Nederlandse versie

Fenny Vlietstra

My parents’ wedding book stated that my father, Willem Vlietstra, was married to the native Christian woman Carolien Lasut. I was born in Amsterdam two weeks after my parents arrived with my brother from the former Dutch East Indies. So, like Adriaan van Dis, I was conceived in the Dutch East Indies but was not born there. I spent my childhood in Ede, like many other children of KNIL soldiers. After my marriage, I left for Amsterdam with my two kids. I studied pedagogy at the University of Amsterdam. From educationalist I became editor / producer of IDS (International Documentary Services). My Dutch East Indies roots have made me a global human being, open to different cultures and feeling most comfortable in a multi-cultural society.

Doric Steevensz

I was born in Tebing Tinggi, a small village not far from Medan on Sumatra. I had a French mother and an Indo father who was a planter. I had a beautiful life on the plantations until my 6th. After that, I had to go to an internship (St Joseph in Medan) for school. In 1960 we arrived in Holland. Here I studied psychology and then I worked for for a very long time as a business administrator, especially in health care. In 2002 I founded with some persons of the Dutch East Indies community the Pelangi Foundation. It’s purpose was to promote the well-being of the Dutch East Indies community in the Netherlands. Following the abolition of the foundation in 2013, I felt the need to deploy some activity concerning the history and culture of the Dutch East Indies.