Fabian Sapthu from Amsterdam has done everything he can to find out who the boy was in a photo from 1958. That photo was taken by the American photographer Leonard Freed, who was in the Netherlands at the time and recorded how refugees from the Dutch East Indies came to Netherlands arrived. Fabian was moved by that photo because his Moluccan grandparents were also among those refugees.
Fabian’s search took him to Budel. On Sunday he will appear in the talk show KRAAK. from Omroep Brabant an ultimate attempt to find out who the boy is.
Sapthu made a five-part podcast about the photo: ‘Someone’s Child’. It started with a search for the place where the photo was taken. It looked like the residential area of Lunetten in Vught, but research showed that it could not be there. A fragment from the Polygoon news brought him to Budel. The photo is said to have been taken at Legerplaats Budel, the current Nassau Dietz barracks, where asylum seekers are now accommodated.
This was confirmed when he visited the widow of photographer Leonard Freed in New York. There he was allowed to view negatives from the time her husband was in the Netherlands. But he has still not been able to find out who the child is, who should now be a man of around 67 years old.
Further in KRAAK:
- The twins Noortje and Bregje de Brouwer from Goirle surprisingly won silver at the World Synchronized Swimming Championships in Dubai. They are now very close to participating in the Olympic Games in Paris.
- SP member Tiny Kox from Tilburg is going to take it a lot easier. He was the longest-serving member of the Senate and said goodbye this week after 20 years.
CRACK. airs every Sunday at 12:00 and then repeated. The program can also be viewed via Brabant+.