The bust of the well-known Surinamese poet, Henri Frans de Ziel a.k.a. Trefossa which was located at the entrance of the Palm Garden in the Kleine Combéweg in Paramaribo was stolen recently.
Last month the chairwoman of the Caricom who is also the prime minister of Barbados, Mia
Mottley, visited Suriname to attend the 16th Trefossa event. During her short visit PM Mottley also placed a few wreaths at the bronze bust of Trefossa in honor of the late poet. The board of the Henri Frans de Ziel Stichting was shocked to hear about the theft of the monument that was made in honor of Henri Frans de Ziel. The bust was designed and made by the late Erwin de Vries. This theft is a huge loss for the cultural heritage of Suriname as it was made by the greatest local artist in honor of a great local poet. The board is convinced that the bust was stolen by bronze thieves. It is not the first bronze bust to be stolen. There is very little to no chance that the stolen busts will ever be recovered as it is believed that they have already been melted to make something else. The board urges everybody to refrain from buying the stolen bust and to contact the authorities if they know something about the theft.
Trefossa is also known as the writer of the Dutch version of Suriname's national anthem namely God zij met ons Suriname.
