[Film screening] Hidden life: Testimonies of Venezuelans in Aruba and Curaçao

Please join us for a free screening of the film Hidden Life by Martin Maat and Hans Hermans, taking place at the Asser Institute on Sunday 21 September. This event is co-organised with UNHCR The Hague and is part of the The Hague Just Peace Open Day.

Hidden Life is the story of the estimated 23,000 Venezuelans on Aruba and Curaçao, who fled due to the crisis in their home country. Although both Caribbean islands are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, they do not have a formal asylum procedure – unlike the Netherlands itself.

Curaçao has not signed the UN Refugee Convention, and the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) is not aware of any Venezuelans who have been granted refugee status on the islands. This means that refugees there end up in a legal vacuum, without access to legal employment or healthcare.

What impact does it have on your life if you cannot claim asylum as a refugee?

In this documentary, nine Venezuelan refugees from all walks of life speak openly for the first time about their lives in the shadows, in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

From a deserted soldier to a bricklayer, and from a catering entrepreneur to an education specialist, they talk about their dangerous journey across the sea, their time in the detention centre on Curaçao, the lack of access to medical care, exploitation by employers, and the constant fear of deportation to Venezuela. All the main characters have one thing in common: they have not seen their families in Venezuela for years.

Hidden Life premiered in March 2025 at the Movies that Matter Festival in The Hague.

The panel

Following the screening, there will be a discussion with a diverse panel featuring :

• Jean-Nicolas Beuze (UNHCR representative for the EU, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands)
• Prof Dr. E.M.H. Hirsch Ballin (legal scholar, former minister of Justice, former minister of the Interior and Kingdom relations of the Netherlands, and former minister of Netherlands Antilles and Aruba Affairs)
• Irene van Rij (head of UNHCR Aruba)
• Jouman Fattal (UNHCR ambassador and Dutch actress)
• Hans Hermans, co-producer and co-director of the documentary
• Dr Narin Idriz, senior researcher Asser Institute

This event will be moderated by tv presenter and programme maker Nadia Moussaid.

They will discuss the film and the broader context, and you are invited to take part in the conversation during the Q&A session and the networking reception.

Programme

• 14.00 - Registration opens
• 14.00: Walk in and registration (with coffee and tea)
• 15.00: Welcome by Dr Machiko Kanetake (academic director Asser Institute) and introduction by moderator Nadia Moussaid
• 15.05 Screening Hidden Life
• 16:15-16.45: Panel discussion
• 16.15-17.00: Q&A with the audience
• 17.00-18.00: Networking reception