Farewell Ronald Venetiaan, Poet at Heart and President who was not for sale.
I feel super privileged and so blessed to have known Oom Ro, President of the Republic of Suriname from 1991 till 1996 and again from 2000 till 2010.
Vene, as the people of Suriname affectionately call him, is one of the leaders I deeply respected and looked up for many reasons. Not only was he friendly and intelligent with a good sense of humor, he was a poet of the people, a math teacher who became Minister of Education then President of Suriname, simply because people trusted him.
The nickname given to him by Dutch politicians — “the man with the ten clean fingers" — says it all; this man was not for sale and this is what makes him the legend that he is; a voice of truth and integrity that our country will deeply miss. Whether you loved him or disagreed with him, he was respected for the unwavering values he lived by.
President Venetiaan, Drs. Mireille Liong, First Lady, Liesbeth Venetiaan
Conversations with Oom Ro were always fascinating. I love a good debate, but this was not a man one could easily debate. I tried it in my student days, but as I grew older — or wiser — I realized it was far better to listen and learn. So, I did. Around the time of Obama’s rise, I sent him my signed copy of Dreams from My Father, which he tremendously enjoyed. From then on, we shared many meaningful conversations.
🖤 A Dark Page in Suriname’s History
Once, sitting on his porch, he told me how he experienced December 8th — a dark page in Suriname’s history.
He wasn’t President yet, but he too was picked up at home by the military and taken into custody. As I listened in horror, haunted by the thought that he could have been one of the victims, he calmly said that for him, there not a moment of fear. His sweet supportive wife Liesbeth, was even allowed to bring him clean clothes and about a week or so later, they let him go. Although he wasn’t physically tortured, this was at a time when fifteen opposition leaders had just been killed.
And yet, after being jailed during a time that traumatized our nation, he returned home to become the President who never bowed to money or violence — a man unafraid to speak out against the injustices of December 8th and beyond. President Venetiaan stood firm in truth, guided by conscience, never by fear.
💛 The Compassionate Statesman
Then there was the Oom Ro I don’t think many in Suriname ever saw — the compassionate soul behind the statesman, the uncle you could call when you were in need.
One night in 2020, during the pandemic, my father was suddenly hospitalized. Desperate and in tears, a million miles away in New York, with little to no information, I called Oom Ro. Vene listened — calm as always — and promised to find out what he could. And he did. He made sure the doctor called to inform me.
For that, I will always be grateful.
🌹 A Legend We Will Forever Honor
With President Venetiaan gone, Suriname has lost a great statesman — a poet who answered the call, a teacher who led by example, a man as powerful as he was humble.
A legend so modest he declined a state funeral, because he didn’t want to be treated differently from the ordinary man — the man we will forever hold in the highest regard.
