In the last few weeks, The Netherlands’ colonial closet was ripped wide open in a fight about who gets to determine what the former colonial power did and did not do in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). It started with the Revolusi exhibit in the Rijksmuseum about the Indonesian independence, which is now open to…
We’ve all been there. Just go back in time and think of your elementary school antics. In the schoolyard someone lashes out and says But you’re a moron. The answer that may come back when there is no good answer: No, you’re a moron. And then there is always that line of last resort and…
The Back Story In light of the upcoming REVOLUSI exhibit at the Rijksmuseum which deals with the independence struggle of Indonesia, one of the Indonesian curators, Bonnie Triyana, publicly announced that the word “bersiap” should be (and was going to be) omitted from the exhibit. He argued that the term, when used by Dutch people,…
REVISED ARTICLE NOTE: The following article was originally published on March 3, 2019. Due to many of the comments and questions, the author Paul Munsell has graciously revised the article. The article was revised and updated on TIP website on May 21, 2019. INTRODUCTION A short time ago, there were several heavy-duty discussions on Facebook…
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,…
Most people commemorate the end of the Second World War in the Netherlands on May 4th and 5th May, but in fact the war only came to an end on 15 August. Then the Japanese domination of the Dutch East Indies stopped. Each year Dutch people with roots in the former Dutch East Indies come…
Indonesia has a small Jewish population. In the 19th century, most of the Jews in the Dutch East Indies (now called Indonesia) were Dutch Jews from the Netherlands. The rest of the Jews in Indonesia were mainly immigrants from Iraq and Aden. The memories of wartime Indonesia (formerly known as the Dutch East Indies) were overshadowed by…
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…
By Kathryn Pentecost Indonesia is known as the world’s most populace Muslim nation and its cultural history is richly diverse. Throughout their history, Indonesians have been influenced by a diversity of religious and cultural influences, (though some commentators today fear that the country is becoming a less tolerant place) (Vltchek, 2012). Looking back into Indonesia’s…
Second article chronicling The Indo Project Board Member Emeritus Jan Krancher as he takes a sentimental journey back to his birth land Indonesia. By Jan Krancher, 24 June 2013. After this nostalgic visit, we took a quick drive-by in town to the former residence of Harry Klaare, one of Oma Poenisah’ sons, my uncle, and…