It was not in the script that Jetten would apologize for the treatment of the first generation of Moluccans: ‘Almost too late, but nice that it is there’

“You are seen,” Emma Latulette Papilaja (89) hears Prime Minister Rob Jetten say in a room for three hundred guests from the Moluccan community. On Sunday afternoon, the Prime Minister apologized in Rotterdam for the “heartless and dishonorable dismissal as a soldier” of the Moluccan KNIL soldiers, “for the inadequate reception and housing, for not being seen and abandoned, for the unfulfilled longing for home and for the sadness and pain in so many Moluccan families.”

The fact that Jetten would apologize “was not in the script,” says spokesperson Nina Nussy of the National Moluccan Monument Foundation, the organization behind the monument. First of all, the day, and the inauguration of the Ulu Kora monument, is to honor the first generation of Moluccans, says Nussy. Only last week it was announced that Jetten would also be present, after which the possibility of a state apology suddenly became real.

The name of the monument, Ulu Kora, refers to the prow of a kora-kora, a traditional Moluccan ship that was used for centuries for trade voyages and warfare. During the colonial period, Moluccans were forced by the VOC to provide rowers and kora-kora to use during military expeditions against other communities.

The reception room, on the thirteenth floor of the Shipping and Transport College, is full of four generations of the Moluccan community. In the background you can hear Moluccan songs such as “Maluku Manise” by Corr Tetelepta. Moluccan sweets such as spekkoek and sponge cake are offered.

Waited for decades

Also in the room is Latulette Papilaja, who is holding her walker tightly. She is “very tense,” she says. Partly because the Prime Minister may apologize, something she has been waiting for for decades, but mainly because her deceased parents and husband will not be able to see this day. “That hurts me,” she says.

Together with her parents and her brother and sister, she arrived at the same Lloydkade 75 years ago on the first ship, the Kota Inten. More than 12,500 Moluccans followed, who eventually made the crossing to the Netherlands, after a large number had served for the Royal Dutch East Indies Army (KNIL). The Dutch state reminded them that it would be temporary. But over the years, temporary became permanent: most would never return.

Zoom in

In recent decades, the Moluccan community has made several attempts to gain recognition for how the Dutch state treated Moluccans. This resulted in outbreaks of violence, such as the train hijacking in the Drenthe village of Wijster in 1975. Recognition of the mistakes made by the Dutch state and legal redress were not forthcoming. An apology seemed close in 2021, when Rutte seemed prepared to make a meaningful gesture after a number of meetings with Moluccan communities. But at the last minute he backed down, after criticism from Moluccans themselves.

Photo of grandparents

Cheyenne Pattikawa (38) stands in the reception room with a photo of her grandparents in her hand. Her grandparents were also the first Moluccans to arrive in the Netherlands in the Kota Inten. “I hope that we will finally receive recognition. That our history will become known.” She has two young children and sees that they are not taught anything about Moluccan history at school. “I have to explain that to them myself.”

Her mother, Diana Anakotta Pattikawa (62), nods in agreement. “That is so necessary.” She herself is a teacher in Rotterdam at a vocational school. “For example, students ask: ‘Madam, what are Moluccans?’ I’m happy to explain it to them, but I also think: haven’t you learned anything about this in secondary education yet?”

Last week, a large majority of the House of Representatives called on the cabinet for an independent investigation into the role of the state when it comes to the treatment of Moluccans in the Netherlands. Only FVD did not support the call, which was submitted on the initiative of Christian Union MP Don Ceder.

Jetten also mentioned in his speech on Sunday afternoon that research is necessary so that it can be determined “together” what consequences are necessary and desirable to do justice to the Moluccan community. “In good consultation,” says Jetten. “And I promise you in advance that you can count on the full and positive commitment of the entire cabinet and of me personally.”

Never enough

After the speeches, the guests are asked to leave the hall to form a procession downstairs to the new monument. But 89-year-old Latulette Papilaja will remain seated for a while. “I find it painful for myself. My husband is already gone, my parents. I think it is so sad,” she says with tears in her eyes. “I can no longer think about the future. For my children, but not for me.” She thinks an apology came too late. Although it had never been enough to alleviate the loss of the Moluccas. “Our life is here, it is good, but far from our island, right?”

The procession with hundreds of people from the Moluccan community also includes brothers Joaquin Anwar (18) and Xavier Anwar (20) from Amersfoort. Their mother, Sharon Sourbag, is chairman of the Museum Maluku and spoke at the inauguration. The Prime Minister’s recognition was something that was “very necessary,” says Joaquin. “I see it as: it was almost too late, but it’s nice that it is there.” He is now the fourth generation. “The life we ​​will now lead will be very different from previous generations.”

Give a gift





Part





Email the editor