The Central Bureau of Statistics has published the latest numbers on the population for the first quarter of this year.
The population grew slower this quarter compared to the same timespan last year. This year, the population grew by 15,500, while last year, it grew by 24,200 for the same quarter. Part of the reason for this decrease is due to how the coronavirus has impacted migration flows to the Netherlands, reports RTL Nieuws.
Higher deaths than births
Principally due to the coronavirus, more people died in the month of March than usual.
Mortality and births are usually balanced, but this quarter, there were 3000 more deaths than births.
Nevertheless, the country’s population has continued to grow as people decided to move to the Netherlands nonetheless, according to CBS sociologist Tanja Traag.
Less emigration
According to Traag, people who were working abroad have decided to come back to the Netherlands.
Besides that, there have also been people who have refrained from emigrating, such as those who had a job position opening abroad but decided to cancel plans due to the coronavirus.
Immigration has also decreased
There have been fewer immigrants coming into the country as well, according to the CBS.
Immigrants from countries like Turkey and India arrived in lower numbers in the month of March, and the CBS has said that they expect the impact of the coronavirus on immigration will be more visible once the data for April will become available.
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From today, intercity trains are back online, meaning longer journeys will take far less time than they have for the past month.
The NS has been running on a special timetable since 21 March, which involves only two trains per hour leaving in any particular direction. These trains also stop at every station, so travelling a long distance took far more time than usual. Additionally, these trains sometimes got too full at particular times of day, meaning that it was impossible to keep a 1.5m distance from all passengers.
Not an excuse for an outing, NS emphasises
These issues will hopefully be diminished by the addition of intercity trains, but the NS was very clear that the extra rail service is not to be used as an excuse for an outing. They are purely intended to service people travelling to and from work.
Amsterdam public transport reopens more services
All around the country, other public transport networks are reopening as well. In Amsterdam, four of the five metro lines are back online, with trams running more often than they have over the past month as well. While this is partly to deal with the extra passengers from NS, it is also in anticipation of 11 May, when primary schools will partially reopen and more people will be moving around the city.
More buses and trams all over the country
Buses are also going to be coming more often. “It is one large network, if the NS suddenly comes with an extra intercity in place A, this has consequences,” said Pedro Peters, spokesman for umbrella organisation OV NL, RTLZ reports. Bus and tram companies will be monitoring the situation and adding more buses or trams if they think it is necessary.
Schedules are still uncertain
Passengers are asked to plan their journeys well in advance, because things are still unpredictable as the public transport system warms up once again.
Do you think it is a good idea to begin running intercity trains again? Let us know in the comments below.
The Netherlands: a safe haven for queers, an incredibly culturally diverse nation and a place where all fun things are legal. This, or similar, is a common picture conjured up in discussions surrounding the cheese and tulip-loving nation.
But the black and brown communities are not really on board with this one-sided presentation and point the finger to the hidden side of the coin: social exclusion of minorities, racial profiling, negative stereotyping of non-whites, and the world’s best-known blackface, Zwarte Piet.
A self-proclaimed tolerant and inclusive dutchie might respond to such accusations with their eyes rolling, forehead frowned, saying: “If you don’t like it here why don’t you go back to where you come from — what else do you want to eradicate from our culture?” Well, since you’re asking, plenty actually, but how about we begin with an open discussion surrounding racial discrimination?
Reasons as to why there is a burning necessity to open up this discourse are plenty, rooted in the draining everyday experiences of non-whites. Let’s start by talking about some of those, so we all know what we are dealing with.
Everyday encounters
My friend Etienne is African-American who came to study in Amsterdam on a scholarship. He is also very handsome and consequently takes his Cardio seriously (some days more than others). One of his runs led him through beautiful Amsterdam-west and he did some window-shopping while at it (apparently not only women are able to multi-task). As a dedicated fashionista, he spotted a pair of chic shoes and snapped a pic with his phone.
Maybe 30 minutes later back at his apartment, he notices a police car. The cops stop him, stating that he had raised their suspicion because of the photo he had taken of the shoes. Did he plan to return later and steal them? Etienne’s initial confusion (did they need directions or why are they approaching me?) turned into anger that they must have been following him for the past half an hour or so. His body trembles, but not because of exhaustion from the run, but because of the oh so familiar and agitating feeling of being accused of something he didn’t do.
He straight up confronts the cops, pointing out their nonsensical argumentation and illegitimate behavior. The very purpose of the shoes displayed in the window is to attract the attentive gaze of passing victims of consumerism. There surely had been plenty of white people starring at the shoes, too, but the unconscious bias of the cops had led them to follow him, the running black guy. The two get very embarrassed about the racist label and drive off.
“I’m not a racist, really…”
He can tell you stories like this for a week, echoed globally by black and brown people. The way you look still defines the way you are treated, immensely. A strategy he employs to protect himself from for example excessive scrutiny at the airport is that he dresses up extra sleek and bougey before hopping on a plane. I guess the lighter the complexion, the more comfortable you can go with the travel outfit (this would finally explain white girls traveling in their PJs).
My friend Cho would never compromise his afro-hipster style as a preventative measure. He is a professor at the University of Amsterdam with the most lavish dreadlocks of the entire staff (I am not sure whether anyone else has locks, but he’d win in any case) and his resistance to normative fashion in the profession has stocked him with a never-ending repertoire of stories that’ll make your mouth drop wide open.
To many in The Netherlands it does as well. The discussion here has been hijacked by agressieve and loud right wing groups. For the first time in my life I really don’t like my country. We used to be a beacon of liberal, progressive and free thinking ideas, now we condone racism.
A few years back we were chilling at the Pllek in Amsterdam-Noord, a Senegalese band was playing. We were vibing and enjoying drums and beer, when a white lady sitting a few tables over, came and destroyed the fun. She asked Cho whether he had seen her 20 Euros. “Which 20 Euros?” “My 20 Euros that were here on the table” “Oh do you want me to help look for them?” “No, I mean…”. And that’s when he understood that the lady thought he had stolen the 20 Euros.
She was punished (or blessed) with a passionate and angry lecture about how she should be ashamed of herself for judging people by the way they look, she had chosen to accuse not the people seated next to her, but the closest black person. At some point, she starts crying “I am not a racist, really, I just…”. I am certain that if Cho had found 20 Euros somewhere, he would have looked for the rightful owner, while I would have happily put them into my pocket without feeling bad about it.
But what the lady saw was skin colour, whether she wanted to accept that or not.
Unconscious bias
He told me about another peculiar experience: he was one of the invited speakers at a conference and upon approaching the reception to register, the friendly lady informed him about the whereabouts of the utility room for the cleaners. He clarified the situation and she, too, received a talk but of more tender tone: “It’s not your fault for making an unfounded assumption, it’s the fault of the system we live in that makes you think this way…” (There’s nothing wrong with cleaning as a profession, of course).
The two cops, as well as the two white ladies, perpetuated racial stereotyping through their behaviour without being fully aware of it. Making such people sensible to the system that creates unconscious biases is most difficult because they don’t view themselves as racially discriminating. They don’t see it, so how do we get them to?
"The Netherlands has a history of trading on its international image as a progressive, tolerant nation while struggling to deal with societal racism […]" https://t.co/UJFir383PX
I’ll tell you another story: I met up for dinner with my friend Aziz at Botanique in Amsterdam Oost, a spot with jungle vibes and friendly staff, dimmed lights and fairly private. It’s the first time we met after a very long time, so there was plenty to catch up on. My friend is pretty accomplished in what he does, Ph.D. in the making, great job and so forth. But when he tries to go to the club none of that matters, what people see is — a Turkish man.
He might get rejected at the door or is scrutinized more intensely than his white friends, and he gets pulled over by police in his car on a regular. Aziz shared his grief about the day to day discrimination he experiences with a friend of his. Said friend is white, straight and Dutch. White guy is by no means what we would consider a racist or sexist, but he also genuinely believes in the flawlessness of the Netherlands in terms of equality. He consequently trivialized Aziz’ experiences (a problem in itself) and put them into the coincidences box. “They probably had a bad day/ you were confused for someone else/ you must have misinterpreted the situation”. Aziz let it go, and his friend probably thought Aziz was over-sensitive and living a self-fulfilling prophecy, seeing ethnicity as the issue when it really wasn’t.
Fast forward two years later. Straight, white, Dutch guy comes out as gay and doesn’t hide it. He tells Aziz that he suddenly experiences discrimination himself! From subtle comments in the day to day life “meant as a joke” towards clearly homophobic statements. His oh so accepting Netherlands turns out not to be so holy after all. He apologized to Aziz for the previous trivialization of his experiences with discrimination. Now that he is not part of the status quo anymore he had the epiphany how life is like for the non-white, non-dutch and non-heteronormative in NL. Voila, the blind man who could see and he didn’t even need Jesus for it — kinda the opposite, to tell the truth.
A claim made by Adam Smith many years ago comes to mind: experience is the only valid source of true knowledge. So, giving someone an experience is very efficient in creating awareness of the system that creates unconscious biases, leading to racist acts, but also not very feasible. We can’t make our straight friends act gay for a day or turn the mansplainer into a woman until he’s a feminist. So what do we do?
What comes very close to experience is storytelling. Well told stories make us respond physically the same as the actual experience, we laugh, cry, sweat, taste and feel pleasure all by the power of our imagination, triggered by the right words and sentences. Hence, if we want to reinforce or transform people’s behaviours we need to give them an experience or tell them a great story. From a psychological perspective, this enables us to generate change without too much confrontation. Our beliefs are part of our identity and deconstructing and reshaping our identity is a difficult process.
Criticism can be experienced as an attack and will likely be met with rejection and backlash. A wise friend of mine once said: “If a story doesn’t create an image in someone’s head you are simply being too vague. Even the best strategy is powerless if it doesn’t trigger something from within”. Problem is, we first need to get them to listen and that is a challenge in itself. And if we did manage, it is not guaranteed that it’ll work either.
When Aziz initially told the straight/gay, white friend about his own experience, it didn’t change the latter’s position. Hence, storytelling as a strategy doesn’t always work, or at least not right away. If we as humans genuinely believe in the righteousness of a system, we will try to find excuses and bend ourselves backwards to make old claims fit newly acquired knowledge, rather than advancing our previous position.
I think showing the reality of structural inequalities requires a lot of endurance and creativity and most importantly — respect. Being openly judgmental will only trigger resentful feelings and harden the frontiers. Let’s do the judging in private together with our other woke friends, and lure them blind fellows in with a never-ending influx of stories and information eventually (hopefully) leading to the epiphany our gay/straight dutch friend had.
Have you experienced discrimination in the Netherlands? Have you unconsciously found yourself biased before? Tell us your story in the comments below!
ICUs are one of the most important elements in a country’s ability to successfully treat grave cases of coronavirus.
Currently, the Netherlands has 1150 ICUs, but that number needs to increase in the near future to 1531 in order to accommodate coronavirus patients over the next three years, reports NOS.
Calculation by the RIVM
The RIVM, together with the Dutch Association for Intensive Care (NVIC) and the National Coordination Center for Patient Distribution (LCPS) calculated how many ICUs are needed in various scenarios.
One calculation is based on the assumption of herd immunity and that 60% of the Netherlands will get infected, with 0.45% of people ending up in ICUs. This would lead to approximately 37,500 ICU patients over the next three years.
Assuming an even distribution of patients, that would mean that 639 permanent ICU beds are needed just for coronavirus patients unless a vaccine is created in the meantime.
The chairman of the NVIC, Diederik Gommers, wrote a letter to his healthcare colleagues, explaining the following:
“You have to realize that there are of course many assumptions in this calculation. Furthermore, it is also the case that the average is of little use. If the measures are released in phases, we are expected to be limited in the summer months to for example 300 COVID patients in ICU in the Netherlands and that this number will increase again in the autumn.”
He assumes that the summer will be more light when it comes to cases and that the extra time needs to be used to prepare more ICUs and nurses.
He also expressed his frustration in the letter that the virus has not spread equally throughout the country, thus affecting some regions much more gravely than others.
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The coronavirus outbreak has pushed governments out of their confines and into unchartered territory. It has placed a spotlight on policy makers, forcing them to step up — because failure to do would have massive consequences. It also means that the legislative and executive branches are accumulating more power. Is that a good thing?
#Covid19 & abuse of power:#Coronavirus seems to trigger some power grab: people are terrified, so governments are doing whatever they want.
This will have a huge impact on people's freedom from an astonishing growth of unchecked governments' power.
In the span of a few weeks, a microscopic particle has had a colossal impact on society. Democracies have been shaken to their very core as businesses have been shut down, educational institutions are no longer conducting classes, draconian-style lockdowns have been imposed and regulations for social contacts have been put into place.
The crisis is transformed into an opportunity for governments to extend their powers. And people are allowing this because it’s literally a matter of life — or death.
Viktor Orban in Hungary has, for instance, used the virus to consolidate his dictatorship and give even more power to the government. He can now stay in power without any time limit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi worked swiftly to impose a total lockdown in India. It proved to be disproportionately harmful to the poor but did stop the spread of the virus. Here in the Netherlands, a partial lockdown has been imposed and surveillance has been increased, measures that would be unthinkable in “normal” times. But so far, they seem to be working.
So is increased power to the government a good thing?
Coronavirus in the Netherlands and how it is being dealt with
The Netherlands lies somewhere in the middle of the spectrum in terms of severity of measures.
Partial lockdown
Initially, the Dutch government was criticised for failing to do enough. But in mid-March, the government announced measures that can be viewed as a partial lockdown. Restaurants, gyms and other such places were shut, people were advised to work from home, education moved completely online. A distance rule of 1 .5 meters between people in groups of three or more was imposed. Although this approach wasn’t necessarily condoned by the public, Rutte contended that a total lockdown would firstly contradict democratic values, and that it was unnecessary.
Later on, stricter measures were added to the list, after people failed to take the advice seriously. These included fines for people who failed to respect the distance rule, as well a ban of all public events (which have now been extended to September 1).
Meanwhile, surveillance has increased. For instance, apps have been developed in the Netherlands to report people who appear to be violating the measures in place.
It goes without saying the government is imposing measures (and fines for violating them) that would, prior to the crisis, be completely contrary to a democracy, measures that appear to violate a number of fundamental human rights. But so far, it appears as if the measures have been working: The curve, once exponential, has now begun to plateau.
This proves that in the Netherlands, the coronavirus measures are not completely arbitrary.
Looking after people who can’t work anymore
With closing so many stores, businesses and a foreseeable recession in the near the future, the government is doing its part to ensure that people are making their ends meet even though unemployment is becoming ubiquitous.
Self-employed persons who are hit by coronavirus measures are now eligible for a TOZO, or temporary bridging scheme for independent entrepreneurs till June 1, and possibly longer if the crisis continues.
Entrepreneurs affected by the 1.5m regulations are also eligible for a one-off payment of €4,000 — this is for businesses such as museums and hairdressers, and businesses will received money instantly, not months from now. This demonstrates the efficient manner in which the government is executing tasks.
Because of the coronavirus restrictions, education has shifted online. As a result, children from many lower-income families who may not have internet access or computers available, are hit hard.
However, the Dutch government addressed this issue by providing children with laptops so that they could still access coursework online. Other NGOs also pitched in. Obviously more could be done, but this is still a pretty good step in the right direction.
Strain on healthcare system
Initially there was a fear here in the Netherlands, that ICU capacity would fall short. Thankfully, numbers of ICU patients began to drop some weeks ago. Nonetheless, the Dutch government prepared itself for the worst case.
For starters, the option to transfer ICU patients to Germany was made available just in case the Netherlands ran out of space. In the meantime, ICU capacity was increased to 2,400 total beds from 1,150. Furthermore, the testing capacity here in the Netherlands was also increased in an attempt to make numbers slightly more accurate.
Technology
The government is also providing funds to invest in the development of apps, that can be used to report, track and test the virus.
So how well is the Dutch government doing?
In order to ensure that people follow rules, it is clear that enforcement has become stricter. For instance, over Easter weekend this year, €700,000 worth in fines was collected for failure to adhere to coronavirus measures.
But numbers in the Netherlands are falling without the imposition of a total lockdown. It seems then, that the government is attempting to remain democratic by only restricting daily life where necessary.
People are impressed by the work of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his cabinet. 91% of the public supported Rutte’s partial lockdown, 88% supported the measures related to health and 75% supported the economic measures, according to i&o research. Furthermore, satisfaction with Rutte’s cabinet increased from 42% to 61%.
Other leaders are experiencing similar trends. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s approval rating rose by 11 points to 79%, according to Forbes. In Italy, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s popularity rating jumped to 71%. Similar trends in approval ratings are also present in France, the UK, Canada and India to name a few.
The approval that is given to governments shows that people are in support of the measures, even though they might be difficult, and give governments the stamp of approval needed in order to continue imposing necessary measures.
Times of crises can lead to growth
In these times, whatever a government is doing is a matter of trial and error, as there is no correct formula on how to address the virus. In some ways, we are serving as guinea pigs for government policies. Increases in mass surveillance and regulation of private life are things we don’t normally support, and the hope is that these won’t become norms after the crisis subsides.
But in other ways, we are testing new lifestyles. These include online learning, online work, and even online gyms — things that would likely not have been put into place so quickly. These are developments that are expanding the scope of the digital world.
The #COVID19 crisis—which is changing the way we live and work, and perhaps priorities in life and mindsets—can pivot economies towards “building back better”, with a greater focus on clean energy, green jobs and sustainable development. https://t.co/zmoCMGxpG1
The RIVM’s latest numbers reveal that there are only 171 new infections. Compared to yesterday’s rate of increase of 400 new patients, this number is considered encouraging.
This means there are now a total of 38,416 reported infections in the Netherlands.
Hospitalisations are now at 88, bringing the total number to 10,609, and new reported deaths are at 48, bringing the total mortality count to 4,566.
Of course, not all deaths have occurred in the past 24 hours. Furthermore, there might be a delay in reporting numbers and not all cases are being reported for the count. But it is clear that the numbers are declining compared to a couple of weeks ago, when new infections were above 1000 per day.
Did people stick to the coronavirus rules during King’s Day?
Authorities are generally happy with how King’s Day went in terms of people sticking to the 1.5m rule. Furthermore, young people, in particular, have shown a marked improvement in keeping to the rules since a few weeks ago.
Over the entire weekend, 719 fines were given out to people who were flaunting social distancing rules. On King’s Day itself, 65 fines were handed out until 4 pm. The police also noted that the number of fines given out on the night before King’s Day was surprisingly low, at 309.
Call to donate flowers for Remembrance Day
One of the most important Dutch national days is around the corner, namely Remembrance Day on May 4. Given the current situation with the coronavirus, Remembrance Day will be different this year. Although the Prime Minister and King will be giving their annual speeches, their audience will tune in from their screens instead of attending the festivities at Dam Square this year.
A decision was made by the National Committee so that people may buy and donate flowers from flower growers, so that they may get distributed across war memorials in the country. Furthermore, as per usual, there will be two minutes of silence at 8:00 PM followed by the singing of the Dutch national anthem.
Minks have been infected with coronavirus North Brabant
Coronavirus has been detected in several mink farms amongst some of the animals. Because some of the farm’s employees had symptoms of the virus, it can be presumed that the animals were infected by their human caretakers.
The farms are located in Milheeze and Beek en Donk, both of which are located in the region of North Brabant. The virus has hit this region in the Netherlands the hardest. Both farms have been closed as a precautionary measure.
Dutch students forced to sail across the Atlantic to return home after coronavirus outbreak
When the coronavirus hit Europe in full-force, many people, including 25 Dutch high-school students, found themselves stranded in foreign countries, unable to easily return home due to the many new travel restrictions.
The students, between the ages of 15 and 17 years old, were taking part in a sailing course that was supposed to last for a duration of six weeks. The organisers of the course, professional sailors and teachers, decided that the only thing left to do was to sail all the way back to the Netherlands — a 7000-kilometre trip. They finally arrived back in the Netherlands in Harlingen on April 26, just in time to celebrate King’s Day.
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When the coronavirus hit Europe in full-force, many people found themselves stranded in foreign countries, unable to easily return home due to the many new travel restrictions.
This was the case of 25 Dutch high-school students on a study trip, who had no choice but to sail across the Atlantic from the Caribbean, reports Reuters.
5-week journey across the Atlantic
The young students, aged between 15 and 17 years old, were part of a sailing course that was supposed to last for six weeks.
The plan was to sail to Cuba on board of a ship built in 1920 called Wylde Swan. They were scheduled to fly back to the Netherlands, but coronavirus and the resulting flight cancellations left them stranded.
The organizers of the course, which involved professional sailors and teachers, decided that the only thing left to do was to sail all the way back to the Netherlands — a 7000-kilometre trip.
Stockpiling on resources on the island of Saint Lucia, the crew and the students started their slow journey back home. In their first stop in Europe, on the Azores islands belonging to Portugal, the students and the crew were not along to go out onshore.
They finally arrived back in the Netherlands in Harlingen on April 26, just in time to celebrate King’s Day. As per social distancing measures, they could only leave the ship one-by-one, before being picked up by their parents who were eagerly waiting for them.
Life on the ship
One of the students said that one of the biggest issues for her was the lack of privacy, as there were 40 people in total on the ship.
Activity wise, the students played games and studied for their sailing course. Students also rotated keeping watch from 3 AM to 6 AM. In the afternoons there was a “Happy Hour”, ironically named such, because that was the hour when the students had to help with cleaning.
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Today, the telecommunications network VodafoneZiggo has switched on its 5G network. However, you probably won’t notice any changes for a while.
Only customers of VodafoneZiggo who are paying for access to a 5G network in their monthly subscription, and who have a smartphone that can connect to 5G, will be able to take advantage of this faster mobile network.
Will we notice a change?
But will it actually be faster? Eventually, yes, but for now the difference will not be very big. VodafoneZiggo estimates that 5G is now about 10% faster than the current 4G mobile network. That’s because the much faster 3.5 Ghz frequency band has not yet been auctioned off to telecom companies- that won’t happen until early 2022, RTL Nieuws reports.
The 5G controversy continues
There has been a lot of controversy around 5G in recent months: some people believe that it can damage the environment and people’s health, though there is no evidence for that. Conspiracy theorists also think that 5G is responsible for coronavirus.
Nineteen telephone masts have been burned down over the past weeks, which is thought to be connected to the movement against 5G.
Are you looking forward to 5G? What are your thoughts on it? Let us know in the comments below.
Coronavirus has been detected in several mink farms amongst some of the animals. Because some of the farm’s employees had symptoms of the virus, it can be presumed that the animals were infected by their human caretakers.
The farms are located in Milheeze and Beek en Donk, both of which are located in the region of North Brabant. The virus has hit this region in the Netherlands the hardest. Both farms have been closed as a precautionary measure.
Precautionary measures
However, precautionary measures were taken immediately. Both animals and manure are not to leave the parameters. Furthermore, walking and biking within a 400-meter radius of either farm is prohibited, NOS reports.
How the virus spread through the farms is currently being studied. According to Wim van der Poel, professor of virology in Wageningen, we don’t as yet know how hard the virus hits amongst minks — but not all of them will suffer from consequences (though some have developed pneumonia as a result).
It should be noted, however, that minks have proven to be particularly susceptible, and other livestock have not as yet displayed symptoms.
Can minks give coronavirus to humans?
According to the RIVM, minks can’t return the virus to humans. Human to animal contamination is possible, but not the other way around, in the case of minks that is.
Coronavirus is said to have originated in bats and then spread to humans. So the whole question about animal-to-human contamination and vice-versa still needs to be examined further.
Have you heard of any other animals in the Netherlands that have been affected with coronavirus? Let us know in the comments.
One of the most important Dutch national days is around the corner, namely Remembrance Day on May 4.
Given the current situation with the coronavirus, it’s now being decided in what way can Remembrance Day be celebrated while respecting current social distancing measures, reports RTL Nieuws.
No audience for Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is celebrated in honour of the civilians and military personnel that fought in WW2. Normally, the event attracts crowds, but this year’s edition will play out differently.
The celebration in Dam Square will only be held this year with Prime-Minister Rutte, the Mayor of Amsterdam, as well as the Chairman of the National Committee for May 4 and 5. King Willem-Alexander will also be present to give a speech.
Even if people cannot go out to celebrate this memorial day, alternatives have already been found for people to participate.
Donating flowers for the war memorials
A decision was made by the National Committee so that people may buy and donate flowers from flower growers, so that they may get distributed across war memorials in the country.
This is done also to support the flower growers which have been hard-hit by the coronavirus crisis.
If you wish to donate flowers to monuments, you can do so through Bloemenvoor4mei.nl or through the Tikkie App.
As is usually done on Remembrance Day, there will be two minutes of silence at 8:00 PM, followed by the singing of the Dutch national anthem. People are encouraged to sing along.
Will you be donating flowers for this historic day? Let us know in the comments!
