This year for the first time MeTZelf rented a booth at the Information Market. Member Marja Hoenders made a beautiful blue banner with our logo – a snake held by a fist – artfully sewn on it. She, board member Frederike Lubiewski, and chairman Mira de Vries (wo)manned the booth. We made two sections: one blue, on which we spread piles of flyers with information, for instance, where to find dependable information about medicines, how to stop taking psychiatric drugs, and the effect of drugs on the environment. The other section was black, and displayed the memorial poster plus transcripts of the memorial speech. This memorial speech was the most popular flyer.
    The people who came up to the booth were surprised at first. Freedom in medicine? That’s a concept that never occurred to them before. Many people, after overcoming their initial surprise, began telling their own stories in support of our efforts. Two German schoolgirls had been sent by their teacher to investigate the concept of freedom at our Freedom Market! They asked, for instance, what the connection is between MeTZelf and liberation day. Fortunately, Frederike speaks fluent German. She explained that a lot of people were freed at the end of WWII, but not the psychiatric patients, who are still (mis)treated against their will to this very day.
    A most striking phenomenon were the medical students (Amsterdam has two universities), easily identifiable by their arrogance and animosity. In two totally separate incidents medical students argued at length with us, rejecting everything we said and ballyhooing the superiority of medical wisdom. Mira used to think that students are trained to be arrogant in medical school. Frederike opined that these are spoiled brats who were treated like little crown princes throughout their childhood. Marja thought the arrogance goes with the age: at that age you know so little that you think you know everything. It seems that actual medical practice perhaps even tempers this arrogance somewhat.
    A refreshing exception was a student nurse. At first he too was skeptical of our views, but then he started telling about his personal experience regarding his mother, and was even one of several people who signed up for membership in MeTZelf.
    All in all it was a successful event, except for the results in the collection box. It contained seven euros and one here useless British pound. The rent for the booth and making the flyers had been over 100 euros.
    We learned a lot, particularly from the confrontations with the medical students. We definitely plan to be there again next year.
   

   
 Our booth, before the market started.

MeTZelf volunteers Marja, Mira, and Frederike

In Holland May 4 is memorial day for WWII, and May 5 is liberation day.
A Dutch joke relates that a German tourist traveling through Holland on May 4 asked a native passer-by why all the flags were hanging at half-mast.
“That’s to honor our fellow citizens who died in WWII,” said the Dutchman.
“You know,” said the German, “A lot of people on our side died too.”
“We know,” said the Dutchman, “And tomorrow we celebrate that.”