Simone Branson Harper
'The Underground', a new paper in The Hague
Finally there is a newspaper in The Hague that focusses on people with a multicultural background: 'The Underground'. Founder and owner Simone Branson Harper explains
her vision:
I wanted to create a paper for people like me with a multicultural background. With an English father and a Dutch mother, I have always lived with one foot in the international community, whilst the other stood firmly in my local Dutch neighbourhood of The Hague.
Like a mole digging underground we aim to dig up, or reveal, the beauty of our town, its international diversity and hidden treasures.
I dreamt of a paper appealing to both communities connecting them through culture, history and joint interests. Like a mole digging underground we aim to dig up, or reveal, the beauty of our town, its international diversity and hidden treasures.
My Grandfather came from Indonesia and had a Dutch father and an Indonesian mother, he met my grandmother in The Hague who came from Russia. She was a fashion designer, her studio was located at the Noordeinde from 1940-1945. They had one child, my mother Hedy Mol. My father, Dave Branson, came to Holland from the UK working for an oil company. He met my mother, and they had two children, my sister Kelly (owner Kelly's Expat Shopping, Piet Heinstraat Den Haag) and me. We grew up speaking both Dutch and English.
Once, visiting my father in Florence where he was working, I picked up an English paper focusing on the cultural aspects of that city and thought how wonderful it would be if The Hague had something similar. I put the idea to the back of my mind. Years later when my English husband, Peter Harper, started his window business, advertising rates were just too high. We needed a paper like the Underground where we could advertise at a reasonable cost.
The expat papers in The Hague, focus mainly on the expats who have just arrived in The Hague. My focus is the international community in The Hague, who just like me, have lived and worked here almost all our lives, made friends and call The Hague their home. Lost of Expats turn out to stay in The Hague and therefore are not labelled as an expat anymore. The underground speaks their voice as they tend to be forgotten. I discussed the idea with friends and family and through them got in touch with Jo Parfitt a local author, mentor, editor and publisher. She was able to recommend local writers who could contribute to the paper.
The word is now out and I am getting articles in from all layers of our community and other people who like to be involved with The Underground. The feedback has been terrific, students, members of international companies, locals and Dutch people who are internationally focused or have been an expat themselves in another country, are helping the Underground to grow. We have started with 20 pages, this month we already have 28 pages, we work with different themes for each month. The upcoming themes are:
January: New Beginnings
February: Love & Passions
March: Nature in The Hague
April: Royal The Hague
May; Festivals and Music in The Hague
June: Scheveningen
The essence of The Underground is to engage its readers with the city The Hague. We have writers who are Dutch and International members of our community. The Underground is also a platform for artists, writers, graphic designers and photographers to show their work. The Underground is an independent free monthly paper about and for The Hague. We cover topics such as Culture, History, Student life, Fashion, People's views, and much more!
Get involved! If you have any news, views or issues that you would like to see covered, or wish to give feedback, or write for The Underground. I would love to hear from you.
Simone Branson Harper
info@theunderground.nl
