EVACUATION OF INDONESIA TO HOLLAND.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

EVACUATION OF INDONESIA TO HOLLAND

From our beautiful ship, the Klipfontein, we left with a freight train for Attaca, a town in the interior of Egypt.
The journey was long and all you could see everywhere was sand. It was extremely hot, but we enjoyed it. Finally we were sitting in something that didn’t move, as it felt that our bodies were still rocking back and forth. The carriages were open and you could just stand in a warm breeze.
Then suddenly we saw a huge tent camp and also barracks which were surrounded by a large, high fence. It was familiar to us, but instead of Japanese there were Englishmen and Americans who guarded the big camp. Everywhere you saw white prisoners in striped suits. No one understood what was happening. We had to get out and had to go into the camp. Lots of striped men came to us and respectfully escorted us to the large tents. They spoke a language I didn’t understood. They are German, my mother said. They are German prisoners of war and they have to help us. My mother had been on a boarding school in Berlin when she was young and could speak fluent German.
As soon as she started a conversation with one of them, a guard ran to her and started yelling at the German. We were shocked and walked quietly behind the man into the huge tent. Inside the tent it felt like heaven, tables full of food and nice English women. We sat at one of the tables and we could eat and take as much as we wanted. And that is what we did. All mothers warned us in vain not to eat too much as we weren’t used to it. In one part of this huge tent there was also a playground with swings and roundabouts. All this was operated by the same men in their striped suits. Furthermore, there was a merry band playing American music. Also the band was formed by the same prisoners.
If you wanted to use the swing one of the men came to push you, it was great, as they ran after us like dogs. It was the world upside down. Many children were commanding them and showed improper behavior. After we had enjoyed all of it, we were called and had to move to another part of the huge tent. There we got warm clothes, socks, underwear, a coat, sweaters and shoes and lots more. We were also given blankets. To this day I still have saved this a pure wool Attaca blanket, even my children know where it’s coming from.
Each with a large duffel bag and suitcases filled with stuff, we went back to the ship by train in the dark (there it’s already dark at 6.00 p.m.). Overtired and a lot of us also feeling very sick of all the food we had gotten. The ship’s doctor, my foster father on board, had his hands full for days to help the very sick people. Coming from concentration camps our stomachs were not used to all the food we ate. Two children even died of this.
For years we have had the pleasure of the winter coats and all the lovely warm clothing. This was my first encounter with the cold and the last for several years with the heat.
Dinkie