by Jane Vogel Mantiri Introduction I met Sonja in October 2011, almost seven decades after Papa was captured by the Japanese, shackled, and forced to work the Death Railway in Siam (Thailand) as a POW (prisoner of war). Papa would endure almost four years of torture before he was released from hell. He never told…
In Colorado, Indos are meeting regularly to share a meal and build community. The Colorado Kumpulan is hosted by Lies Dohne and Teda DaCosta. The group of 40+ members meet for lunch every month at different restaurants, mostly Asian, in the greater Denver Area. If you live in Denver, the Colorado Kumpulan is a great…
by Sheldon Krancher Discovering Indo Pride Through My Childhood Paper Route It was just after 4:00 AM on a brisk spring morning when I heard the rumble of the truck that dropped the Fresno Bee on our front porch. Just over 260 newspapers, four routes in total, between myself and my brother. I was only…
Hello to all who attended the Long Beach Holland Festival on September 5th, 2022 and especially to those that stopped by The Indo Project booth. It was an extremely hot day at 108 degrees fahrenheit, a new record since 1988 that was at 107! It was nice to meet all the Indos who participated in…
[Photo: The Hague, after 1933. Oma Moesje is second from the right wearing white] The Story of my Indo Oma By Robert Kaya Before I even met my Oma, she already had a long and interesting life. She was born in Kota Raja, Aceh in 1891 as the ninth of ten children. Her father was a…
The annual Holland Festival in Long Beach has permanently moved to Labor Day Weekend and will be celebrated this year on Sunday, September 4th, 2022. For many Southern California Indos, Memorial Day weekend in May was synonymous with the Holland Festival. The Holland Festival is an annual event celebrated at the P.O.A. Gemmrig Park in…
The Indo Project asked its followers on social media, “How did your mother or oma instill Indo culture in you?” TIP is pleased to share some of its followers’ responses below. Look for the Good in People Look for the good in people, my mom said. ~ Nicky Thornton Guerrero Always Have Enough Food I learned…
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…
The following is a written adaptation of a monologue performed by Ingrid Dümpel on International Women’s Day at Nia Domo (a community center) in Boekel, Netherlands. “I felt like a bird with too little flying experience being thrown out of the nest! And in my husband’s world, I remained the spring chicken, because he was…
By Ronny Geenen (IndoWorld) Roots in the Dutch East Indies My youngest sister Peggy Geenen was born in Padang, in the former Dutch East Indies, during World War ll in 1943. Over 50 years later, in 1996, she, her friend Jaap, and six others decided to take a trip through the islands Sumatra and Java,…