E Pasashi di Regreso
Tur aña, na cuminsamento di augustus, Aruba ta reuni na aeropuerto pa despedi di su hobennan cu ta bai studia afo. Un biaha mas, un avion yen di nos studiantenan a sali pa Hulanda. Despues di e potretnan, e lagrimanan, bendicionnan y oracionnan di welanan cu ta brasa mas largo cu usual. Cu rason nos ta hopi orguyoso di nan. E ta e siguiente paso den un trayecto cu a cuminsa aki, sosteni pa famianan, docentenan y nos comunidad. Pero tambe e ta un transicion skerpi entre infancia y ser adulto, entre tur cos conoci y tur cos nobo. Un cultura nobo, un clima nobo, un idioma nobo, leu for di e comunidad cu a lanta nan. Ta wordo spera di nan cu nan ta madura casi di un dia pa otro. Tur hende riba e isla aki conoce un hende riba e avion ey: un yiu muhe, un subrino, un bisiña, un compañero di klas. Y bou di e orguyo ta sinta un pregunta: cuanto di nan lo bin bek?
E studiantenan ta solamente parti di e storia. Bo tabata sa cu tur aña, como 3.000 hende ta bandona Aruba? Esey ta mas o menos ocho hende; ocho di nos, tur dia, di tur edad. Mayoria di esnan cu ta bay, ta bay mas keto: no tin despedida grandi na aeropuerto, no tin fiesta e anochi prome. Algun ta bay pasobra nan no ta mira un futuro mas pa nan mes aki. Nan ta bay en busca di miho condicionnan di trabou, un cas pagabel, oportunidadnan of un miho futuro cu nan por imagina na nan mes isla. No ta tur di nan ta subi avion cu un pasashi di regreso den nan saco.
Y hasta pa e studiantenan cu lo kier bin bek, e caminda pa cas ta dificil: un fiansa di estudio ta wordo fia na euro y por dura 35 aña pa paga bek, mientras cu un salario Arubiano ta wordo gana na florin, y hopi biaha menos placa pa e mesun trabou na Europa. Den hopi famia, e combersacion ta yega na e mesun conclusion: bini bek cas por ta un decision hopi caro pa un graduado. Dicon esaki mester preocupa cada un di nos, hasta esnan cu nunca no tin planea pa bay? Pasobra cada salida, ta cambia keto keto e matematica pa esnan cu ta keda. Menos hende trahando y cargando e gastonan, y mas hende pa cuida. Con e matematica ey ta yega na nos pensioen y nos cuido di salud ta e storia di nos siguiente boletin. Pa awo, tene e number aki na cuenta:
Tur dia ocho di nos ta bai for di Aruba. E futuro di nos isla lo wordo determina door di esnan cu ta keda aki.
Hende ta bini bek. Puntra esnan cu a bin bek dicon, y e contestanan poco biaha ta tocante placa: famia, e beachnan, e sintimento di pertenece un caminda completamente, esey ta e motibonan real. E trekmento ey ta Aruba su bentaha, y loke nos no por keda acepta ta cu e caminda pa cas a wordo haci asina duro. E pregunta ta cu si cada yiu di tera cu bai for di Aruba tin un pasashi di regreso den su saco. Pa keda, of pa bin bek, no mester sinti manera bo ta corta bo mesun man, pero mester ta e escogencia obvio.
Y si abo ta lesando esaki leu for di Aruba, for di un camber di studiante, riba un diamars cu yobida, of for di un bida cu a saca raiz otro caminda, e carta aki tambe ta pabo. Nos ta explorando con un caminda real pa cas por mustra pa esnan cu kier bin bek, y kico e por nifica pa keda parti di e historia di Aruba pa esnan cu ta stima e isla aki for di un distancia. Nada di e caminda aki ta cla; esey ta exactamente pakico nos kier tende dibo prome. Bisa nos kico por haci un regreso posibel, of kico lo por yuda abo contribui for di caminda bo ta. Pues: kico lo haci pa bo keda, of pa bo bin bek, e escogencia obvio pabo of pa bo yiunan? Nos ta pensando riba e cosnan aki.
Bo por manda bo contesta na e boletin aki of skirbi nos na info@hopearuba.org. Nos ta lesa cada contesta, y bo contestanan lo biaha hunto cu nos na e combersacionnan di Aruba 2050 cu nos ta organisando den e luna di october.
Tras di e Numbernan
E cifranan den e boletin aki ta saca for di estadisticanan di poblacion y migracion disponibel pa publico, reportahe di IMF di Aruba, datonan di mercado di vivienda, y nos propio analisis cu ta trece e fuentenan aki hunto. Nos meta no ta pa alarma; e ta pa haci asuntonan compleho mas facil pa compronde, pa Aruba por tin combersacionnan informa tocante su futuro. Nos ta yama bon bini na bo preguntanan y perspectivanan.
The Return Ticket
Every year, around this time, Aruba gathers at the airport to send off its young people. Once again, a plane full of our students left for the Netherlands, after the photographs, the blessings, the hugs and prayers of grandmothers who held on a little longer than usual. We are proud of them, and we should be. It is a rite of passage: the next step in a journey that began here, supported by families, teachers and our community. But it is also a sharp transition between childhood and adulthood, between everything familiar and everything new. A new culture, a new climate, a new language, far from the community that raised them. They are expected to grow up in it almost overnight. And underneath the pride sits a question we rarely ask out loud: how many of them will come back?
Everybody on this island knows somebody on that plane: a daughter, a nephew, a neighbor, a classmate. And the students are only part of the story. Every year, about 3,000 people leave Aruba, roughly eight of us every day, of all ages. Most of those departures are quieter: no send-off at the gate, no party the night before. Some leave because they no longer see a future for themselves here. They leave in search of better working conditions, an affordable home, a future they can picture. Not all of them leave with a return ticket.
And even for the students who want to return, the road home is steep: a study loan is borrowed in euros and can take 35 years to repay, while an Aruban salary is earned in florins, and often lower for the same work. Around many kitchen tables, the conclusion is the same: coming home can be the most expensive decision of a graduate's life. Why does this concern every one of us, even those who never plan to leave? Because every departure quietly changes the math for those who stay. Fewer people working, more people to care for. How that math reaches our pensions and our healthcare is the story of our next letter. For now, hold on to one number:
Eight of us leave every day. The future of this island will be shaped by who stays.
People do come back. Ask those who returned why, and the answers are rarely about money: family, the beaches, the feeling of belonging somewhere completely. That pull is Aruba's quiet advantage, and what we cannot keep accepting is that the road home has been made so steep. The question is whether every departure can keep a return ticket in its pocket, because staying, and coming back, have once again become the obvious choice.
And if you are reading this far from Aruba, from a student room, from a rainy Tuesday, from a life that took root elsewhere, this letter is also for you. We are exploring what a real path home could look like for those who want to return, and what it could mean to stay part of Aruba's story for those who love this island from a distance. Nothing about this path is finished; that is exactly why we want to hear from you first. Tell us what would make returning possible, or what would help you contribute from where you stand. We are thinking about these things.
So, this time, we are not leaving you with our answer, but with our question: what would make staying, or returning, the obvious choice for you or for your children? Reply to this newsletter or write to us at info@hopearuba.org. We read every response.
Behind the Numbers
The figures in this newsletter are drawn from publicly available population and migration statistics, IMF reporting on Aruba, housing market data, and our own analysis that brings these sources together. Our goal is not to alarm; it is to make complex issues easier to understand, so Aruba can have informed conversations about its future. We welcome your questions and perspectives.