Indonesian white jasmine, the symbol for the Dutch-Indo commemoration day.
Today, August 15, the Dutch commemorate those who were victims of the Japanese occupation in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). To me, commemoration days are a time to reflect. To think about what happened, and to hopefully prevent similar things in our present and the future.
The combined history of the Dutch colonies, the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies and the Indonesian revolution is a difficult one to recollect. It's not a short story to tell. To start, each side has its own story, obviously. My families' experience may not be relatable to others. Indonesians may have a different opinion on what happened. The Dutch may also have a different point of view.
In all honesty the Dutch have done a lot of good things for Indonesia, for which a lot of Indonesians are still grateful to this day. But let's not forget that first and foremost the Dutch were oppressors. When the Japanese came, the Indonesians were almost relieved. Of course the Indonesians were still oppressed, and maybe the Japanese were just as cruel (or even more so) than the Dutch, but at least now they got rid of the Dutch.
My grandparents lived on the island Java, and were Indo-Europeans. A mixed race, consisting of Dutch and Indonesian blood. We're also called "Indo". A lot of these Indo-Europeans were considered Dutch by the Japanese, and therefore a natural enemy. A lot of them were killed, a lot of them were captured. My grandmother and eldest aunt (a young girl then) were separated from my grandfather and were each held captive in Japanese internment camps. They were among the lucky ones to eventually survive, but it was an experience so horrible they hardly ever spoke about it. It especially left my grandfather traumatised, as he suffered from camp syndrome, which obviously had its effect on his family. As I said, it wasn't something that was talked about much, which is extremely typical for Indo-European survivors. We largely know what happened to my grandparents and aunt, and we can fill in the blanks with strong allusions of truly saddening, horrifying things.
Then came the Japanese capitulation, they surrendered 71 years ago on this day. The Indonesian's were finally free and independent (and still celebrate that on August 17). But what about the Dutch and Indos remaining in Indonesia? They were still considered enemies by the Indonesian people, and they wanted them out of their country, so they all headed "back home" to the Netherlands. Many of them had never set foot in the Netherlands, even though they were officially Dutch citizens.
"Back home" in the Netherlands however, they weren't welcomed with open arms. There wasn't any place for them to live, so the government huddled them up at empty nazi concentration camp sites. These people literally went from Japanese internment camps to living at former nazi concentration camps. That's insane to me. Yes, they were free, but there were still too many people living at cramped spaces, can you just imagine all the trauma it would've brought back? Not to mention the different climate, food and culture they had to get used to. They also looked different, they didn't fit in here. And to top it all off, they couldn't get the jobs they had studied for or carry out their former occupations. They had to start from scratch and had to loan money from the government that they had to (and did!) pay back. There were no benefits back then, like there are now. Even though they were born Dutch citizens, just like everyone else, they weren't given equal opportunity. They weren't taken care of.
It would be easy to harbour grudges against the Dutch government, or the Japanese for that matter. I don't. The Netherlands is my home, and I'm very proud to be Dutch. And yet I'm also just as proud to be Indonesian. I will happily sing the Indonesian national anthem when they celebrate merdeka on August 17. I also have a great love for Japan, even though I know what atrocities the Japanese people committed back then. The people we met when we were in Japan were so kind. So why hold any grudges?
And you know, even though it was hard, my family got by and made a good life for themselves here. There's nobody who can change what has happened. Why hold people responsible for things they didn't do themselves? I would like people to remember and learn from these things though.
It saddens me that now, 71 years later, a large part of our world is still at war. It's like we haven't learned anything. Bigotry is ubiquitous and keeps on pitting people, ethnicities, religions against each other. The things I hear and read make me think we're on the brink of getting back to a world of segregation and concentration camps. Like we're just waiting for the next Hitler to arise and people falling for it with the drop of a hat. Is that what we want?
I think about the refugees currently stuck at cramped refugee centres, or even worse, refugee camps. They're, essentially free, right, like my grandparents? Because at least they're not in their native country where it's unsafe. But they're also not free, just like my grandparents.
People are so scared to let refugees into the country, because they may be terrorists. Because there is no space. Because we don't want them. We let other countries take responsibility, throw our hands up. Give in to xenophobia. Yes, they may be terrorists. But they may as well be victims, which is far more likely.
Are we willing to feed bigotry, and make the gaps between "us" and "them" even bigger?
Do we really want to be a kind of people that looks away when others are desperate and in need? I mean, looking back, can the Dutch be proud of how they treated their fellow countrymen when they came back? Not really. We can't change what happened. But in the future, will we be proud of how we treat refugees now? Will we be proud of how we treat people of a different race? Of a different religion? Will those refugees look back with gratitude, or with bitterness? We can still change the answers to those questions.
Commemoration days like today, remind me that the least I can do is make sure I am aware of all this. I know this all may seem hypocritical, it's not like I'm taking in a refugee anytime soon. But I do want to look for other ways to help. By telling this part of my story, I'm hoping to at least share some awareness. I know what my family has been through, and I hate that others are still going through similar hardships today.
Days like these also remind me that the least I can do is try to always come from a place of understanding, kindness and open mindedness. To always look for ways to make a change. I can only hope others do the same. I just want our (!) future to be better, and I want us all to do everything we can to make a difference in the world. :-)
The combined history of the Dutch colonies, the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies and the Indonesian revolution is a difficult one to recollect. It's not a short story to tell. To start, each side has its own story, obviously. My families' experience may not be relatable to others. Indonesians may have a different opinion on what happened. The Dutch may also have a different point of view.
In all honesty the Dutch have done a lot of good things for Indonesia, for which a lot of Indonesians are still grateful to this day. But let's not forget that first and foremost the Dutch were oppressors. When the Japanese came, the Indonesians were almost relieved. Of course the Indonesians were still oppressed, and maybe the Japanese were just as cruel (or even more so) than the Dutch, but at least now they got rid of the Dutch.
My grandparents lived on the island Java, and were Indo-Europeans. A mixed race, consisting of Dutch and Indonesian blood. We're also called "Indo". A lot of these Indo-Europeans were considered Dutch by the Japanese, and therefore a natural enemy. A lot of them were killed, a lot of them were captured. My grandmother and eldest aunt (a young girl then) were separated from my grandfather and were each held captive in Japanese internment camps. They were among the lucky ones to eventually survive, but it was an experience so horrible they hardly ever spoke about it. It especially left my grandfather traumatised, as he suffered from camp syndrome, which obviously had its effect on his family. As I said, it wasn't something that was talked about much, which is extremely typical for Indo-European survivors. We largely know what happened to my grandparents and aunt, and we can fill in the blanks with strong allusions of truly saddening, horrifying things.
Then came the Japanese capitulation, they surrendered 71 years ago on this day. The Indonesian's were finally free and independent (and still celebrate that on August 17). But what about the Dutch and Indos remaining in Indonesia? They were still considered enemies by the Indonesian people, and they wanted them out of their country, so they all headed "back home" to the Netherlands. Many of them had never set foot in the Netherlands, even though they were officially Dutch citizens.
"Back home" in the Netherlands however, they weren't welcomed with open arms. There wasn't any place for them to live, so the government huddled them up at empty nazi concentration camp sites. These people literally went from Japanese internment camps to living at former nazi concentration camps. That's insane to me. Yes, they were free, but there were still too many people living at cramped spaces, can you just imagine all the trauma it would've brought back? Not to mention the different climate, food and culture they had to get used to. They also looked different, they didn't fit in here. And to top it all off, they couldn't get the jobs they had studied for or carry out their former occupations. They had to start from scratch and had to loan money from the government that they had to (and did!) pay back. There were no benefits back then, like there are now. Even though they were born Dutch citizens, just like everyone else, they weren't given equal opportunity. They weren't taken care of.
It would be easy to harbour grudges against the Dutch government, or the Japanese for that matter. I don't. The Netherlands is my home, and I'm very proud to be Dutch. And yet I'm also just as proud to be Indonesian. I will happily sing the Indonesian national anthem when they celebrate merdeka on August 17. I also have a great love for Japan, even though I know what atrocities the Japanese people committed back then. The people we met when we were in Japan were so kind. So why hold any grudges?
And you know, even though it was hard, my family got by and made a good life for themselves here. There's nobody who can change what has happened. Why hold people responsible for things they didn't do themselves? I would like people to remember and learn from these things though.
It saddens me that now, 71 years later, a large part of our world is still at war. It's like we haven't learned anything. Bigotry is ubiquitous and keeps on pitting people, ethnicities, religions against each other. The things I hear and read make me think we're on the brink of getting back to a world of segregation and concentration camps. Like we're just waiting for the next Hitler to arise and people falling for it with the drop of a hat. Is that what we want?
I think about the refugees currently stuck at cramped refugee centres, or even worse, refugee camps. They're, essentially free, right, like my grandparents? Because at least they're not in their native country where it's unsafe. But they're also not free, just like my grandparents.
People are so scared to let refugees into the country, because they may be terrorists. Because there is no space. Because we don't want them. We let other countries take responsibility, throw our hands up. Give in to xenophobia. Yes, they may be terrorists. But they may as well be victims, which is far more likely.
Are we willing to feed bigotry, and make the gaps between "us" and "them" even bigger?
Do we really want to be a kind of people that looks away when others are desperate and in need? I mean, looking back, can the Dutch be proud of how they treated their fellow countrymen when they came back? Not really. We can't change what happened. But in the future, will we be proud of how we treat refugees now? Will we be proud of how we treat people of a different race? Of a different religion? Will those refugees look back with gratitude, or with bitterness? We can still change the answers to those questions.
Commemoration days like today, remind me that the least I can do is make sure I am aware of all this. I know this all may seem hypocritical, it's not like I'm taking in a refugee anytime soon. But I do want to look for other ways to help. By telling this part of my story, I'm hoping to at least share some awareness. I know what my family has been through, and I hate that others are still going through similar hardships today.
Days like these also remind me that the least I can do is try to always come from a place of understanding, kindness and open mindedness. To always look for ways to make a change. I can only hope others do the same. I just want our (!) future to be better, and I want us all to do everything we can to make a difference in the world. :-)