Migrants in the Netherlands: Indische-Nederlanders & Molukkers: Plantation owners and a Train Hi-Jacking.
Migrants in the Netherlands: The Indos – The slightly aloof, food-loving, white-brown Dutch.
Not because there’s anything wrong with the latter, but because being “Indo” was actually a nationality that, today, doesn’t exist anymore and is now only passed on by heritage. Indo people were people officially confirmed to have mixed-race heritage who were born in the Dutch East Indies colony, it allowed them special privileges that regular “pure blood Indonesians” were not – or at least not automatically – which, indeed, was somewhat of an Apartheids-regime.
Many of the Indo-people were relatively well-off, they had proper jobs as part of the Colonial Government, served in the military, had medical or educational-jobs and owning rather large plantations was not uncommon. If you ever get to snoop through the photo books of an Indo-family odds are you will see many men in military outfits and often women in semi-Victorian style dressing sitting on the porch of impressive plantation houses. Basically, they usually had pretty good lives up until the Japanese invaded during WWII. Mass amounts of Indos were sent to camps and many never came back. After the war the indigenous Indonesians, rightfully, were fed up with being second rank citizens in their own country. A gruesome conflict ensued, in which the Indos backed the Dutch rule, and in the aftermath of the Independence War from 1945 to 1949, from which the modern day Republic of Indonesia arose, at least 200,000+ people left the Dutch colony for “Holland”.
Most Indos today are still, somewhat, true to their heritage as many work for the government, serve in the military and skills such as speaking absolutely perfect Dutch, getting higher-educated, having a successful career and so forth are stillmore of an obligation than a choice for any Indo.
However, it must be said, that Indos are often the slightest bit aloof – perhaps it’s the colonial heritage, but older generations of Indos aren’t always necessarily very accepting of other people. They are, perhaps rightfully, proud of their standing in Holland and don’t appreciate other minority groups who fail to do so – forgetting they themselves had a historical and cultural edge to begin with.
These are just some of the, by now easily surpassing a million, of Dutch with an Indo-heritage, including yours truly. We’re everywhere and that cute Dutch boy or girl with the blonde hair and brown eyes you secretly have a crush on may just have that bit of Asian heritage. And they might not even know it themselves.
Migrants in the Netherlands: Molukkers – The furiously loyal, controversial Oceanians.
Moluccans arrived in the Netherlands jointly with the Indos for the same reason – the Dutch East Indies had fallen and there was no space for them in the new nation. At least, not for as far as the Indonesian and Dutch government cared, and it was the start of a rough ride for everyone involved.
The reason is that the Indonesians (and by extension the Indos) and the Moluccan people are in fact ethnically completely different. The first are ethnically Malaysian-Asians, whether mixed or not, while the latter are “Oceanians” such as New Zealand’s Ma’oris or the native people of Hawaii.
That the Maluku islands were once administered to the same colony as Indonesia, was simply a tragic topographic co-incidence for the locals who never felt much Asian and certainly not “Indonesian” to begin with.
Needless to say, when Indonesia gained independence, their own island nation was out of the question and a crack down for choosing the “wrong” side was imminent. As such the Dutch government ordered all the Moluccan troops to ready their families and belongings and ship out to Holland. And so they did.
Upon arrival they were told they would probably never be able to go home again, which broke more hearts and shattered more souls than could be put into words – but true to their ancient warrior heritage the Moluccans swore everlasting loyalty to their home islands and demanded the Dutch fulfil their promise of independence and to negotiate with the Indonesian government. The Dutch and Indonesian government however brushed things off. And that doesn’t go well with people of a furious past.
It was Holland’s first experience with terrorism when young Moluccan “Extremists” began taking hostages, even attempting to capture the Queen, and then gradually increasing the severity of their actions with a height in 1975 and 1977 when passenger trains and an elementary school were taken hostage. The 1977 double hostage situation of the train and school ended spectacularly when fighter jets sonic boomed over the train while special forces Marines entered the compartments and took out all but two of the hostage takers – sadly two passengers were also killed. At the school, none were killed or grievously injured.
But, thankfully, things are improving and you will find many Moluccans today happily adjusted and comfortable in their Dutch lives. But when Indo and Moluccan people meet for the first time you might still see a quick spark exchanging in their eyes before sharing a warm smile or a handshake, especially for current generations we are happy to share a common past and let darker days be.
Migrants in the Netherlands: Surinamers & Antillianen – The Warmest People in Holland.
Migrants in the Netherlands: Surinamers – The secret crush of the Dutch
It’s a little bit of a forbidden love, but Holland has a crush on the warm, passionate people of Suriname. Suriname is the result of the Dutch trading in New Amsterdam (New York City) for an English colony in South America. That may seem like a bad deal, given NYC’s fame today, but realistically the Dutch made the right choice. America gained independence in 1796 and the British Crown lost New York and much more with it. Suriname however was a Dutch colony until 1975.
Afro-Surinamese were the first real black people in the country and have been here, whether or not in small numbers, for quite some decades – including before 1975 it was not completely uncommon to meet black Surinamese in major cities. But when the country gained independence in ’75, a true exodus happened when tens of thousands of Surinamese left their country and came to the Netherlands in and another exodus when civil war broke out in Suriname in the 80’s.
In fact, of the 800,000+ Surinamese people on the globe, about 330,000 reside in Holland.
Their Surinam-cuisine is also a rich blend of Asian and African foods that have mingled into something amazing and is very much worth trying out! In fact, even as an Indo myself, I wildly prefer going to a Surinam-Restaurant over the common Indo-(Chinese) Restaurants!
As a result you will find many Surinam people in managing positions throughout Dutch society – or on television and other media.
From Ruud Gullit to Patrick Kluivert (and his son Justin), from Edgar Davids to Clarence Seedorf – all are of Surinam ancestry and soccer legends in and outside of the Netherlands. In fact, if you’ve watched the Dutch national team “Oranje” play – you might be surprised that at times a majority of the team on the field are actually different shades of black and brown. And that’s nothing to underestimate! The Surinamese are proud of their athletic ability and have firmly established themselves as some of the most successful and dedicated athletes in the country. Though “Every Surinamer knows how to play soccer” is a bit of a stereotype, there’s certainly a truth to it – even in school most of us known they’ll outperform the rest of us. The best part about that is though, they’re usually good sports about it.
Migrants in the Netherlands: Antilleans – Those who bring the Caribbean-spirit to Holland.
They’re loud and proud, they have a temper but they love life – the “Antillianen” originate from the Netherlands-Antilles, which is still part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and together with the Surinam people have brought some well-needed warmth to otherwise chilly Holland.
Though their islands may be tiny spots just off of the coast of Venezuela – their ways are big. If you’re looking for a buzzing people, look no further – the Antillianen got you, fam!
Because of their direct ties to the Netherlands as part of the Kingdom, the Antilleans have a large presence in the country and can be found in large numbers all throughout the major cities. With their Caribbean-spirit they are lively and hot tempered but also love to laugh and are never far away from any action.
But they do differ from the Surinam-people quite a lot, for one the Netherlands-Antilles are fairly homogeneous – featuring a predominantly black population (85%) and minority white population. They also speak a completely different language of their own – Papiamento, a mix of Spanish and Portuguese which is easy on the ear on itself but where’s the fun if it’s not spoken at full volume? And so they do!
They also differ in their social standing, where Surinam people generally have a moderate to well social standing, Antilleans have a slightly less successful integration. The Antilles education has been somewhat lower standard in the past than that of Surinam and of a lower economic standard, which has reflected in their community in the Netherlands as well with relatively high crime numbers and low-income.
Today, thankfully, they are improving as a community both within the Netherlands as well as back home on their beautiful islands who are now tourism hot spots and receive significant support from the Netherlands in order to further improve relations and the economy. They were also recently in the news when the island of Curacao held elections that could’ve been decisive in whether or not to stay part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which resulted in a strong win for parties that are pro-Kingdom and so they will remain part for the foreseeable future.
Famous Antilleans include TV-host and stand-up comedian Jandino Asporaat, Olympic athlete Churandi Martina, singer Edsilia Rombley but also well-known 70’s music group Boney M had a hint of the Antilles with Bobby Farrell coming from the island of Aruba.
And if you’d like to see just how lively the Antillianen are, be sure to visit Carnival in Rotterdam where the Antillianen (and the Surinamers) will show you how to party so hard that you won’t be able to hear for three days but at least you saw a lot of nice butts wiggle. And that’s worth something too.
Thanks for the cultural insights and history lesson. This is one of the most articulate and best thought out articles I have read on DR so far. Looking forward to part 2 so I can learn more, because to live happily in the Netherlands one needs to understand the diversity of the Dutch people’s history and heritage and show respect to EVERYONE who lives there.
Hi,
Love this crash course Dutch Colonial Heritage for the Anglo-Allochtoon. 😉
Nor sure DutchReview is the right platform, but I do know Sylvana Simons could use some help on the discussion of the slavery issue……
[…] it’s always wise to speak with some discretion to people of color, even in ‘multi-culti’ Holland, as the Indo- and Moluccan people are direct descendants of the VOC-days and black Surinam and […]