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Elizabeth van Kampen and Dutch East Indies

13 Aug 2007
Posted by matt
Recently, Elizabeth van Kampen commented on a post in this blog. She provided a link to her site, and I checked it out. It is a wonderful site and I strongly urge anyone reading this to check it out. Spend some time there and learn some real history. Here is the site: Dutch East Indies Elizabeth is true hero as she tries to get down as much history as possible so that we never forget the past, and can therefore learn from it. At a different site, in an essay entitled, How I Lost My Best Friend, Elizabeth recalls the fate of her father during the war. There she notes:
    I have seen very brave women who gave me reason to stay optimistic. I have seen little boys been taken away from their mothers and been sent to a camp for men only. They stood there on a truck, 10 years old leaving their mothers while their fathers were somewhere else maybe in Burma or maybe dead. I have seen women losing their minds through all their grieves I have seen some girls and young women been taken away as “Comfort women” to the Japanese brothels. I have seen how women have been beaten up so badly that almost all their bones were broken. I can still hear the screaming in my head, we all had to stand there to watch. I have seen three women been hanged 12 hours long under the burning tropical sun, with their hands tied up on their backs. We had to watch all the time with tears in our eyes. I have seen it daily how little children died of hunger and mothers who stood there with no tears left in their eyes when their dead children were carried out of the camp.
Elizabeth also notes though, at the end of her essay:
    But of course I will never blame the Japanese people for what Japanese war criminals have done in Asia. I do understand very well that the Japanese people suffered too during WW II.
Please take a chance to review what Elizabeth has written. I am sincerely honored that someone like Elizabeth would even take the time to read something written on my blog. It makes me aware of the power of the Internet, and that when I put something down on this blog, I need to take it serious because I don't know who might read it and form an opinion about Japan based on something I've said. Suddenly I feel a stronger sense of responsibility and a desire to do strive even harder to make this a good blog.

Opinions expressed in comment section are the opinions of the author only. Because of a spam problem comments are currently off.

I am really sorry that she

I am really sorry that she lost her father tortured by Japanese soldiers. Japanese people are determined that we shall never make the same mistake again.

The war brings about the worst of the human nature, and the weak are alleyway victims.

I am glad she showed the understanding that Japanese suffered too.
I think we should also keep in mind the situation of Indonesian people before WWⅡ under Dutch rule and during WWⅡ under Japanese rule. Indonesian people welcomed Japanese army at first , thinking Japan came to liberate oppressed Indonesian;though, it didn't turn out as they expected---Some felt betrayed and others admitted the significance. And as yuki Tanaka showed, there were Indonesian temporary wives and the prositutes who served Dutch young officers. And the Indonesian women were also exploited by Japanese military.

I am against the colonization, the war , the discrimination, the exploitation of women by military.

I am glad Japan paid the reparation for the war damage to Indonesia, and apologized for comfort women system and set funds for Indonesia and that Indonesian government accepted them.
I am sure the Netherlands will not forget history and face it sincerely.
Let's learn from history for the victims of this era.

Posted by ponta (not verified) on Aug 13th, 2007 at 5:56 pm.

list

iam a camp survivor from the same camps,but now the dutch goverment denied my application,because my mothers name nor mine were not listed, my mothers name is jenny vogelsang, please if anybody is out there that have some info please share it with me. thank you .love to all reggie vogelsang

Posted by reginald vogelsang (not verified) on Nov 25th, 2009 at 5:14 am.