The results of the major investigation into the struggle in the Dutch East Indies are important for how we relate to our painful history with the independence of Indonesia, writes editor-in-chief Rennie Rijpma in this commentary.
Coen Verbraak interviewed for the documentary series Our boys in Java fourteen Indian veterans. In 2019 they told their story publicly for the first time. The majority of the Indies veterans for more than 70 years hardly spoke about what had happened in the East, not even to their loved ones. The penetrating conversations, filmed up close, made it clear how these men were marked by a history far from home and now also far in time.
Anyone who has seen this documentary series cannot be surprised by the intense feelings that surface at the presentation of the major research by the Niod (Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies), the Royal Institute for Language, Land and Ethnology (KITLV) and the Netherlands Institute of Military History (NIMH) on the nature and extent of Dutch violence during the decolonization war (1945-1950).
For those not involved, this war is only a brief part of the history lesson and therefore not part of our collective memory. But whoever was there – as a soldier or as a member of the Indies community – carries the war with them for a lifetime. ,,The book never closes”, said the nineties in Our boys in Java† “It only becomes quiet for us when the last Indian veteran dies,” conscript Jan Foppen told Coen Verbraak.
The results of the major study are a disappointment to many involved; veterans feel that they have been dismissed as war criminals and the Indian community believes that too little attention is paid to the violence of Indonesian independence or freedom fighters.
And yet it makes sense that this important part of the history of the Netherlands has been re-recorded and given more attention. For when it gets quiet and those who were involved can no longer speak. Then it is up to us as a country to relate to our history.
When the Netherlands was liberated from the German occupation, we sent soldiers to the Dutch East Indies to deny the Indonesians their freedom for another four years out of a sense of colonial superiority, even committing war crimes. ,,For nothing. For nothing. It was not necessary at all,” said war veteran Bert Hofman seventy years later. A sobering conclusion to bear in mind when making any decision about military intervention.
You can respond at the bottom of this article. Only comments with a full name will be posted. We do this because we want a debate with people who stand for what they say, and who put their name on it. If you still need to enter your name, you can do so by clicking ‘Login’ at the top right of our site.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss a thing from the stars.
#Decolonization #Indonesia #belongs #collective #memory