Changing the date of Indonesia’s Date of Independence? An Act of Historical Negationism By Priscilla Kluge McMullen – October 2018 After reading yet another article penned by an academic in Amsterdam who advocates rolling back Indonesia’s date of independence, I thought it might be beneficial to know certain facts about this issue, especially for Indos,…
By Roger Green Dokars A dokar is the jiggling, horse-drawn cart found throughout Indonesia. The two-wheeled carts are usually brightly colored with decorative motifs and bells. The small horses or ponies often have long tassels attached to their bridles. A typical dokar has bench seating on either side, which can comfortably fit three or four…
*Vergeten means Forgotten By Calvin Michel de Wilde Edited by Louise Brough Image by Eppo Doeve The end of Dutch colonization in the Dutch East Indies was marked with waves of repatriation. Most of the Dutch-Indonesian citizens in Indonesia received the right to repatriate to the Netherlands from the period of 1949-1967. While most of the…
By Tim O’Callaghan Originally posted in October 2010 by Tim O’Callaghan http://flattiresandslowboats.com/2010/10/24/santa-maria-in-tjideng/ Tjideng was a prison camp for European women and children who lived in what was then the Dutch East Indies. I visited for the first time in 2005 and even though I have no experiences to call my own, in regard to camp…
By Kathryn Pentecost Introduction In this series of monthly essays, I hope to help the readers understand the great complexity that is the story of the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. I write as both an ‘insider’ (an Indo) and an ‘outsider’ (an Australian). Having just completed my PhD on my own family history in…
By Jan Krancher, California, USA Overview of the Japanese Imprisonment Experience The Japanese High Command on Java attempted to coerce the Indo-European members of the former Royal Netherlands-Indies Army, Navy and Air Force to enlist in the Japanese army. A goodly number of Indos who refused were summarily executed and many ended up in camps. …
[Featured photo: Doc Hekking Reunion with former POW’s 1957 Texas Courtesy of Lost Battalion Association] By Bianca Dias-Halpert, USA Heroes are lost in the annals of history. Doc Hekking and the incredible bond with his fellow POW’s is an inspirational story that awaits rediscovery in the Indo community and beyond. The boys from America…
By Robert Vanderwaall, Texas, USA Indo Robert Vanderwaall recounts his father’s childhood story about hunting a tiger in the Dutch East Indies. This is just one of many stories my father told me of his childhood, growing up in the Dutch East Indies. He and his brother, my uncle “Oom” Piet, were trying to make…
By Jan Krancher The word “diaspora” has been used throughout the web site of The Indo Project. Most readers are undoubtedly acquainted with this Greek term referring to the dispersion or scattering of Jews outside of Palastine after the Babylonian exile or, to put it another way, the area outside of Palastine settled by the Jews. In that ancient…
By Bianca Dias-Halpert After WWII ended in 1945 there was a power vacuum in the Dutch East Indies as the former Japanese captors were disarmed and the Indonesian revolutionists picked up momentum. Because of the lack of manpower in the Dutch military the Allied Forces sent British-Indian troops to stabilize the situation and aide…