as one of the
most compelling documentaries
on human rights violations. Directed by Oppenheimer, Christine
Cynn and another anonymous Indonesian director, the documentary has taken the festival scene
by storm since it premiered at Toronto in 2012. This Docwest project of the University of Westminster won the 2013 European Film
Award for Best Documentary, the
Asia Pacific Screen Award and
the 2014 BAFTA award for Best
Documentary. Documenting reenactments of the 1965-1966 executions of Chinese ethnics during the anti-communist purges of
the Indonesian Suharto regime,
the film stars former black market
movie ticket sellers turned death

squad members, Anwar Congo

and Adi Zulkadry as they direct
their own cinematographic version of the past and comment on
the uncomfortable relationship
between memory and power.

As the film intertextually
engages with several cinematographic genres- the western, the
musical and the gangster film- favoured by American cinematography aficionados Anwar and Adi,
it takes on a surreally grim perspective on history, memory and
justice in a country where former
mass murders are acclaimed as
heroes. In the opening scenes
of the film Anwar merrily presents before the camera his special killing techniques and boasts
complete openness towards a
truthful recreation of the Indonesian mass murders of the 1960s.
His confidence in the legitimacy
of his actions gradually starts to
fade, however, as fiction and history blur and re-enactments of
the gruesomest kind unfold. The
documentary alternates between
behind the scenes conversations
among the gangsters donning
third-rate zombie films make-up,
their actual directorial work during the re-enactments and their

29
Canon

mosaek magazine

reactions on viewing the footage,

climaxing on stark reckonings
with the past. The executioners
attraction to American cinematography is cleverly employed as a
hook to convince them to collaborate in the first place, but it also
lends the documentary its visually
compelling quality, highlighting
the incongruity between Anwars
rudimentary expression of directorial technique and the apparently unshaken confidence in the
righteousness of past deeds. As
Anwars re-engagement with the
past becomes increasingly haltering, the travesty of mashed-up
filmic genres verges on the horrifically sublime.

Oppenheimers technique
reveals its complex ingeniosity:
the entrails of the perpetrators
aesthetic consciousness and
movie-making techniques mirror
the undigested past, its haunting presence and the burden of
trauma that explodes in the final
scene as Anwar is filmed literally
gagging on the realization of his
atrocious crimes. The grotesque
mimicry of American-style cinema
also serves as an ironic reminder
of the responsibility of Western
states in the 1960s mass killings.

On the occasion of a screening in

Washington, Oppenheimer explicitly called on the U.S. government
to take actions supporting the
condemnation of the Indonesian
mass murders as crimes against
humanity. This, along with reactions from the Indonesian government in the wake of the films increasing popularity and the public
outcry on Chinese social media,
clearly points to the performative
nature of the documentary. The
Act of Killing is not only a harrowing film on the role of memory as
a form of justice but has become
instrumental in unleashing a wave
of remembrance.

Watched in underground
circles regulated by extreme caution in Indonesia and with the majority of the filming crew protected
by anonymity, it has led to the
brutal realization that the specter
of past violence is anything but
ghostly-it is in fact the Indonesian
government in the flesh, protected by paramilitary groups where
Anwar is celebrated as a hero
and a founding father. Spiraling
down from Anwars innocent enthusiasm and aplomb to his harrowing confrontation with the savagery of his crimes triggered by

30
Canon

mosaek magazine

a role-reversal scene where he

is tortured according to his own
recipe, the film stands as a strong
example of the edifying power of
documentary cinema to dramatically alter the understanding of
the past. Far from taking a onesided approach-in fact, criticism
has been leveled at the directors
for humanizing the perpretatorsThe Act of Killing goes a long way
towards exploring the fictionalization of memory, the undead nature
of past trauma and the unsettling
ambiguity of the political executioner in a context where mass
killings are legitimized by political
and military power.

31
Canon

Mosaek

Lets Exchange Fluids

Iris Becx

Taal is een wonderlijk iets. Door middel van klank kan men de gedachten vorm geven en ervoor zorgen dat anderen er ook kennis
van nemen. Ook kun je je bijzonder hulpeloos voelen als je de juiste
klanken nit weet voort te brengen.
Twee zomers geleden heb ik een intensieve talencursus
Tsjechisch van een maand gevolgd omdat ik een halfjaar in Praag
zou gaan studeren. Het was augustus en bloedheet. Elke dag zat ik
van s ochtends negen uur tot een uur of vier in een lokaaltje om de
basis van het Tsjechisch onder de knie te krijgen. Dat viel nog niet
mee. Het Tsjechisch is een Slavische taal, dus in klank en zinsbouw
heel anders dan de (Germaanse en Romaanse) talen die ik al ken.
Elke dag worstelde ik met woorden met oneindig veel medeklinkers
achter elkaar. Het woord voor ijsje is bijvoorbeeld zmrzlina. Toch is
dit nog n van de makkelijk uitspreekbare tongtwisters.
32
Canon

Retrieved from: http://bit.ly/1r4HY0p

mosaek magazine

De woorden waar ik de meeste moeite had waren tyi (vier) omdat de -klank in het Nederlands niet voorkomt en tvrtek (donderdag) omdat deze combinatie medeklinkers gewoon niet uit te
spreken is zonder weken van oefening. Als je benieuwd bent naar
de uitspraak van deze woorden: raadpleeg google translate.
Hoewel mijn medeleerlingen en ik struikelden over de woorden,
was er een andere taal die voor nog meer verwarring en vermaak
zorgde: het Engels. Het viel me op dat de meeste West- en NoordEuropeanen prima Engels spraken, maar de Zuid- en Oost-Europeanen er de grootste moeite mee hadden. Hun uitspraak en hun
woordenschat was soms ronduit slecht en dat leidde tot grappige
momenten. Zo deelde een Portugees een beetje bedroefd mede
dat hij vorig jaar heel wat meer bitches (beaches) had bezocht
dan dit jaar en antwoordde hij altijd op de vraag aan welk criterium een maaltijd moet voldoen met sheep (cheap). Telkens
weer moest ik nadenken over wat hij bedoelde. Het kwam ook
regelmatig voor dat mensen moeilijkere woorden gebruikten dan
eigenlijk nodig was.
Zo vertelde de Griek dat hij een cold sensation kreeg toen hij
per ongeluk een ijsblokje doorslikte en eet hij het liefst een salade
met kaas-particles. En van de grappigste fouten werd gemaakt
door een Pools meisje dat boos aan kwam lopen en riep: Im disgusting!. Na een moment stilte barstte iedereen in lachen uit en
daar werd de Poolse alleen maar bozer van. Het bleek dat ze net
een verhitte discussie had gevoerd met iemand anders en eigenlijk wilde zeggen: Im discussing. Dit soort uitspraken zijn natuurlijk grappig, totdat ze zo dubbelzinnig worden dat je niet meer
weet waar je aan toe bent. De eerdergenoemde Portugees en ik
gingen bier kopen in de supermarkt en we besloten beiden een
bier van hetzelfde merk te nemen. Nadat we hadden afgerekend
en buiten allebei een slok van ons bier hadden genomen keek hij
me doordringend aan en zei: Lets exchange fluids.
33
Column

Habia una vez,

In een koninkrijk hier ver vandaan,
A queen and a king lived,
Og de levede lykkeligt til deres dages
ende,
Das Ende.
34
Column

Twee ervaringsdeskundigen
aan het woord
Anna Wolters

Mosaek

Life In Translation?
Michelle Friese

After a semester packed with discussions, literature and research

papers in English I am standing there, back in my home country lost. I am trying to ask for directions, but the once so natural and
instinctive words seem to have become odd entities to me. I do not
really know them anymore, I even forgot some. They are leaving my
mouth as alien elements, they feel weird on my tongue. It seems that
I need to learn using my mother tongue again. I am confused. In
fact, it seems like a stranger is talking. These words finally turn into
a whole sentence but the person who has formed them seems to be
another me.
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Column

mosaek magazine

mosaek magazine

In the international environment of our studies and after a year of

work and travel in Australia, my mind is messed up. Because of a
steady new input it is difficult to tidy up. I do not even know whether
that is something positive or negative. It is chaos and chaos can be
both positive and negative to you. It might leave you puzzled, nothing is very clear, it is a mess. But it is also characteristic since it may
describe your state of mind in a certain moment better than anything
else could do. But what is more, it may also be more interesting and
it can also be charming to not always be ideally sorted out.
Another language than my mother tongue has reached me, has
formed me, has become a part of me. I do not only read, write and
talk but also think, dream and swear in English by now. Nevertheless,
my level of this second language has by far not reached the state of
perfection which I have once possessed in my mother tongue. That
is no reason for the English language, however, not to sneak into the
conversations back in my home country and to create chaos in my
mind (and chaos for my conversation partners, as well). Yet, in precisely those moments, where the right words of my mother tongue
seem to be far out of reach, I am aware of my mother tongue again.
Incorporating another language, hence, also enables you to revisit
and review your own language again. And with such a new perspective (like knowing how it feels to dream in another language) I might
start criticizing my mother tongue for its harsh pronunciation. But,
with such a new perspective I do also find an unmatchable and intense value in my mother tongue, which has until then been successfully camouflaged by habit.
You do identify with the language you express yourself with. And
as it once has only been one, it is a crucial difference once another
language really gains such an important role in your life. It is true, I
feel different talking in either language. I identify myself differently
with the English language than with my mother tongue. Maybe the
English represents me better now and my mother tongue presents
myself of the past. Actually, I have chosen the English language to
become a part of me, I was not forced to do so. However, as I chose

to go abroad and also to study in English, I absolutely did not expect that it could shape me so deeply. You can wear languages like
dresses and feel good or bad about it. Every dress might give you
another feeling of who you are and you can choose freely. But once
you wear too many different dresses after each other or even at the
same time you will find yourself in a chaos of yourself.

I cannot formulate the idioms of my mother tongue properly
anymore, but I do not even know as many new ones in my second
language. It becomes clear that I am not as strong in English as I
once have been in my mother tongue. I do not have the purely instinctive connection to the language - and this is ironically exactly
what I have also lost in my mother tongue. It is the price, it seems,
which one has to pay if one wants to wear different dresses. So,
there are two languages which I know well but maybe not perfectly
(yet or not anymore). There are two languages which each give me
different feelings of myself. I am standing between two different arts
of expression, two different feelings and two different MEs and in
none can I fully be there. It is a chaos of two different languages,
fighting for the pre-dominance in my self.
It opens you up some new doors but it also closes others which had
been open for you for so long. It is a chaos that an international atmosphere and globalisation have created. You are everywhere and you
are nowhere. It takes a lot of energy swirling between two different
worlds. Maybe it is also too late to go back to your old world now that
another language has become so crucial to you. It might be chaotic
and confusing for you, also thinking about how connected you are to
either side. But perhaps this chaos, which describes your everyday
life, is not a chaos anymore but has indeed become a new order of
your life; a positive, beautiful and valuable chaos which has broadened your horizon, which has enabled you to see an old order, once
taken for so granted, through new eyes; a marvelous chaos which
can actually make sense of your turmoil.

36
Column

37
Column

mosaek magazine

Meneer Dohmen, laten we bij het begin beginnen. Wat was uw drijfveer
als onderzoeksjournalist om u te verdiepen in corruptie - een fenomeen
dat zich moeilijk laat onderzoeken?

Mosaek

Zuid-Limburg, je zal er maar wonen

Maxime Hensels
Tot aan het begin van de jaren negentig was men het er in Nederland
over eens dat er geen integriteitsprobleem in Nederland bestond.
Dit veranderde toen in diezelfde periode het openbaar bestuur in
Limburg van de ene corruptie-affaire in de andere rolde. Dit naar
aanleiding van een driejarig onderzoeksproject van twee gedegen
onderzoeksjournalisten in Limburg; Joep Dohmen en Henk Langenberg.
Joep Dohmen (Heerlen, 22 april 1960) is sinds 1999 verslaggever
en onderzoeksjournalist bij NRC Handelsblad en voormalig journalist
bij Dagblad de Limburger. In 1996 schreef Dohmen het boek De
Vriendenrepubliek, over de nauwe band tussen de politiek en de
bouwwereld in Limburg. Naar aanleiding van dit boek ga ik met hem
in gesprek over zijn inzichten, persoonlijke drive en ervaringen als
onderzoeksjournalist vanaf begin jaren negentig tot heden.
38
Interview

Ik was redacteur bij de Limburger en die krant was zich op
dat moment - eind jaren negentig - aan het ontworstelen. Als je het
boek leest dan zie je dat de media in Zuid Limburg in handen was
van de katholieke machthebbers. Zij hadden ontzettend veel invloed
op de pers en die periode liep ten einde zo eind jaren tachtig. De
hoofdredacteur, Hans Koenen, was als het ware de personificatie van
het losmaken van de media op dat moment. Althans bij Dagblad de
Limburger, want dat gold op dat moment nog niet voor alle regionale
kranten in Limburg. Toen had Limburg nog drie regionale kranten,
nu n. Hoofdredacties hebben natuurlijk een bepalende invloed of
berhaupt een onderzoek naar corruptie en integriteit gedaan kan
worden. Als je een hoofdredacteur hebt die hier helemaal niets voor
voelt en die bevattelijk is voor commentaar van belanghebbenden die
hem dan bellen enzovoort, wat natuurlijk gedurende het onderzoek
nog wel eens gebeurde, is het haast onmogelijk om het werk voort te
zetten.

Bovendien was het zo dat het dusdanig ingebed was in de
cultuur dat heel veel mensen van corruptiepraktijken wisten. Het
was wel bekend bij de Limburgers. Henk Langenberg en ik hadden
ons kantoor in de Wolfstaat, en als we naar buiten liepen, was caf
de Bobbel niet te missen. In de Bobbel dronken wij een biertje en
achter onze rug zat de wethouder met een aannemer een dealtje te
sluiten. Wij hoefden eigenlijk alleen maar ons oor te luister te leggen.
Daarnaast denk ik dat wij beide een persoonlijke drive hadden om
dergelijke corruptiepraktijken aan het licht te brengen.

39
Interview

mosaek magazine

Hoe zit het nu met de pers in Limburg? Beide dagbladen vallen onder
eenzelfde redactie? In hoeverre is er nog sprake van een onafhankelijke
pers. En functioneert deze als waakhond of schoothond?

In principe is het Limburgs dagblad er op vooruit gegaan, in
vergelijking met de periode van 96 toen ik werkzaam was bij Dagblad
de Limburger. Destijds heeft de regionale pers zich ontworsteld aan
het keurslijf van het gezag. Een scharniermoment. En ik denk dat
die traditie, ondanks de grote financile problemen die de regionale
pers ondervindt, is voortgezet. Zij hebben tot op de dag van vandaag
aandacht en geld over voor onderzoeksjournalistiek en kritische
berichtgeving. Wat ik weet is dat zij, ondanks alle bezuinigingen,
nu bezig zijn met het opzetten van een onderzoeksgroep met een
onderzoeksredactie. Zo is ook de kwestie van VVD wethouder Jos
van Rey ,die wordt verdacht van corruptie, onder andere door het
Limburgs Dagblad op de agenda gezet.

Of dat de directe aanleiding is voor het Openbaar Ministerie
om een onderzoek te starten weet ik niet. Het is zeker zo dat de
provinciale overheid zich zorgen maakt dat deze democratische
waakhondfunctie in het geding komt, naarmate deze krant minder
lezers en geld heeft. Je moet niet willen dat zo een waakhond op
regionaal niveau wegvalt. Wij kunnen hier niet bij het NRC, vanuit
Amsterdam, elke gemeenteraad volgen of elk provinciebestuur in de
gaten houden. Dat moeten voornamelijk journalisten uit de eigen regio
doen. Zo zit ons hele democratische bestel in elkaar.
Was er volgens u een verschil tussen hoe de regionale kranten in
Limburg in vergelijking tot de Landelijke kranten schreven over deze
corruptie affaires?

Je zag dat het bij ons veel fundamenteler spitwerk was, waarbij
wij ook door eigen onderzoek en bronnen kwamen tot nieuwe zaken.
De corruptieschandalen begonnen bij wegenbouwer Sjaak Baars
die in opspraak raakte door het betalen van steekpenningen aan
ambtenaren en politici in Zuid-Limburg.
40
Interview

mosaek magazine

Na een gesprek met Baars en op basis van zijn dossier kregen
wij een enorme hoeveelheid informatie die nagetrokken moest worden
en waarbij telkens nieuwe namen opdoken. Wij waren daarin leidend
als regionale krant. Je ziet bijvoorbeeld dat die andere regionale krant
(Limburgs dagblad), niet die toegang tot die informatie en dossiers
had. Het was dan ook interessant te zien dat zij vaak de kant kozen van
diegene die werden beschuldigd van corruptie. Er zijn verschillende
voorbeelden van hoe het Limburgs Dagblad publiceerde dat het
allemaal wel meeviel in het Zuiden van het land. Landelijke bladen
bleven in zekere zin meer passief, waarbij als je de koppen van de
Telegraaf bekeek titels verschenen als: Corruptie tussen de vlaaien
en Palermo aan de Maas. Limburg werd dus door veel landelijke
dagbladen als uitzonderlijk neergezet.
Hoe moet volgens u het paraplubegrip corruptie bekeken worden?

In het totaliteitsspectrum van integriteitsschendingen zit
corruptie meer aan de uiterste kant van het spectrum. In ieder geval
tegen die uiterste kant aan en begint het spectrum met kleine diensten
en vriendendiensten. Het is een heel subtiel spel en een glijdende
schaal. Het is niet zo simpel om een concrete lijn te trekken en het
is daarom moeilijk om er een eenduidige definitie op na te houden.
Als je bijvoorbeeld het wetboek van Strafrecht gebruik, zie je dat
het aannemen van een gift door iemand met een publieke functie al
voldoende is .Daarin heb je nog gradaties; door iets te doen waarbij jij
iets doet wat je niet mag doen of juist iets wat je wel mag doen. Het is
dus uiteindelijk een vrij breed fenomeen, want veel zaken vallen onder
corruptie of worden corrupt genoemd. De meest letterlijke betekenis
geeft aan dat iets verrot is. Dat is eigenlijk de essentie. Jij bent corrupt
als jij geld aanneemt om dit interview te plaatsen in jullie magazine en
ik daar persoonlijk voordeel bij heb. Maar waar ligt de grens? Bij twee
koffie die ik vanmiddag voor jou betaal?

41
Interview

mosaek magazine

Denkt u dat er in Limburg sprake is van een ander idee van wat ideaal
bestuur zou moeten zijn?
Ja er bestaat een andere perceptie van wat kan en niet kan. Dat is
cultuur en maatschappij gebonden. Inzicht in de culturele achtergrond
en de geschiedenis van de provincie Limburg is nodig om de manier
waarop mensen met elkaar omgaan in Limburg te begrijpen. De
manier waarop mensen met elkaar omgaan is ook mede bepalend
voor wat je vindt dat kan en wat niet kan.
Is corruptie kenmerkend voor Limburg?
Corruptie komt overal voor en zeker niet uitsluitend in Limburg. Het
is dan ook onzin dit fenomeen louter aan Limburg toe te dichten.
Daarentegen beschrijf ik wel in mijn boek dat de voedingsbodem
voor corruptie hier een stuk sterker is dan in de rest van Nederland.
Het is van belang de Limburgse politieke cultuur van een historische
context te voorzien wil men deze voedingsbodem in kaart brengen.
De vriendenrepubliek heeft zich naar mijn mening kunnen realiseren
na de sluiting van de mijnen door Premier Den Uyl in 1965. Het gevoel
van een onverwerkt verleden lag hier aan ten grondslag. Om dit te
begrijpen moeten we nog verder terug in de geschiedenis gaan en
wordt het jaar 1838, waar Limburg ongewenst aan de Nederlandse
staat wordt toegevoegd, belangrijk. De zuidelijke provincie had bij
het nieuwe Belgi willen behoren, omdat het zich daar veel meer bij
aangesloten voelde. De annexatie zorgde voor een sterk anti-Hollands
sentiment en een sterker groepsgevoel. De katholieke achtergrond
van Limburg leek zich niet te kunnen verenigen met de calvinistische
zeden en gewoonten van de Hollanders. Zij waren niet eine vaan us.
Niet alleen vanuit Limburg maar ook vanuit Holland was er een mate
van antipathie, waarbij zelfs nog werd gesproken over het verkopen
van Nederland aan de Duitse Bond. Door de vondst van steenkool
verdween de desinteresse in Limburg: een actieve kolonisatie volgde.
42
Interview

mosaek magazine

Er werd een spoorlijn aangelegd en in 1901 ontstonden de Staatsmijnen,

met een immigratiestroom tot gevolg. De komst van Hollanders naar
de mijnen en het investeren in onderwijs (voorheen was het met het
onderwijs niet goed gesteld in Limburg) versnelde de integratie van
Limburg in Nederland. Toen den Uyl de staatsmijnen ging sluiten was
het integratieproces nog zeker niet voltooid. Limburg moest zijn eigen
boontjes gaan doppen. De plannen van herstructurering moesten
daarom ook alleen de Limburgers aangaan. De landelijke politiek
erkende dit gevoel en de provincie Limburg kreeg grote inspraak
in het herstructureringsprogramma: het besteden van honderden
miljoenen in de economie na de sluiting van de mijnen. Drijfveer bij
de verdeling was dat elke cent in de regio goed terecht kwam: het
creren van werk, werk en nog eens werk.

Zo ontstond er een boycot van bedrijven buiten Limburg om de
Limburgse markt en werkgelegenheid te beschermen en als het ware
te isoleren. Zuid Limburg was een eigen kleine republiek waarin men
op elkaar aangewezen was. Het feitelijk creren van werk deed de
politiek niet zelf maar liet zij over aan het Limburgse bedrijfsleven.Van
de ene op de andere dag was het een belangrijk lobby-doel voor Zuid
Limburgse ondernemers. Zo begon het spel: bestuurders zaten aan
tafel met zakenmensen uit het bedrijfsleven die de geldstroom wilden
binnenhalen. Een nauwe band tussen politiek en bedrijfsleven is een
van de voorbodes voor corruptie.
Zijn
er
naast
het
moeizame
integratieproces
en
de
herstructureringsplannen andere zaken die ten grondslag liggen aan
de Limburgse politieke cultuur?
Niet alleen de sluiting van de mijnen kan de voedingsbodem
voor corruptie verklaren. De nauwe banden tussen politiek en de
bedrijfswereld was van oudsher al symbolisch. Dit heeft zeker te
maken met de katholieke achtergrond van Limburg.

43
Interview

mosaek magazine

Zaken doen ging in de Zuidelijkste provincie altijd, tot in de late jaren

70, onder de paraplu van de Rooms-katholieke werkgeversvereniging.
Zelfs nu, wordt het CDA in veel gemeenten sterk vertegenwoordigd,
al is dit sinds 2010 aan het afnemen. Het is een boek apart om hier
op in te gaan. Het katholicisme kenmerkt zich ten opzichte van het
protestantisme in de hirarchische structuur en het belang van gezag
en autoriteit. Daarnaast, en ik geloof dat het professor Steenkamp
van de Universiteit Maastricht was die zei dat katholieken nog altijd
kunnen biechten als ze iets fout (in dit geval iets corrupts) gedaan
hebben .Dit in tegenstelling tot het Protestantisme waar fout altijd fout
blijft. Je zou kunnen stellen dat Katholieken wat dat betreft een wat
minder ontwikkeld normbesef hebben. Er zijn zoveel factoren die een
rol spelen, maar dit heeft zeker meegespeeld.
In uw boek gaat u ook in op het lokale karakter van de politiek en het
clintelisme dat daaruit voortkomt. Hoe valt dit karakter te verklaren?

mosaek magazine

vanuit een totaal andere perceptie en vanuit een totaal andere cultuur
politiek gaan bedrijven.
Is de Vriendenrepubliek voor u als onderzoeksjournalist een
gesloten boek of houdt u zich nog steeds voornamelijk bezig met de
corruptieproblematiek en integriteitskwesties in Limburg?

Er zijn nog steeds mensen die mij, naar aanleiding van de
publicaties in de Limburger en mijn boek, bellen om reactie te geven
op de reeks nieuwe affaires zoals die van Jos van Rey. Ik moet zeggen
dat ik me daarvan afzijdig houd. Het werd voor mij natuurlijk steeds
moeilijker om gedegen journalistiek te bedrijven in Limburg. Iedereen
kent elkaar en mijn naam was natuurlijk bij de meeste al bekend. Hier
in Amsterdam kan ik werken en informatie inwinnen zonder dat er
meteen een belletje bij de mensen gaat rinkelen.

In mijn boek haal ik Wim Kuiper aan. Hij promoveerde aan de
Universiteit van Maastricht op een proefschrift over lokale politiek
in Limburg. Hierin beschrijft hij dat er in Limburg een persoonlijke
manier van politiek wordt bedreven. Dit vertaalt zich in het grote
aantal voorkeursstemmen dat wordt uitgebracht. Er is natuurlijk een
verschil tussen het platteland, steden, kleine dorpen en gemeenten.
Desondanks kenmerken de gemeenteraadsverkiezingen zich door de
veelheid aan fracties gesteund door een achterban.

Ook bij de landelijke verkiezingen is het interessant dat
Limburgse kandidaten van landelijke politieke partijen voorkeursacties
houden met hun foto op iedere hoek van de straat. Dat is veel meer
persoonsgebonden. Politiek bedrijven in het caf als het ware. Die
politieke klantenbinding, ook wel clintelisme genoemd, is heel
gebruikelijk in sommige delen van dit land, en voornamelijk in Limburg
en Brabant. Je ziet deze mentaliteit nu ook bij nieuwe Nederlanders.
In Amsterdam heb je een grote Turkse PvdA delegatie en invloed.
Je ziet dat daar integriteitsproblemen ontstaan, omdat die mensen
44
Interview

45
Interview

The Magic Black Box

Catherine van Harinxma

White light
Sheds on your face.

Smiling
And to who.

Your mouth
Betrays

The magic
Black box

Where your
Consciousness lies.

Does not
Give a clue.

Your eyes
wide open.

Only your mouth

Betrays

Not a blink.
They

Where your
Consciousness lies.

Are drying out

Like ink

Nowadays
I Wonder

On paper.
Nowadays

Wherever
And whenever

I wonder
Where you are.

You are.
Not here.

In a new restaurant
Or another continent.
I wonder
Why you are
46
Poem

47
Poem

Item
:
Cost 1 challe
:1e
n
xciti ge
Size
n
:
Imp S, M or g year
act:
L
XXL

This year, were challenging ourselves to wear the

change we want to see in the world.
CHOOSE YOUR SIZE & JOIN THE FASHION SHIFT

Join the movement & find out more by sending your challenge + an inspiring quote to
fashionshiftnow@gmail.com

www.FashionShiftNow.org

48
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