Surinamese proverb: If you leave the stones on the road, your kids will trip over it.  Mercedes Zandwijken: Fifteen years ago I first participated in a Seder evening with my Jewish partner Machiel Keestra. On this evening, Jews around the world commemorate the liberation of their ancestors from slavery in Egypt that took place several thousand years ago. They do this with the help of a series of ritual acts, texts, songs and with a meal. This Seder evening gave me the idea to organize this Keti Koti Table. Other sources of inspiration were: the Ramadan festival with which Dutch Muslims conclude their fasting period, the Kwanzaa festival with which African Americans celebrate their 'family, community & culture' and the dialogue tables that were held in 2004 after the murder of Theo van Gogh. The Keto Koti Table is a ritual for the commemoration of the Dutch slavery history, its consequences for all - both black and white - descendants of those who were involved in this history and for the celebration of freedom. It is also my personal history. Both my parents are Surinamese Dutch and my mother's grandmother was still born in slavery. In the Netherlands, slavery was officially abolished on July 1, 1863 by King William III. This was late compared to other countries. Moreover, the enslaved did not immediately obtain their freedom. The Dutch government forced them to continue working for another ten years, until 1873, under 'State supervision' for their former owners. For that reason, 1873 is not considered by some to be the end of slavery. Since then, July 1 has been a national holiday in Suriname. Although the stories of that period were usually so painful that they were not passed on, I was very aware of what had happened. I also increasingly realized that this history still leaves its traces in the lives of the - black and white - relatives, the communities and in our society as a whole. Gradually I started to feel the need to reflect on this past around 1 July. But not only, I wanted to have a conversation with others in which we ask ourselves what meaning this past and the acquired freedom have for each of us. That's how I came to the Keti Koti Table. Not much later I found out that taking part in a meal surrounded by rituals is a very old and important tradition in Afro-Surinamese culture: the Kra Tafra. This Table is performed every 'kra', to propitiate and strengthen the soul. The Keti Koti Table therefore also fits into the Afro-Surinamese tradition. During the Keti Koti Table freedom is celebrated but also the fight against slavery is commemorated. After all, the enslaved by the Netherlands in Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles have actively resisted from the start. Some have fled into the jungle where they have set up their own communities to live in freedom. From this base, they also carried out guerrilla attacks to undermine the system of slavery. To this day, descendants of these liberated enslaved people, the Maroons, live in villages in the Surinamese interior. In addition to commemorating this struggle and celebrating freedom, the Keti Koti Table also focuses on questions about identity and meaning. Because the enslaved had been deprived of their identity and humanity, the regained freedom meant that they had to relate to their identity, their past and their future in a new way. Keti Koti means: the chains are broken, slavery is over. It is important to actively give this a place in our consciousness. More information on https://www.ketikotitafel.nl/