What the sea brought us

In 1920, Eunitha Maylor emigrated from Barbados to Curaçao with her husband. She wanted to leave her homeland when she learnt that her father had unlawfully appropriated a sugar cane plantation. She could not bring herself to accept this, particularly as she was being personally threatened. Her husband found a job at the oil refinery in Curaçao.

Settling in proved difficult for Eunitha. The different language, clothing and customs were looked down upon by the people of Curaçao. The nickname ‘bedji’ that was bestowed upon her aptly illustrates this.

Stigmatisation, discrimination and the lingering effects of the island’s history of slavery took their toll on her. Eunitha’s husband leaves her and moves in with a local woman. And as if that weren’t enough, the descendants of the rightful owner of the sugar cane plantation track her down in Curaçao.

Will she eventually feel at home in her new motherland?

What role does the ‘johnny cake’ play in this?

What becomes of the sugar cane plantation?