New Amsterdam

A hasty departure from the children's home (November 30, 1945) to Van Heutzboulevard 28. Transports in groups then on December 3 to the port of Batavia "Tandjoeng Priok". With the boat Clenroy, (soldiers slept on the deck to make as much room as possible for the evacuees), we were taken to the Nieuw Amsterdam.

On December 5 in the afternoon we went on board. We were a group of about 25 people. My father with us five girls and Dr. Mrs. Widow v. Es van de Knoop, a doctor, with 2 own children and 17 full orphans. These two "leaders" relied heavily on each other's help. It was very difficult to maintain yourself as a group in such a large crowd, half of which consisted of soldiers. The oldest had to take care of the youngest. The cabins had three bunk beds.

The food was intended for soldiers. We didn't know what we saw when we got that on our plate! The children were kept busy. Christmas was celebrated. With all those weakened people on board, it could not be avoided: all childhood diseases broke out. Even though they had been vaccinated before the war, malnutrition had ensured that these vaccinations no longer helped.

The sickbay was overcrowded. And so I lay with measles with another little one in a bed. Fortunately, not a bed wetter! Dec. 8 departure from Singapore, Dec. 11 Departure from Colombo, Dec. 18-23 Clothing distribution in Suez. (Dec. 24-25) Those who could walk were allowed to take a bus to a warehouse where clothing and shoes were handed out. Bad luck for me, because I was then dependent on what Trees could bring for me. We all got the same dresses, not very warm. Trees made a winter coat for me from a soldier's blanket. Also not very warm, because that stuff is quite thin.

Afterwards, we departed from Port Said.

With all those sick people, we arrived in Southampton, England on January 1, 1946, where the Dutch national anthem was played for us. We were transferred to the Almanzora. (There was a problem, as our group was not expected. Fortunately, a sleeping quarters was arranged for us.) This ship took us to the port of Amsterdam, where we disembarked on January 3.

Registration posed some difficulties. As a group with different names that could not be processed alphabetically, children aged 9 and 14, who were the "heads" of their families, could not properly answer questions such as house numbers of their family or birthdates of their parents. Upon our arrival, Juliana, who was still a princess at the time, came to welcome us.

The unloading took a very long time. Our family ended up in a bus, which took us to Aunt Bets Jansen in Amsterdam. For us from Indonesia, this was a very strange experience. Tall buildings. A doorbell. A rope with a basket attached to it along a high staircase, where we were lovingly welcomed and warmly rubbed by the whole family.

People from the street brought things like a can of brown beans and a blanket. The next morning we saw ice on the windows. It was a severe winter and there was a layer of snow outside. We went outside with our hands in the snow. Our hands got very cold, and then we held them against the fireplace. Surprised that it hurt a lot!

Our heads were treated with all kinds of remedies to make our hair grow. Our hair had fallen out due to malnutrition. I only had a little bit of baby fuzz left.

Of course, we couldn't stay there, so a solution was sought.

Father had no income. The overdue wages from the company he worked for were not paid. Also, no passports were issued until the boat trip and the clothing from Port Said were repaid. Interest was charged on these advances, and so one could remain in debt for years. Insurance companies in the Netherlands threatened to cancel policies if the premium arrears from the war years were not immediately paid off.