Rotterdam – Employees of Mammoet, Hunter Douglas, and even a Head of AI, Technology & Innovation at Robeco, as well as a sales director at Deloitte, are participating in the Erasmus University Rotterdam–appropriated “Rotterdam Swim.”
696 words – 4 minutes
I asked these participants why they knowingly risk damaging both their own reputation and that of their employer by joining an event that has appropriated the name and identity of the original Rotterdam Swim (established in 2008). Since last year, Erasmus MC has been using our name with the meaningless addition “City”—a pleonasm, since we all know Rotterdam is a city—which in our view amounts to misuse and the normalization of theft.
Erasmus the thief
By doing so, they not only harm their own name or the companies they work for, but they also drag the good name of the humanist Erasmus through the mud. Through their participation, the humanist Erasmus is now being associated with theft—an evolution I, as a journalist, watch unfold with horror.
Among others, I asked Kelly Reijntjes (Mammoet), Helanie Immink (Hunter Douglas Europe), Matthieu Smit (Deloitte), Gilles van der Have (Robeco), and Franciene van Neerbos (KU Leuven / University of Bremen) the following question, in Dutch or English:
My question to the participants
Hi …,
I really don’t understand why you deliberately drag your own name and your company’s reputation through the mud by normalizing the theft committed by Erasmus MC. They have taken and used the good name of the original www.rotterdamswim.com (since 2008). By participating, you contribute to making theft seem normal or acceptable.
You should be ashamed. You are helping to make theft go unpunished, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Even if that seems acceptable in your environment, I don’t think you should condone or justify it. Your reaction blurs the distinction between right and wrong; between what is “mine” and what belongs to “someone else.”
As a journalist, I am naturally curious why you do this. I would genuinely like to understand your reasoning. See also https://havennieuws.nl/rotterdam-swim-klaagt-erasmus-universiteit-aan-vanwege-misbruik-rotterdam-swim/. I will be writing about this in the coming days. If you prefer not to respond, that is fine — I will likely dedicate an article to it tomorrow.
Erik van Loon, Havennieuws.nl
Response from Franciene van Neerbos (KU Leuven / University of Bremen)
I was not aware of the court case between Rotterdam Swim and Erasmus MC. I thought Rotterdam City Swim was simply a continuation of Rotterdam Swim.
I still believe fundraisers like this are necessary, especially since funding for science is decreasing. I don’t think theft is okay, but I will still participate because I have raised the money and want to be there.
You could’ve just sent me a DM to bring this to my attention rather than immediately using this standoffish tone and tagging my universities.
Franciene van Neerbos, KU Leuven
Amsterdam syndrome
What is happening now resembles a psychological mechanism similar to Stockholm syndrome: a coping strategy in which a victim develops sympathy for the party causing harm. In this case, I call it the Amsterdam syndrome, because the same thing happened to us in Amsterdam.
Here, participants believe they are swimming the Rotterdam Swim (www.rotterdamswim.com), but in reality they are joining an event that appropriated the name last year by adding the word “City.” It is a pleonasm, like “yellow banana” or “white mold.” The exact same thing happened after five years of Amsterdam Swim.
In Amsterdam, not only was the Amsterdam Swim (since 2009) stolen after five years by criminals within Waternet and the municipality of Amsterdam, but now the Rotterdam Swim is being claimed after 18 years by criminals within Erasmus University / MC and the municipality of Rotterdam.
Participants who are misled develop sympathy for the organization misleading them, interpret small gestures of friendliness as goodwill, and eventually distrust the original harmed party. This is exactly what happened in Amsterdam when the Amsterdam Swim (www.amsterdamswim.com) was plagiarized.
Other responses
We have not yet received a response from the other participants — Kelly Reijntjes (Mammoet), Helanie Immink (Hunter Douglas Europe), Matthieu Smit (Deloitte), and Gilles van der Have (Robeco). As soon as we receive their reactions, we will update this article.