by Astrid Berg, PhD I interviewed three female cousins, all third-generation Americans in their thirties and forties, who have Indo mothers and African-American fathers. I began the interview by sharing my experience as a white-bodied child of interracial parents—an Indo father and Dutch mother. Growing up, I encountered subtle remarks and impressions from my mother…
By Monica Veerman Cluff Editor’s note: This article uses “Tjideng,” the colonial-era Dutch spelling. The modern Bahasa Indonesia spelling is “Cideng.” Both spellings appear in historical and contemporary sources. Finding the Words For those of us with roots in the wartime Dutch East Indies, our family’s stories often contain unspoken gaps. I’ve always been deeply…
Want to learn (more) about WWII in the Dutch East Indies, the Bersiap Period and the Independence War? Watch the 40-minute documentary by Simone Berger & Armando Ello with English subtitles. On December 3, 2023, The Indo Project hosted a live online Q&A session with the filmmakers. Over 60 people signed up and submitted questions,…
by Inez Hollander, Ph.D. – Academic Director of The Indo Project Introduction Lizzy van Leeuwen’s Volksvreemd vermaak: De Oost en de West op de Nederlandse podia voor en tijdens de Duitse bezetting (Amsterdam: Prometheus, 2023) This important book tells a history that, until now, has received little attention in the overall Dutch obsession with World…
by Inge Dümpel Since time, immemorial people have recorded images and memories with the pen and, taking it one step further, described the thoughts and feelings of their characters. I am going to tell you about someone who is Indisch in heart and soul and wants to capture and pass on this being Indisch as…
by Saskia Rossi-van den Broek Marsini’s Gift – the Story of An Indo Family When Saskia Rossi left California in 2018 to return to Holland where she was born, she did not know that her life – she was already in her sixties – would take a staggering turn. First of all, her new home,…
The Indo Project reviews book Tetralogy by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, a series of historical novels about the former Dutch East Indies. The author describes life in the Dutch colony around the turn of the last century. Tetralogy – Pramoedya Ananta Toer A Book Review by Kareen Richard Schöller Tetralogy consists of four titles: Earth of…
by Ingrid Dümpel My name is Ingrid Dümpel and I was born and raised in Indië or the Dutch East Indies. Both my parents are ‘Indisch’—with paternal ancestors from the west and maternal ancestors from Indonesia. I realized what a privilege it was to have grown up there, when I started interviewing Indisch children who…
Lost History of the Depokkers; A Review of the Book ‘The Christian Slaves of Depok: A Colonial Tale Unravels’ by Dr. Kathryn Pentecost Overview The Christian Slaves of Depok: A Colonial Tale Unravels (2021) by Dr Nonja Peters is a highly readable and thoroughly researched book which details the little-known history of a group of colonial…
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…