HALO BANDUNG, part 3

The second and last interview in Bandung took place with Ivonne Hasania, daughter of the late Johanna Stap. Ivonne's great-grandfather is African soldier Govert Stap who was born in 1837 in the the northern region of Ghana. In 1862, he enlisted in the Dutch Indies army and settled in the garrison town of Soerakarta (Solo) after his military career. Govert Stap's son Albinus also joined the KNIL army; his daughter Johanna grew up in Purworejo and Solo and married David Hasania, an Indonesian policeman. Because Johanna was the only daughter of Albinus and Maria Stap, her parents decided to stay in the new republic of Indonesia and became Indonesian citizens. Johanna Stap, who passed away in 2006, lost contact with her family when they moved to The Netherlands and sometimes felt lonely, being the only descendant of soldier Stap left in Indonesia when her parents died. After the interview, a visit was paid to the Pandu cemetery where Ivonne's mother Johanna is buried together with her grandparents Albinus and Maria Stap.

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

HALO BANDUNG

Right before leaving for Bandung, the production team visited the war cemetery Menteng Pulo where Dutch war victims (both military and civil) are buried. In the beautiful church, the wooden cross from Burma that serves as a memorial for all the victims of the railway, has been given a central place. In the register, the names of KNIL-soldiers Adriaan Adeboi and Achilles Marijn were found who are buried in the war cemeteries of Kanchanaburi in Thailand and Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar (Burma). The book 'Black skin, Orange heart' includes interviews with descendants of both Indo-African soldiers.

Next, the team took the morning train to Bandung which was a wonderful experience, crossing through the hilly landscape with sawahs and mountains. Bandung is the city where reporter Griselda Molemans's buyut lived with his sons and grandchildren, so for her it's an extra special experience. Photographer Armando Ello discovered a typical Dutch image of skaters in the reception of the guest house. While the cold winter reigns

in The Netherlands, the team sets off to meet the great-grandchildren of African soldier Najoersie who live just outside the city.

DICTIONARY

buyut - great-grandfather

On the road

The next interviews were planned with Dien Bonimbie (who goes by the name of Ibu Tiny) and the sisters Irene and Helena Artz. Ibu Tiny lives in the 'wilayah' of Senen in the heart of Jakarta. Contrary to her brothers and sisters who all left for The Netherlands after Indonesia gained independence, she was never informed about the temporary procedure to request a travel visa. When she finally did apply, it was too late to leave the country. For the past 50 years, she's been an Indonesian citizen and has converted to islam. Her children have to scrape by, but all support their mother who turns 80 this year. Ibu Tiny proudly posed for the photographer with her authentic Dutch

Singer sewing machine.

Irene and Helena Artz are granddaughters of Gerrit Artz who was the last African soldier straight from Africa living in Purworejo. In 1950, Irene opted to become an Indonesian citizen because her father chose to stay in the new republic. Helena, who was underaged at the time, automatically became a 'warga negara' through her father's choice. The sisters, who grew up as privileged Dutch girls in a big house with three cars and a 'dokar', have fallen on hard times ever since. As second rate citizens, they have been living in poverty. Because Indo-African (which equals the Dutch nationality) is not a popular ethnicity in Indonesia, they prefer to call themselves 'Javanese'. Irene described their lives concisely: "In the old days we used to have baboes, now we've become baboes ourselves".

DICTIONARY

wilayah - district
warga negara - Indonesian citizen
dokar - small carriage pulled by two horses
baboe - housemaid

RETURN TO THE MOTHERLAND

Photographer Armando Ello and reporter Griselda Molemans touched down in Jakarta for the final interviews for the book production 'Black skin, Orange heart' which is due in May this year. As usual, the capital city of Jakarta had an overwhelming effect on them. The city's 12 million inhabitants make for a non-stop flow of traffic, hustle and bustle. In a quiet corner of the Menteng Park however, the statue of a young Barack Obama was paid a visit on the first day of the trip. 'Barry' used to live in the Menteng area with his mother Ann at the age of 10 years. Most Jakartans are proud of the achievements of this young 'Betawi' who became the 44th president of the United States, although protesters last week threatened to pull the statue down.

The first interviews with descendants of African soldiers who served in the Dutch army in the Netherlands Indies took place at the Church of St. Joseph on the Matraman Lane where the Dutch charity organization HALIN hands out small financial support to former Dutch citizens. Every month, about 150 elder people of Dutch-Indonesian, Moluccan and Indo-African descent (who used to be Dutch citizens, but opted for Indonesian citizenship in 1949) visit the HALIN support day in Jakarta. Among them were Adriana Adeboi, a descendant of African soldier Adeboi and Benny de Bakker, a great-grandson of soldier Van Steenbergen. Their live's stories testify of the hardship that many former Dutch citizens encountered after choosing to stay in the new republic of Indonesia.

BACK IN THE CITY OF ANGELS

The production team of the book project 'Black skin, Orange heart' returned to Los Angeles for the two remaining photo sessions and interviews. After months of establishing contact, a meeting with the youngest American descendant of Prince Kwasi Boachi was finally scheduled. And what a suprise meeting it turned out to be. Dominic Boachi is the treasurer of the Boachi family archive who has a profound interest in the history of his Ashanti ancestor. After showing a wonderful collection of black and white photos of Kwasi jr. and his second wife Trees Paules (Dominic's grandparents), he unveiled a replica of Prince Kwasi Boachi's seal ring with his initials and coat of arms. Dominic proudly posed for photographer Armando Ello with this unique artefact. (A special chapter of the book is dedicated to the Ashanti princes Kwasi Boachi and Kwame Poku who served as a 'warranty' for the recruitment of African soldiers for the army in the Dutch Indies and were sent to The Netherlands to receive a 'European' education, and their descendants in The Netherlands and the United States).

The last photo session took place in Bloomington at the eastern frontier of the city where Hubertus 'Koko' van den Burg lives. Koko is a great-grandson of African soldier Govert Stap who was born in 'Goeroma/Donko' (the region north of Ghana) in 1837 and was recruited in 1862. After serving in the Dutch Indies army for twenty years, he chose Soerakarta (Solo) as his permanent residence. The circumstances were notably different for his descendants: granddaughter Nora decided to leave the Dutch Indies in 1945, right after the Japanse occupation and took her children to The Netherlands. In 1967, Koko emigrated to Los Angeles, leaving his wife and children temporarily to find a job and housing. After securing both, his family flew to the US where they settled in the city of La Puente. As a selfmade man, Koko van den Burg has lived the American Dream. He owns his own heating and electrical repair business and proudly posed for Armando, wearing his handmade Stetson.

VIVA LAS VEGAS!

The production team of the book project 'Black skin, Orange heart' drove through the sizzling hot Mojave Desert to Las Vegas to portray 'belanda hitam' descendant Richard Hulskamp. Richard is a great-grandson of African soldier Willem Nelk who was recruited in 1862, but left for Elmina after his tour of duty in the Dutch-Indies, leaving his young son Joseph in the care of an African colleague. Joseph's daughter Aïda (yes, named after the Ethiopian beauty of the homonymous opera) is Richard's mother. Together with his Amsterdam-based cousin Alexander Nelk, Richard discovered the military documents of their ancestors, reconstructing the lives and times of these illustrious men. Richard thoroughly enjoyed posing for photographer Armando Ello. At the 'Fabulous Nevada' sign, the photo shoot was shortly interrupted by the arrival of a couple who were wed on the spot by an Elvis impersonator. Only in Vegas!

The most spectacular photos were taken on a walkway right above the world famous Las Vegas Strip. Nowhere in the world can one see so many bright lights, neon structures, giant-sized billboards and humongous LCD screens with clips of current theatre shows. It's a trip, in every sense of the word. The short stay was rounded off by a visit to several spectacular casinos such as The Venetian (which features replicas of the Doge's Palace, the San Marco square and the Bridge of Sighs), Caesar's Palace (which is a strange hybrid of Greek and Roman styles and sculptures, even featuring a Trojan Horse) and the Bellagio. Every half hour, the 'singing fountain' in front of this Italianate hotel/casino comes alive on 'Luck be a Lady' or 'Time to say goodbye". The team had a hard time saying goodbye to Sin City, but made sure a penny was thrown in the Trevi Fountain inside Caesar's Palace.