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Call me Pinda or Kacang in Holland..

This is a delicate subject for us Indonesian people living in Holland. Personally I am fine with the term and I ask you not to agree or disagree with me. Please read my blog as entertaining and not as a political statement.


I am probably from the generation that does not find the word pinda insulting. For me I am proud to have Indonesian, Surinam and Dutch blood running through my veins. I am very aware that the Dutch history and colonisation are not very attractive at all above and under the surface. But if this history did not take place, I would not have existed on this earth.


My father is the product of Chinese indonesian grandmother meeting a Dutch soldier, producing my father and leaving for Holland at the age of 2.


In the mean time my Indonesian Javanese grandfather at the age of 13 stepped foot on the VOC boat on their way to South America Surinam as a cheap contractor meeting my grandmother and producing my mother in Surinam.


How did my parents meet after being 1000 miles apart? My father grew up living in a small town in Holland. Had to join the military service and choose to do his tour in Surinam, being one of Hollands colonies. My mum worked as nurse in Surinam and during a organised dance night between the soldiers and nurses the spark ignited between my mum and dad.


And that is how I stepped into this world.


So in short, I am proud of my very mixed cultural background and I feel it has given me much selfreflection on how I want to be and how I want to behave in this world. So when people call me a pinda or a kacang, then yes, I smile and think about my background and I feel blessed.


And that is how I stepped into this world.


So in short, I am proud of my very mixed cultural background and I feel it has given me much selfreflection on how I want to be and how I want to behave in this world. So when people call me a pinda or a kacang, then yes, I smile and think about my background and I feel blessed.







So in short, I am proud of my very mixed cultural background and I feel it has given me much selfreflection on how I want to be and how I want to behave in this world. So when people call me a pinda or a kacang, then yes, I smile and think about my background and I feel blessed.





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