The waxing and waning of a diaspora: Moluccans in the Netherlands, 1950–2002

Abstract

The decolonisation of the Dutch East Indies put the native soldiers of the colonial army (KNIL) in a difficult position. After a long‐dragging conflict over their status after the disbandment of the KNIL, the Dutch government saw no other way out than to bring the last soldiers together with their families to the Netherlands. The group consisted of about 12,500 persons, nearly all Ambonese, who were housed in barracks awaiting their repatriation to Indonesia in the near future. Geographically and socially isolated from Dutch society, the ex‐soldiers organised themselves around the ideal of a free republic on the Moluccan islands. After a period of indecisiveness, the Dutch government finally gave up in 1970 the idea of a return to Indonesia and tried to convince the Moluccans that their future lay in the Netherlands. But policy measures aimed at integration were vehemently opposed by Moluccan leaders who feared integration would induce their followers to abandon the political ideal. This deadlock situation led to a decade of violent internal conflicts and terrorist acts against Dutch civilians. After 1980 there came an end to the period of violence. New leaders came to the fore. They had a broader frame of reference and were interested in enhancing the social position of the Moluccans in the Netherlands. So far the situation of the Moluccans in the Netherlands has been described as a singular historic case. In this paper the fate of the Moluccans is analysed in a broader sociological frame of reference as an example of a diaspora; in other words, a settled community, that considers itself to be ‘from elsewhere’ and whose common and most important goal is the realisation of a political ideal in what is seen as the homeland. By applying the diaspora concept an answer is sought to the question as to how it became possible that, after a decade of violence and terrorist actions, the Moluccans changed into an immigrant population, slowly integrating into Dutch society.