Rajapatni.com: Surabaya (28/2/24) – February 27th is commemorated as the death of the combined Dutch, American, Australian and British soldiers against Japan in the Java Sea in 1942. At the Ereveld Kembang Kuning Honorary Cemetery in Surabaya, dozens of Dutch citizens were present. to follow the warning.
Because the event involved four countries, among the attendees there were invited representatives of four friendly countries with offices in Surabaya. There were representatives from the United States consulate general, Australian Consul General, British Honorary Consul and Dutch Honorary Consul. Apart from them, there was also a bus group of victims’ families who came directly from the Netherlands.
Among them, at the commemoration, were the couple Max Meijer and Petra Timmer from TiMe Amsterdam, a Dutch museum and cultural heritage consultancy. However, they were not from the group of families of victims of the 1942 Java Sea. But they were grave visitors who wanted to broaden their knowledge about the tombs which were connected to colonial history in Surabaya.
Max and Petra are actually history and cultural heritage activists who are carrying out a project to revitalize the Peneleh Tomb as a Living Library.
Because their arrival at the Dutch Honorary Cemetery, Ereveld Kembang Kuning, coincided with the commemoration of February 27, they used this opportunity to interpret this historic moment.
Max and Petra also mingled with Dutch guests and Indos who were members of the Indo Club Surabaya as well as local guests. He followed the ceremonial procession in the grounds of the Karel Doorman monument solemnly, including singing the Dutch national anthem.
TMP Kusuma Bangsa
After leaving Kembang Kuning, Max and Petra headed to the Kusuma Bangsa Heroes’ Cemetery (TMP). Once there, they observed the figure of a warrior statue standing in the east of the row of warrior graves.
In front of the statue of the warrior, they seemed to feel the vibration of the message from the warriors who had become bones in the grave. This message is expressed through a poem written at the bottom of the statue. Max and Petra carefully tried to understand the meaning of the heroic poem.
“We are just scattered bones. But it’s yours. You’re the one who determines the value of the scattered bones. Or do our souls soar for independence, victory and hope,” is an excerpt from a poetic sentence on the hero’s statue at TMP Kusuma Bangsa.
Max, who actually has Indonesian blood from his grandmother’s descendants from Kupang, NTT, then walked with his wife along the neatly arranged graves of the heroes. In the westernmost block, there are collected the graves of unknown predecessors. This tomb block is the removal of mass graves from the tomb complex that once existed behind Simpang Hospital (now the Surabaya Plaza complex).
For Max, the warriors who died as Kusuma Bangsa were those who had lived in the colonial era.
“They fought for their own people and this grave is part of Surabaya’s history,” said Max.
Then Max proposed making a information board explaining about TMP Kusuma Bangsa in English to make it easier for foreign guests to understand.
“There, at the Kembang Kuning Honorary Cemetery, there should also be a sign pointing to the location of TMP Kusuma Bangsa and other TMPs as historical connections to the city of Surabaya,” added Max.
Max really hopes that there will be historical grave tourism in the city of Surabaya to support Surabaya as a city of heroes and history. From the heroes’ graves and the Ereveld Kembang Kuning Honorary Cemetery and the Peneleh Dutch Cemetery will be connected as a historical tomb tour in Surabaya. (nanang PAR)