Succesful 1st Meeting Day!

Sunday September 19, 2010 was the day: the first Meeting Day for warlovechildren, (their) Dutch relatives, veterans and anyone concerned with the subject.

The Meeting Day officially started at 14.00 hours, but half past one the first people already trickled inside the cozy hall in Kumpulan Bronbeek. Until the program officially started, everyone could feast on coffee and traditional Indonesian cake. There were many people whom we already knew, for example, interviewees who have told parts of their stories in our film Sir Daddy: warlovechild Dien Faessen was present with her daughters, Jose Kerry and her husband, Jan Dennie, and veteran Henk Blom, a father who hopes that he can once close his unknown child in his arms.  We can consider them as true ambassadors for Warlovechild. Other fixed contacts we could also greet: Jan van Ewijk, who posted one of the first messages in 2009 on the freshly started website warlovechild.org, and whose two (still unknown) half sisters are figured on the postcard of Warlovechild, and Roy Meyer, who as a result of his story has been interviewed on the Frisian radio interviewed about his search for his father.

There were people we already "knew" from contact via the website, but whom we had not personally met yet. And there were many, many new faces. A total of 86 people were present on this first Meeting Day: warlovechildren and their partners and / or other relatives, Dutch families (children and grandchildren) who knew or suspected that an Indonesian half sibling had been fathered by their veteran father, left behind in Indonesia. They were now looking for them or wanted information, support or help from other visitors.

The initiators of Warlovechild and organizers of the Meeting Day opened the meeting with a historical overview and general background information about Indonesian "war love children”. We gave information about the project Warlovechild, and some of our experiences about people with successful" hunts "or quests. After this introduction, a lot of visitors wanted to respond and tell about their own story and quest. There were

stories of sadness and disappointment, and unfulfilled quests to succeed and the consequences, about fathers who were found but not wanted to know anything of their child, and happy reunions. The stories were all emotional, and left nobody the room unscathed. The handkerchiefs to dry the tears were all over the place, and constantly there was applause when a new story had ended.

Finally, the last speaker stood up and proudly introduced her halfsister and siblings, who recently had come from Indonesia. Since the discovery of each other's existence, they had slowly but surely built up a close relationship. Meanwhile one of the brothers married a relative of their half sister and a baby was born, who had come along to the Meeting Day. Though the small kid might not realize these emotional stories yet, as it lay in the pram so quietly, everybody in the hall was moved ... A beautiful end of the visitors contributions!

During the break

there was enough to

discuss and share!

After all the exciting stories we were able to catch our breath during two general lectures. Pauljac Verhoeven, director of Museum Bronbeek, gave a lecture on the various bodies that can be accessed for a quest, and Marion van der Spek, representing the Basis, told how de Basis now can provide help when emotional problems may emerge for warlovechildren and Dutch families. Up till now an aid offer was never asked for, because the group of warlovechildren was never recognized as such and was never regarded as being among the target group of the Basis, which is "Dutch veterans and their families”. This 'certification' by the Basis is an important milestone for the Indonesian warlovechildren who live in the Netherlands.

Finally it was dinertime, because everyone had come a long way and the stomachs demanded attention. All participants were explicitly invited to introduce themselves to each other and to sit down together at the tables, even with strangers, and talk to each other. Because that was eventually one of the goals of the afternoon: meet and perhaps assist each other with quests and other requests for help.

The museum Bronbeek served an excellent Indonesian meal. The combo Anna Montan and Patrick Lauwerends honored us by performing their beautiful music, amongst others the titlesong of our documentary Tuan Papa (Sir Daddy) which they composed. They took care of a pleasant musical entertainment.

We also thank the representatives of the Dutch-Indonesian monthly magazine Moesson and the veterans magazine Checkpoint, which had tables furnished with information.

A photographer took pictures for an article in the Checkpoint magazine, and the report was written in the December 2010 Checkpoint.

All said and done, we look back on a very successful and heartwarming Meeting Day!

General Information

On September 19, 2010, Warlovechild organized a Meeting Day for interested parties: the warlovechildren themselves, veteran fathers, (possible) half-brothers or sisters and other interested parties. There were people present at our request that could give information about how to start quests. The Meting Day was announced on the website Oorlogsliefdekind.nl (warlovechild.org) and the week before was paid attention to by a radio broadcast on September 10, 2010.

Meeting place: the Kumpulan in the Bronbeek Museum, where the Indonesian Memorial Centre is located.

The Meeting Day was made possible through a financial contribution from the V-Fund (National Fund for Freedom and Veteran Care) with funding from the BankGiro Lottery and Lotto. Your participation in this sweepstakes is therefore highly recommended.

Everyone thanks for their presence!

Team Warlovechild:

Stef Scagliola, Annegriet Wietsma and Jean Hellwig