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…
Eddie Van Halen, the legendary musician of Indo Dutch descent passed away on October 6th. He was 65. This news was announced by his son, Wolfgang: “I can’t believe I’m having to write this but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning,” he said on Twitter. Eddie Van Halen – Photo…
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…