by Astrid Berg, PhD During childhood, I had little connection to my Indonesian roots. I rarely heard Maleis (Malay) or Javaans (Javanese) spoken. I only had a slight relationship to Indo/Indische customs and culture. Both my parents appeared European. My mother is Dutch, and the Indonesian influences were subtle in my Indo father. I was…
When the Dutch government eventually granted independence to their former colony, the Dutch (Netherland) East Indies in 1949, a large community of some 200,000 Indos were forced to find a new homeland. They were the offspring (descendants) of former Dutch and other European settlers, who often intermarried with women of Indonesian or other mixed ancestry. …
As told by Friedje van Gils of New Mexico, USA In the late 1950’s the Van Gils family arrived in the USA starting off in Akron, Ohio and eventually spreading out all over the country. They arrived with a group of friends and family. There was a “Dutch Club of Akron” made up mostly…
As told by Carol Norwood of Pennsylvania, USA The photo from the home page slideshow is of Carol Norwood’s mother named Cita at the age of 2 in January of 1930. They were walking with their baboe (nanny) with mother and baby. Carol’s German grandfather worked for a Dutch company by the name of Senembah…
By Bianca Dias-Halpert, Washington, USA Several years ago I received a big envelope with old family photos from a tante (aunt) in Holland. She had been researching our family geneology and heard that I was interested. I never knew this tante until we met in 2005. All the children in this picture are first…