HALO BANDUNG, PART 2

Right after the hujan stopped during the current monsoon season, the production team travelled to the desa Ranca Ekek south of Bandung where Benny, Eddy and Yetti Niks live. Their great-grandfather is African soldier Najoersie who came from the region that nowadays is Burkina Faso. Soldier Najoersie's son Willem requested official permission to change the family name into 'Niks' (which means 'nothing' in the Dutch language). Dutch KNIL-soldier Willem Niks owned a beautiful home in the village of Salatiga where his seven children grew up. His son Tjalie Niks also enlisted in the KNIL army, but decided to stay in Indonesia after the country gained independence. He joined the TNI as an Indonesian citizen. Benny, Eddy and Yetty were born in the late '50's, but were never informed that they could have requested Dutch citizenship as their father was born as a Dutch citizen. They have to struggle to get by, but receive support from their family in The Netherlands, the US and Canada.

DICTIONARY

hujan - rain

TNI - Tentara Nasional Indonesia; the Indonesian army