Photography: Prisma Compositional
Video: Paradox Productions
Interview: Marco Hohl
Ellie Lust excludes nothing in life: “The moment you start doing that, you limit yourself. Think freely. Stand in your own shop and take from the shelves what you want.” It’s an attitude that fits perfectly with her new role as ambassador for Pride Amsterdam. The 52-year-old former police officer became well known to the public as the police spokesperson on the television programme Opsporing Verzocht. For almost a year now she has been working as a freelance programme maker. We spoke with Lust about the ambassadorship, her career change and the polar bears she literally encountered along the way.
Ellie, you have been active for years in the pride community— as you call it yourself — and you were one of the initiators of the police network ‘Roze in Blauw’. Can you tell us more about that?
“‘Roze in Blauw’ is a network within the Dutch police that fights behaviour and violence directed at lesbians, gay men and bisexuals or people with a different gender identity. We started shortly before the Gay Games in 1998 with a small group of colleagues. We wanted to let foreign visitors and participants of the Gay Games know they didn’t have to fear the police here. Only then did we realise we were also needed in Amsterdam, because many reports weren’t being filed. We discovered there was more anti-LGBT violence being committed than we had known. My colleagues and I fought for years to get ‘Roze in Blauw’ off the ground. We have now grown into a national network that is rock solid.”
We’re very proud that you are this year’s ambassador for Pride Amsterdam. Why did you say ‘yes’ to the ambassadorship?
“Since I left the police in October 2018 I’m no longer professionally connected to ‘Roze in Blauw’, but I think it’s important to keep working for the pride community. There are still plenty of people who, for all kinds of reasons, don’t dare to be themselves. As ambassador I want to show that you are good as you are. No form of love should be condemned. Boris Dittrich always says it so nicely: ‘The future is not in front of you, the future is inside of you.’ And that’s it! I hope I can be an inspiration for others. Wouldn’t it be lovely if young girls struggling with their identity could draw strength from my story. Life gets better when you come out because you no longer deny yourself. It does get better!”
You worked for the police in Amsterdam for 31 years. What’s it like to switch from police officer to programme maker and presenter?
“That was quite intense. It wasn’t necessarily my wish to leave the police, but that’s how it turned out. A few months on now and I enjoy the freedom. I do what I want and I no longer have to ask anyone for permission. Then there’s suddenly a day when I look at my calendar and realise I only have to do CrossFit. I love that! But there are also weeks when not a day goes by that I do nothing. That’s nice too! So many great projects are coming my way right now that I feel very confident and excited about the future.”
From April the second series of ‘Ellie op Patrouille’ will air on AVROTROS on NPO1, in which you join police teams around the world. What is it like to make this programme?
“When I applied to the police I could never have imagined that I would one day travel the world for my own TV programme. The new series ‘Ellie op Patrouille’ is tough. Someone dies in my hands in Argentina. We go to El Salvador — one of the most dangerous countries in the world, where 25 people are murdered per day — but also to Churchill, Canada — a town on the route of polar bears that migrate north at the end of October. Sometimes six polar bears pass through town in a week. The local police — three officers, with Ellie Lust four — are mainly occupied with keeping the streets polar-bear-free. In Churchill car doors are always left open, because if a bear suddenly appears you must immediately get to safety. I spoke with a woman who walked home after a party with friends. Suddenly they saw a polar bear round the corner. It grabbed her in the seal-eating way; its jaws over her head. It shook her and she was scalped. She survived because a neighbour bravely attacked the bear. I’ve also been to Jordan for the series. I join raids, but I also patrol on a camel in the desert. I trudge along on such a huge ruminating animal through the sand. It’s brutal work, but fantastic to do. I’ve won many lotteries in life: I grew up in a loving close-knit family; I live in a country where I can freely and safely be myself; and I get to make this programme. I’m very grateful for that!”
Finally, let’s return to pride. How do you interpret this edition’s theme ‘remember the past, create the future’for yourself?
“Pride Amsterdam this year focuses on 50 years of Stonewall. Those riots in New York were a turning point in the struggle for equal rights for our community. We wouldn’t be here now if that past hadn’t happened. Past, present and future are inextricably linked. I want to challenge people to think about where they want to be in a year — as a person and as a community. What role will you play in creating a better future? What will you do to achieve it? How wonderful would it be if everyone wanted to contribute a little to that. For example by being open about who you are. I almost never see male couples walking hand in hand down the street. The same goes for female couples. People don’t dare because they feel unsafe. That’s intolerable. You should be able to show that affection! My police heart still says: do be careful! I’ve spoken to enough victims who afterwards said: ‘It already didn’t feel right.’ You have to listen to that, because that feeling doesn’t lie. I invite everyone to join me on the non-violent barricades, with the ultimate goal of a better future for all generations after us.”
“VOLUNTEERING IS NOT OPTIONAL”
Pride ambassador since 2019
