Is Jelle Hans Reitsma a victim of the banks?
Jelle Hans Reitsma, a Dutch farmer who emigrated to California, took his own life last December rather than have to slaughter his cows to pay his debts. He had borrowed 40 million dollars (31 million euros) from the banks at a time when demand for dairy products was high and real estate prices were going through the roof.
Freek Staps, one of NRC Handelsblad’s US correspondents, spoke to Reitsma’s widow Roxanne and wrote about Reitsma’s life and death. Before he called Roxanne he asked his editors at NRC if it would be a good idea to write about this. They said yes. Of course, it is painful to ask a woman who has just lost her husband to tell her story. But it would have been just as painful if NRC had decided for her that she couldn’t.
Roxanne, it turned out, was eager to tell her story and she was happy with the way Freek wrote it up. But then she got second thoughts. Wouldn’t the bank seek revenge for the bad publicity? For this reason the name of the bank was left out of the article.
Jelle Hans Reitsma’s story is an extreme one. We would like to know what you think about it. Was Reitsma a victim of a banking system that was all too eager to lend him money – until the financial crisis broke out? Is it a case of banks giving someone an umbrella when the sun shines only to take it away as soon as it starts raining? Or should Reitsma himself have been more cautious?
We would also like to hear your own stories from the new recession. Do you know people who have become afraid? Lost their job? Is the recession keeping you awake at night. Or do you feel the crisis is passing you by? Let us know.
Tuesday 10 March 2009, 18:35
Based on this one article, and based on my awareness that greedy, fearful and dishonest people have caused the current financial crisis, I feel that Hans was indeed a victim of the banking systems.
But he shot himself and I wish, as I’m sure his family must also wish, that he had found another way out. I do not call him a coward however, nor do I think of him as a hero. He was squeezed by his bank and it caused him to kill himself.
Thank you for honest non-sensational non-sexualized reporting ! Tom Vitale March 10, 2009
Tuesday 10 March 2009, 23:21
The story of Jelle Hans Reitsma is that of a life with extreme highs and lows, culminating in a tragic end. Originating from the same Dutch province as I do, he managed not only to realize his dreams, but to surpass them by a great measure. For this, Jelle Hans Reitsma should be respected regardless of anything.
It is however impossible to give a simple yes or no answer to the question whether he is a victim of the banks.
Financially, yes, of course he is. But this is entrepreneurial risk. For every entrepreneur, and let’s not pretend that cattle farmers are anything less than that, heavy borrowing to finance a growth path is risky. Exactly how risky depends on a great number of interlinked factors, the most important of which are the terms & conditions underlying the loan vs. the reliability of Return On Investment (ROI) prognoses. The fact that the “one bank” was capable of shortening the maturity of a loan from seven years to a mere two months made the resulting risk factor potentially extremely volatile, something any entrepreneur trying to put his organisation on a long-term growth path would either make sure of to avoid altogether or at least hedge against.
The answer remains “yes”, he has become a victim of volatile financial risk, caused by the terms & conditions he agreed to when signing for the loan.
Looked at from the perspective of Jelle Hans Reitsma being a private individual, the answer to the aforementioned question can however only be an unequivocal “no!”. Even if the bank would have, or has taken both his farms, all his land & cattle, his property, and unemployed all his personnel, this could be looked at as him having come full circle. He started with nothing…
The bank(s) did not force him to commit suicide and thereby abandon his wife and seven children. Though this may sound harsh, it is merely a matter of fact. His suicide was an act of self-determination.
One tries to imagine whether he did or did not take a mental journey back into the past, and realize that his dream was to own a farm with 700 cattle and actually achieved what was probably far beyond his wildest dreams when he took off on his adventure at the age of 17.
Would, or should he not have considered the possibility, or perhaps even have been absolutely convinced that he had the qualities to attain that goal once again in the future?
In a way, that would have made Jelle Hans Reitsma twice the man he was.
Thursday 12 March 2009, 17:52
Even a successful suicide is an alarm call. Jelle Reitsma sacrificed his life, and did manage to get international attention for a big mistake he had made; he had ignored his father’s advise and allowed the banks to own him. I would like to compliment his wife Roxanne on talking to NRC, so lessons from the experience can be learned by many. I am glad that she, inheriting a dire situation and bereaving a major loss, holds her head up high and calls the suicide ‘heroic.’ If lessons will be learned from Jelle’s death, we may indeed conclude that his drastic action was not in vain.
That Jelle’s father was right about the banks is not the only lesson that can be learned. The warning about banks can easily be extended to any organisation that has financial profit as a singular goal. Don’t depend on them. In Holland we are coping with the very negative results of a series of privatisations. Health care, energy supply and telecommunications are now in the hands of profiteers, resulting in a decline of service, reliability, stability, security and social responsibility. A feeling of well-being is decreasing steadily since, and selfishness is becoming a necessary survival strategy.
Jelle Reitsma’s death is also a warning against the fata morgana of the American dream, which has been described as Moloch’s trap of greed. When Reitsma left the Netherlands, he was already susceptible to the lure, as he wanted a farm with 700 cows, rather than the 200 which he considered the maximum possible in his fatherland. Such pointless aims might have been modified had he stayed in Europe, but in the USA megalomania was applauded and stimulated to the point that he ended with 18,000 cows, far beyond his original desire. Reitsma obviously realised things had gone too far, when he planned to retire to a smaller farm ‘so that the children could get to know the real farmer’s life, not just the factory-like farm,’ but it was too late. Reitsma was in Moloch’s evil power and there was no escape.
Committing suicide was one of the best attacks on Moloch that could be made. The warning his death issues may save others from making the same mistake. With his death, the ultimate sacrifice, Reitsma made a major contribution to the common good, so we thank him.
Should his family want to return to the Netherlands, I welcome them with open arms. Our meadows are wet so, unlike the arid lands in California, they don’t need artificial irrigation. Don’t curse our rain, it is a blessing. Our farms may be small, but at least our farmers still know their cows individually, which benefits the well-being of both the world-famous Frisian farmer and his world-famous Frisian cattle.
Thursday 12 March 2009, 19:34
It doesn’t really make sense to blame the banks for every debt we think we can afford but somehow weren’t able to manage. This farmer had 18,000 cows for dairy products only. He took a huge gamble and must have had an even greater appetite for profits. 1.800 cows could/should have been enough. It takes two to tango, and three is a crowd. Banks are money machines, and when you enter those machines it is likely you get crushed between teeth formidable enough to make globalisation a household name… Big business, bigger losses…
Friday 20 March 2009, 3:32
More discussion about this article at Drasties.com.
Sunday 22 March 2009, 5:39
Reitsma chose to end his life in very difficult circumstances. The bank did not even supply the means to end his life and is not to blame.
Thursday 9 April 2009, 15:01
Somewhat crude but like with the Japanese bankers going hari-kiri it is all about facing your flaws & the people you’ve hurt whether monitarily or other.
I will not go any further for what remains is a tragedy.
My sincerest condolances.