Kampong Dreams
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Kampong Dreams Exploring the construction of belonging for Moluccans living in Lunetten Sam Toogood 11338814 [email protected] Amsterdam – 16th January 2018 Master thesis submitted to the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Amsterdam, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, Department of Cultural and Social Anthropology Word count: 23,943 Supervisor: Dr. T. Harris Second and third readers: Dr. T. Schut and Dr. R.J. van Ginkel Plagiarism Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis meets the rules and regulations for fraud and plagiarism as set out by the Examination Committee of the MSc Cultural and Social Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam. This thesis is entirely my own original work and all sources have been properly acknowledged. Sam Toogood 16-01-2018 1 Acknowledgments Pol You were the assistant I couldn’t afford. They should put your head on Easter Island for your stoic patience. Mum and Dad The second time might not be the charm, but you trusted me. Tina You have a talent for giving advice to those who aren’t much good at taking it. This thesis might not have been written without your relentless optimism. 2 There's a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place, And I know that it's the Spirit of the Lord; There are sweet expressions on each face, And I know they feel the presence of the Lord. - Sweet Sweet Spirit, sang during a Sunday service in Lunetten 3 Contents Introduction 5 Chapter 1: Opening the Baggage 19 Chapter 2: Kampong/Compound 20 Chapter 3: Resisting Suburbia 45 Conclusion 58 Bibliography 62 4 Introduction The seed of this thesis lies in a previous project, in which I investigated the contemporary construction of ‘Indo’-ness in the context of Dutch multiculturalism. ‘Indo’ refers to Eurasian people who experienced colonialism as subjects of the former Dutch East Indies. It was originally a term used by the colonial administration to refer to people of mixed Dutch and Indonesian descent, and more generally to those who had European and Asian ancestry in the former Dutch East Indies. As colonial subjects of mixed ancestry, Indo people benefited from a racial hierarchy in the colonial administration that favoured European parentage, and gave them privileged access to rank, salary and favours that were unavailable to the wider population. As Indonesia gained independence, the racial construction of Indo-ness was maintained in the Netherlands through the cultural capital provided by their previous education in colonial Dutch schooling, granting access to better housing and jobs than their Indonesian compatriots. Speaking to many Indo people young and old, I found that many took pride in being regarded as “model immigrants” or “good immigrants”, speaking about how they had integrated. Indeed, although being Indo was a point of identification for them, so was the oft-quoted idea that they have become “more Dutch than the Dutch”. Some participants occasionally compared Indo people to other types of immigrant, such as those from Turkey and Morocco, perceived as ‘troublemakers’ who, they argued, were not interested in integrating into Dutch society. In particular, Moluccans were singled out for criticism. At the centre of their comparison of Indo people to Moluccans was a notion of belonging. Every association – anger, ungratefulness, violence – seemed, for my interviewees, to be rooted in their inability to lay down roots. Displaced to the Netherlands from the Moluccan islands in Eastern Indonesia after independence, the Moluccan diaspora had laid their hopes on stoking the fire of a future republic, the Republik Maluku Selatan (RMS). Many led second lives maintaining communication with their families and the whole kampong they had grown up in. Kampong is Malay for ‘village’, but it is also the origin of the English word ‘compound’, an added layer of meaning that adequately describes the form of territorial belonging explored here. Members of the second generation diaspora went on pilgrimages to keep the flame bright, yet in spite of political terrorism during the 1970s, the years saw the RMS turn to cinders. The Indo interviewees I spoke to about Moluccans described how Moluccans were stuck in a purgatory, unable to return but equally spurned by the host culture who viewed them with suspicion. However, in the research towards this thesis, I found a diaspora community that built a new fire on top of the ashes of the RMS, and in its glow called it the kampong. 5 Setting and historical context Moluccan position in colonial Indonesia Similarly to Eurasian Indo people, Moluccans received preferential treatment during the colonial period compared to much of the rest of the Dutch East Indies population. The Moluccan Islands were the first part of the Indonesian archipelago to be conquered by the Dutch, prized for the precious spices that grew there. As is often the case with colonisation, the colonial power skewed the existing economic infrastructure towards a single tradeable resource, but once the spice trade collapsed the Moluccan Islands were never to receive significant investment to balance the economy (Steijlen 1992, p. 780). Although the Moluccan population was somewhat equally split between Christian and Muslim followers, it was the former who were to be given employment opportunities by the Dutch colonial power, as Maluku Islands. Source: Wikipedia clerks, teachers, and later as soldiers in the Colonial Army (the KNIL, Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger). Many of the Christian Moluccans were to grow into a middle class society, being payed better than their Muslim neighbours, and educated in Dutch schools. As the Moluccan islands had been colonised first, and most thoroughly, a career in the KNIL was popular among Protestant Moluccan islanders. The KNIL was established to defend Dutch assets in the Indonesian archipelago and maintain order amongst locals. Due to the religious bond and upbringing in Dutch education, soldiers from these islands were regarded by the Dutch as particularly reliable, fearsome and loyal (Amersfoort 2004, p. 154; Manuhutu 1991, p. 498). It should be noted that in the Dutch administration the term “Ambonese” was used to count not only people from Ambon, but also other Moluccan islands and Christians in Eastern Indonesia and the Mcnadonese. Moluccans nevertheless provided a very high proportion of the soldiers. The KNIL was organised along ethnic lines, what was known as the landaarden, and “Ambonese” recruits were paid more than the Muslim Javanese soldiers in the army. The Ambonese were seen as a counterweight to the majority Javanese, and were often ideologically defined in relation to the special bond held with the Dutch. 6 War and the RMS Following the Pacific War and the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, the KNIL was integral to the Dutch plans to restore their influence over the archipelago. Nevertheless, Indonesian nationalism had grown since World War Two broke out, and European nations were under pressure to commit to decolonisation. The Netherlands was forced to relinquish sovereignty on 28 December 1949 to the Republic Indonesia Serikat, a republic with a federal structure. Subsequently, as the KNIL had to be disbanded, 62,000 native soldiers had to choose between demobilisation or joining the ranks of their former enemy, the Republican Army. By October 1950, 8,000 men had still refused to make a choice, frustrating the Dutch government’s attempts at decolonisation. Concurrently, the nationalist government of President Sukarno changed the constitution in order to move from a federal structure, which was perceived to be a colonial relic, to a more centralised republic. This demanded that federate states disbanded themselves and join the central state, but among the Christian population of the Ambonese islands it met much resistance. This resulted in the proclamation of the independent Republic of the South Moluccas (RMS: Republic Maluku Selatan), which was perceived to be an anti-nationalist rebellion by the Indonesian government. For the remaining KNIL soldiers, 90 per cent of which were Ambonese, the RMS was a new cause to fight for after the collapse of the colonial administration. According to their contract, KNIL soldiers had a right to choose where they would be demobilised, and after the proclamation of the RMS, many demanded to be discharged in Ambon. The Indonesian government embargoed Ambon to any military personnel, and when pockets of resistance popped up in Ceram, soldiers were forbidden to go there as well. A Dutch court prevented the Dutch government from non-consensually discharging former KNIL soldiers, by now made members of the regular Dutch army, on any Indonesian territory. Finally capitulating to external pressure, the Dutch government transported the 3,578 soldiers to the Netherlands in order to discharge them there. Between March and June 1951, soldiers and their families – around 12,500 people – were transported in a month-long voyage to the Netherlands. As a last resort, temporary transportation to the Netherlands was hope to change the mood of Moluccans soldiers after a few month, and request return. The Moluccans on board were also optimistic about a swift return. For both parties, however, events in Indonesia and the Moluccas were beyond their control. 7 Kamp Vught Only after the first ship arrived in the Netherlands were soldiers told that they had been discharged with immediate effect from the Dutch army. The humiliating loss of rank, purpose, and the security they had caused unrest, and several lawsuits contesting the discharge were brought to court, but had limited success. It seemed that the Netherlands, still in shock from the devastation of World War Two, had no succinct strategy to deal with the new arrivals. The government hurriedly prepared camps around the country that were intended as temporary accommodation for Moluccans until their swift repatriation (Bartels 1989, p.13).