In 2015, Parea Suriname, led by Ivan P. Liesdek, started collecting and recording everything that could be found on the (semi-recent) history of the LGBT community in Suriname. The realization that not much had been recorded, certainly not in a comprehensible fashion, nor in a central place, easily accessible for future generations, basically meant that the oppressor had succeeded in the goal of effectively eradicating and erasing the very existence of the LGBT phenomenon.
Moreover, regarding LGBT history from the 1960s onwards, those who lived through the hell of relentless bullying and cruel persecutions, able to tell their story, the older generation was steadily diminishing by the day, unknowingly and irreversibly erasing invaluable information with their passing if not recorded.
Six years of research (late 2015 – late 2022) into the LGBT history of Suriname has resulted in the book Love – A History of Hate in Suriname, a 366-page socio-historical revelation, to be published in October 2023.
The compiled LGBT History Archives of Suriname are the result of all the research carried out so far, and constitute a collection of numerous documents, images, videos and other resources. The ultimate objective is to make these resources available to all in an online database, available to stakeholders, researchers, students, LGBT individuals themselves and their parents, the government, policymakers and other interested parties. This of course as soon as the necessary funding has been secured. This endeavour, if funding can be obtained, will take about 1.5 years, before archival materials can be presented in a dedicated database, searchable online.