Travelogue: The Boy on the Roof

Text by Vera van Buuren

This text is an excerpt from a travel diary from our trip to Indonesia in the spring of 2024.

The reason we came to Indonesia is to trace Sander's family history, particularly that of his grandfather, great-grandmother, and great-grandfather. Today we're heading to Cimahi, where we start with trying to locate the house where Sander's grandfather was born. Initially, we only have the former colonial Dutch name, Willemsstraat, but Sander manages to find the current name in an online article: Jalan Sam Ratulangi. Luckily our driver Handi knows where this is. We don’t have a house number, so Handi parks by the mosque, and we slowly walk down the street.

The peace and quiet here stand in stark contrast to the city’s chaos. The houses are well-maintained, with plenty of plants and flowers. Large butterflies flit about, and from a garden, we hear the chirping of little birds in colorful cages. The street is next to the military base where Sander’s great-grandfather was stationed with the KNIL artillery unit. The base is still active, so we can only view it from the outside. It feels surreal to be here. After walking around for a while and Sander taking enough photos, we find Handi again, who has been praying at the mosque in the meantime.

Our next stop is the school Sander’s grandfather attended, which turns out to be not far away. According to Sander’s grandfather’s handwritten notes, it was located across from a Roman Catholic church, with a large waringin tree in the schoolyard that he remembered fondly. The church is still there, and so is the large waringin tree. We share a moment of quiet contemplation while it slowly starts to rain.

Many thoughts go through my head that day. It’s hard to picture what life must have been like back then. I try to imagine being a little boy with a carefree childhood, a safe environment, friends at school, playing in the schoolyard by your favorite tree. Then times of uncertainty, fear, aggression, anger, and ultimately the need to flee to the Netherlands, leaving everything and everyone you know behind. Family secrets that can’t be spoken of. Traumas - not only from personal experiences but also the unspoken pain of your mother. It must have been indescribably difficult. I close my eyes and listen to the rain tapping on the leaves, trying to absorb everything as best I can.

Once the rain has mostly stopped, we continue our walk, and Handi picks us up to take us to Ereveld Leuwigajah. It’s located a bit behind a Catholic cemetery on the edge of a busy road, but once you enter the war cemetery, the noise disappears. Again, there is peace and quiet. We find the grave of A. Latumahina, but it’s not entirely certain if this is indeed the brother of Sander’s great-grandmother, as the naval ship he was on was reported to have been torpedoed by the Japanese near New Guinea. Sander’s great-grandfather is certainly not buried here; he died in 1944 in a prison camp from pneumonia while working on the Burma railway, and is buried in the war cemetery in Kanchanaburi, Thailand.

Before heading back to Bandung, Sander wants to explore the area around the cemetery. Nearby, we find another quiet street. On the roof of one of the timeless buildings lies a little boy. He seems to be playing by himself, occasionally standing up to see if his mother can spot him from below. If I squint my eyes it feels like we’ve travelled eighty years back in time, and the little boy on the roof turns into Sander’s grandfather, playing in the safety of his hometown without a care in the world.

Sander Coers is part of Der Greif X Grisebach: “New Positions”.

Check out his Artist Feature POST.