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The aerial photos of Vrije Emigratie (VEDA) in Lamper Tengah, Semarang. The building itself now become the properti of Angkatan Darat (Indonesian Army) and used as housing complex and well knowed as Tangsi Mrican(source: Royal Tropical Institute) |
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The Small Hall, located in the center of the
complex, current condition (above) and
in the past (below) showing the activity of
depositing money and delivering packages
by emigrants
(source: Royal Tropical Institute) |
Hello world! Long time no posts,
and things are getting so vulnerable to ill in this
pancaroba season, a transition from wet season to dry season. Well
on early of January, I’ve visited a place that during my Junior High School,
every sport activity, I was passed through the area but haven’t know yet if the
area has a important historical value, despite the building itself are in the
old forms. Its
Tangsi Mrican, a
military housing complex that recently I’ve just realized that in the past it’s
a transit camp for the plantantion labour from all over Java before they were
sent to the various location in Sumatera called Vrije Emigratie (V.E.D.A) that
owned by Algemeene Vereeniging voor Ruberplanters ter Oostkust van Sumatera
(A.V.R.O.S), one’s of the leading plantantion company in Sumatera Island. It has
role as a mediator of labor among about 150 plantation companies that consist
of private domestic ownership, private foreign ownership, and the state
ownership. The major commodities are rubber, cacao, sugar, and palm oil. An
indexes that containing the digitalized document about the site was founded in
Royal Tropical Institute sites, thanks anyway for mas
Khrisna Wariyan for the
sites! Anyway on the introduction, its written
Een in Oktober 1927 door den Chef
der Vrije Emigratie te Semarang samengstelde brochure over de Vrije Emigratie
werd door de Deli Plantersvereeniging uitgeven als Medeeling No. 17 Teneide
omtrent de Vrije Emigratie, sedert 1928 een gezamenlijke instelling van de Deli
Plantersvereeniging (D.P.V) en de Algemeene Vereeniging voor Ruberplanters ter Oostkust
van Sumatera (A.V.R.O.S), haar organitasatie en werkwijze belangsellenden in
een kart bestek te kunnen voorlichten, beslaten wij over te gaan tot een nieuwe
bewerking van bovenbedoelde publicatie, doch in beknopter vorm en verlucht door
een aantal afbeeklinger Moge dit werjke medewerken om meerde bekendheid te
gevea aan het instituut der Vrije Emigratie (V.E.D.A)
Medan, 1 December 1929
Het Bestuur der Vrije Emigratie
van D.P.V en A.V.R.O.S
This
Inleiding on the journals, principally explaining that in order to
creates a good administration and education for the labours, related to the
orientation in the destination and also the kind of new method, so its decided
to built the Vrije Emigratie (V.E.D.A) in Semarang, to achieved all of the
objectives above. According to
Mahandis Yoananta, a National Geographic
reporters, AVROS prefers to recruited its labor from Java and China (see also His articles
here). Then the question was, why its should be Javanese and Chinese? Its because of locals there was short in supply and native Malay was not interested work in the plantation
company. The words
Vrije Emigratie (eng: Free emigration) means recruitment that
based on links between
Laukehs (old
countrymen who had worked in the plantation) and
Sinkehs (new comers) in the same village. VEDA had branches in
Purwokerto, Purworejo, and Madiun, later in Meester Cornelis (Batavia) and
Surabaya and sub-branches everywhere in Java. Following the nationalization of
foreign company during the Banteng Program, the AVROS also nationalized by the
government of Indonesia, and since 1967, the premises of AVROS is property of
The BKS-PPS (
Badan Kerja Sama Perusahaan
Perkebunan Sumatera).
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The houses in front of VEDA Semarang, the left photos showing the arrival of the returnees by VEDA bus from the harbour of Semarang (source: Royal Tropical Institute) and on the right side is the current condition of the houses there. |
The VEDA building currently became the property of
Angkatan Darat (Indonesian
Army) and used as the camp for the army personnel. The forms was still not
changes a lot, but a lots of replenishment occurred, and some were destruct the
original construction. The main hall, the biggest one’s in the back section, were
torned down, and being built new housing complex, only the small hall remains.
Visiting the VEDA building, were remembered me about the story from my friends, a locals from Pematang Siantar, North Sumatera. He told me that a lot of
Javanese lived in his city, and a lot of Javanese settlement were existed over
there, majority, they were a plantation workers. Its true then from my friends
story and this is, the VEDA building are the proof of the emigration flow of
Javanese people to the plantation in the North Sumatera region.
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The route of Javanese workers emigration from Dutch Indies (present day
Indonesia) to Suriname, taken from the documentary titled Javanen uit Suriname in 1987 by Fons Grasveld. |
Another interesting story was, this Javanese people also those who were later emigrated to Suriname. I got this fact from the Dutch documentary film made in 1987 titled
Javanen uit Suriname by Fons Grasveld. One's of the descendant of the Javanese people in Suriname recount the story from His father that they comes from North Sumatera. Most of them were "fooled" by the promise of the recruitment agency that offers them a better condition than in Deli. Its indeed the harsh condition experienced by these workers in Deli plantation from underpaid, overworked, even tortured for those who tried to resisted against the law. The people then accepted this offers and they realized that its even took farther journey, and much much less possibility to them to returns to Java.
P.S. Another photos, kindly check lopenSMG fanpage album
here , thanks for the pict
Mbak Tami and
Lovink!
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