Book - Rosa Panggabean

Hard Cover, 76 pages
32 Color Images
Epilogue by Oscar Motuloh

Published 2014

Chalik Hamid. He was a writer at Institute of People's Culture (LEKRA), a left-wing organisation focused on arts and culture. The Soekarno government sent Chalik to Albania in early 1965 to study cinematography. The change of government under the rule of Soeharto led to the revocation of his passport and Chalik could not return to Indonesia. He moved to the Netherlands in late 1989.

These are the letters from the wife he left in Indonesia. A friend of Chalik was a local journalist called Andjas, who wrote about Chalik when he was in Albania. Later Andjas was arrested after he published the story in a local newspaper.

Chalik eats Indonesian food every day.

The portrait of Soekarno is still hung on the back of his front door.

Chalik often invites other 65 exiles to meet at his house. The meeting does not discuss state ideology but merely a casual chat about Indonesia.

Chalik still uses an Indonesian calendar at home.

A view where Ibrahim Isa currently lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Ibrahim Isa, he lives in Cairo in year 1960-1966 as Indonesian Permanent Representative at the Permanent Secretariat of the AAPSO (Afro-Asian Peoples Solidrity Organization). In January 1966 he spoke about Indonesian politic condition at Tricontinental Conference in Cuba. After he spoke in that conference, his passport is taken and he became an exile. Isa left Cuba to Tiongkok, then he moved to Netherland in 1987.

Ibrahim Isa was given a residence permit by the Chinese government. The relations between Indonesia and China went cold after Soekarno stepped down and was replaced by Soeharto.

Ibrahim Isa is now 83. As a Dutch citizen he receives social security funds and is given a residence in Amsterdam's Bijlmer Arena. This is where Isa and his wife raised their four children.

He does many things with his wife, Murti.

Isa and Murti married in 1954, years before the 1965 uprising.

He once took a photo of Soekarno at a conference he attended.

Isa meets fellow 65 exile Sarmadji as they walk to a discussion event.

Sarmadji is 83. In 1965 he was sent to China to study home schooling. His passport was revoked by the ruling government at that time and he could not return to Indonesia. His life motto is: turn grief into strength.

The book contains the speeches of Soekarno that was used in ideology classes in schools. He carried this book since he was in China until he moved to Amsterdam.

He even helps to duplicate the documents if required.

Every day he sorts documents related to the history of 1965-1966 incidents.

Some Surinamese asked him to teach them to write Javanese script.

Sarmadji uses public transportation for his daily activities.

To cut the cost for duplicating documents he needs to go to the city centre.

Go Back