Systemisch Workshop | Bina de Boer | VER VAN HIER

Far from here; what remained untold lives in me

A body-oriented and systemic workshop about the traces of forced displacement and being legally severed from your origins.

Bina de Boer was born in India and grew up in Friesland as Mirjam after her adoption. Her own life story and her continuous search back to her original self and the connection with her Indian body form an important basis for her work.

As a Transcultural Systemic Adoption & Trauma Coach and Trainer, she guides adoptees and others through life and identity issues surrounding separation and adoption, forced displacement and migration, grief and loss, trauma and relationships. In her work, she combines transcultural systemic work with body-oriented trauma work, including Somatic Experiencing® and SOMA-Embodiment®, with special attention to the influence of early separation on identity, body awareness, and the feeling of belonging.

What do you carry with you from your history? What is visible, what remained unseen, and what perhaps never received words?

Adoption, forced separation, and the loss of connection to your origins touch on more than your identity. They can affect how you experience yourself, how you relate to others, and where you feel at home. When parts of your history are unknown or inaccessible, questions can arise about ancestry and connection. Sometimes there are feelings or physical reactions that are difficult to understand, precisely because words or memories are missing.

A story begins before there are words.

In this workshop, we explore how early separation and the loss of connection to your origins may affect your body, your life story, and your sense of connection.

From the perspective of transcultural systemic work and Somatic Experiencing®, we focus our attention on what can be felt in the here and now. With body-oriented exercises and moments of personal reflection, we explore what you notice in yourself, what meaning this may have for you, and what you need to feel more connected to yourself.

You do not need to retrieve memories, reconstruct your story, or share anything with others for this. It is not about finding explanations or solutions, but about making space for your own experience and examining what arises with attention.

You decide for yourself what you do and do not want to engage with. Your pace and boundaries are leading.

What do I carry with me from my history, and what do I need today to feel more connected to myself?

Combi-ticket Combine the systemic workshop by Bina de Boer with the performance Home by Bai Li Wiegmans during the theater weekend VER VAN HIER. With this combi-ticket, you visit both. Please note: there is a limited number of combi-tickets available, so be on time!

Practical information For whom: adoptees who want to reflect on the meaning of ancestry, adoption, and forced displacement. Duration: 90 minutes Location: Studio de Bakkerij Method: body-oriented exercises from Somatic Experiencing®, a transcultural systemic exploration, and moments of personal reflection. Preparation: you do not need to prepare anything. Wear comfortable clothing in which you can move freely. Safety and personal control: you decide for yourself what you participate in and what you do or do not want to share. You may always skip an exercise or take a break.

You are welcome with everything you know, what you do not know, what you feel, and what does not yet have words.

About VER VAN HIER VER VAN HIER is a cultural platform about adoption, in which the stories, experiences, and perspectives of adoptees are central. From November 27 to 29, Studio de Bakkerij in Rotterdam brings makers, artists, and the public together for a weekend full of theater, music, and other art forms.

The program gives space to stories that are still heard too little within society and the cultural field. From their own experiences, makers explore what adoption means for identity, ancestry, family, memories, and the feeling of belonging somewhere. This creates space for different perspectives, recognition, and encounter.

The title VER VAN HIER refers to the distance to countries of origin, roots, and memories, but also to the often long and complicated road that adoptees travel in dealing with the lifelong impact of adoption. HIER stands for the Netherlands, but also for the place where we as a society can head towards: with more understanding and recognition for the experiences, needs, and legal position of adoptees.

VER VAN HIER invites you to listen, to watch, and to enter into conversation with each other. A cultural platform where adoptees determine the perspective themselves and where there is space for stories that deserve to be seen and heard.

Read more about the principles and vision of VER VAN HIER via this link.