Nino Solisa: “The Moluccan Case is still alive with me, just like with my father (Noes Solisa, who acted as a spokesperson for the Moluccan hostage actions, ed.). This case consists of two important tracks. The first has to do with us. homeland and the fact that the South Moluccas has been an occupied area to this day, where decolonization has started, but has never been fully completed.
The second track is the story of the Moluccan community in the Netherlands. In particular, it is about how the crossing here came about and how the first generation of Moluccans was treated.
Ideologically, not much has changed and I see that the young people are still trying to stand up for both of these issues in all sorts of ways. Through cultural expressions and artistic expressions you can see that the Moluccan business is certainly still alive. The feelings about how our people have been treated in the past are still in the younger generations.
Those feelings are less intense. For example, I did not grow up in the former Camp Westerbork like my father. If you look back on images of that time, you see that it was really bad there. My generation just grew up in modern homes. I think that makes the memories of that earlier time more important.
What still annoys me is that the Netherlands has never fully drawn up the colonial bill. I think the Netherlands has a lot of trouble with its colonial past, but you have to give it a certain place in society so that you can get over it together. For example, start with paying all the pensions of the KNIL soldiers, which they never had.
Actions such as the train hijacking arose out of frustration about this and I think you should see those events in the spirit of the times. The Netherlands does the same when it comes to colonial history. More than ten thousand people were murdered on the Banda Islands in the 17th century.
At the same time, the Moluccan community is expected to condemn the actions of the past through the lens of today. I don’t have the feelings of that time myself. I come from a very different time.
In many places I see that young people increasingly want to commit themselves to the community. And then I am talking about the third and fourth generation Moluccans, from the age group 20 to 45 years. Thanks to this impulse, commemorations like today’s get a new boost. Young people play a major role, for example with a rap.
I myself contribute to the communications team of the RMS government in exile. We try to convey the sound of the independence movement as best we can through contemporary channels such as Instagram and Facebook.
In addition, I participate in the initiative group ‘Not my arrival’, which was created in response to the planned commemoration of the Moluccan crossing to the Netherlands. We believe that more should be done for the Moluccan community during such a commemoration, not only symbolic actions but also deeds.
We are currently trying to bring Moluccans from all over the country together more. You used to have neighborhood councils everywhere and we were well organized. We’re trying to rekindle that.”