International

This summer thousands of Surinamese Dutch citizens will fly to the land of their birth, or in some cases of their parents' birth. For a limited number this is an annual event. For many more it is far more than a year between trips, and often they have to leave their children behind in the Netherlands while they go. Some of these children do not have the chance to see the country from which their own families come until they are in their teens, some not until they are adults The biggest reason for the limited passenger traffic between the Netherlands, where almost half of ethnic Surinamese people live, and the land of their origin is the price of the airfare. This is absurdly high. Flying to Surinam's capital city, Paramaribo, costs in some cases three to four times as much as flying a comparable distance elsewhere.