A piece of Surinamese heritage has now been wiped out. Casa Blanca in Moengo in the district of Marowijne was completely destroyed by fire last week. Only the ruins of the building now remain, surrounded by burnt vegetation. Marcel Pinas, artist and the driving force behind Kibii Wi Koni Research Center, says it is painful to know that the building burned down in this way.
Casa Blanca, the former director’s residence of the Surinaamse Bauxiet Maatschappij, was destroyed by fire for reasons that remain unknown. The building is one of Suriname’s best-known historical buildings. It was built in the 1920s as a residence for the manager of the bauxite company. The building later acquired a social function as a meeting place for staff and residents of the bauxite town. Pinas emphasises that, as a young boy, he himself visited the building several times with his mother.
Pinas stresses that his earlier attempts to have the building included on Marowijne’s heritage list failed. He states that in 2018, the state was asked to allow the building to be used, but this was refused. During the last Bouterse government, which served until 2020, he was given a story. “We were told: this belongs to Bouterse and you are not allowed to touch it.” “During the transition from the Bouterse government to Santokhi, the site was allocated to private individuals.”
Pinas previously established an organisation together with stakeholders called Erfgoed monumentenzorg Marowijne. “At the time, we identified 45 buildings that should be added to Suriname’s heritage list and presented this, but the government never took it up to say: ‘This, for example, is protected.”
Casa Blanca was an attraction for decades, Pinas says. “It must be a wake-up call for us to protect our heritage, because that makes us unique. That makes us different.” In 1958, Princess Beatrix herself stayed in the building during a visit to Suriname.
