Under the responsibility of Meinhard Tydeman, a group of unarmed Moluccans were shot in the 1950s. The fact that after all these years now finally comes recognition for what happened then feels good, like for Pierre Pourchez from ‘s-Graveland.
“Hardly anyone knew in Blaricum,” says Pierre with a printed look, while sitting at the kitchen table in his home in ‘s-Graveland.
For many Blaricummers, and many Dutch people, this part of history is relatively unknown. But for Pierre it is a deep -loaded event that still chases the Moluccan community.
Forced to the Netherlands
Pierre saw the light of day in Indonesia. His father, who served in the Dutch army in Indonesia, fought against the uprising by the Indonesians. When Indonesia proclaimed its independence, the Moluccan soldiers were without land. They couldn’t go anywhere. After they had to leave their country, a cold shower immediately waited for the family.
Thousands of Moluccan soldiers and their families, including those of Pierre, came to the Netherlands. Initially, their stay was temporary, awaiting a solution from the Dutch government. “And then you hear on arrival in Rotterdam that you will be fired with immediate effect,” Pierre says about his first steps in the Netherlands. “For my father that was an insult.”
Growing up between the potato fields
The Moluccans found shelter in the Netherlands in former residential areas and concentration camps. At Pierre it is different: he ends up in Nisse, a small Zeeland village. His mother was Moluccans, his father Javanese. As a result, it was politically difficult to live in the camps with other Moluccans.
Text continues under the photo.