[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…
“Who was in which lifeboat?” A mission by Peter Versteeg to find out which of the three remaining lifeboats his father traveled in — as one of 116 survivors of the sunken “Poelau Bras” — and who were in the other two lifeboats? www.poelau-bras.nl (To translate this website from Dutch to English: Go to Google…
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 Sjoekje Sas(a)bone, LCSW, EMHA Click here for a word from the author. At eighteen years old, my father was a P.O.W. KNIL soldier during WWII Japanese occupation (approximately 3.5 years). At nineteen, he witnessed a civilian diagonally sliced (shoulder to waist) with a samurai sword by a Japanese soldier who lost aim during this…
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…
Maria and Holland International Market With the opening of its doors, Holland International Market, Inc. started a new era of Dutch culture and specialty goods in Bellflower, California. The former local Dutch store, Holland American International Specialities closed for good in June 2014. It was the premier distributor of fine European and domestic specialty gourmet…
A Cultural Awakening By Barbara (Babs) Coert My sister and I are as different as two people can be. Not only do we live in different states, we are also very different in how we express and connect to our Indo culture. I’m more social in my connection. Maybe holding on to the ways of…