The Surinamese's Anti Colonialism Symbol

July 13, 1929. Several young Indonesians who were members of Perhimpunan Indonesia (the Indonesian Student Association) were having a serious discussion at the Hollandaise Cafe in The Hague. They were deliberating ways to end Dutch colonialism over Indonesia. According to the Dutch intelligence service, around 50 people attended the meeting, three among whom were Europeans. A Surinamese also appeared to follow the discussion.

During the meeting, Haji Agus Salim was asked to speak, and he discussed the history of Dutch colonialism and the lives of Indonesian coolies. Towards the end of the discussion, Agus Salim told the young people that they should not return to Indonesia just to find work.

"It would be better if you could hone your political skills here (in the Netherlands) so that when you return to Indonesia, you will easily grasp the problems our nation is facing," said Agus Salim, as quoted by Martijn Blekendaal in an article entitled Het gekleurde front van Hatta en De Kom (The colored front from Hatta and De Kom).

At the end of the discussion, a dark-skinned Surinamese young man asked Agus Salim a question regarding the issue of independence for two other Dutch colonies, Suriname and Curacao. "Just like the struggle for Indonesian independence, the struggle in the West Indies must also be realized through international cooperation and support," Agus Salim said.

That answer impressed the young Surinamese man. He was Anton de Kom, full name Cornelis Gerard Anton de Kom, born in Paramaribo, Suriname, February 22, 1898. After the meeting, Anton aspired for Suriname and Curacao to work together with Indonesia to break free from Dutch colonialism.

Anton came to the Netherlands for the first time in 1920. Unlike many young Indonesians such as Mohammad Hatta who came to the Netherlands to study, Anton worked as an accountant and business agent. While living in the Netherlands, Anton's political consciousness grew stronger. His family background as enslaved people raised in a poor environment by an Afro-Surinamese family in Frimangron, helped hone his critical thinking and social sensitivity.

His aspiration to liberate Suriname brought him in contact with Indonesian youths from various political ideological backgrounds, from communists to nationalists. According to the book Links Richten tussen Partij en Arbeidersstrijd (The Left Stream Between Parties and Class Struggle), since 1926 Anton had been actively involved in left-wing organizations in the Netherlands, such as Links Richten (Left Direction), Liga tegen Imperialisme en voor Koloniale Onafhankelijkheid (League of anti-Imperialism and Freedom Support for Dutch Colonies), and the Communistische Partij Holland (Dutch Communist Party/CPH). All three organizations were known of their concern in the fate of the colonies.

Apart from meeting Agus Salim, Anton also heard about how Hatta led a delegation of Perhimpunan Indonesia to participate in the League against Imperialism and Colonial Oppression. The congress, which was held on February 10-15, 1927 in Brussels, Belgium, was attended by 140 organizations from 34 countries. In the congress, Hatta managed to include several statements against Dutch colonialism in Indonesia in the event’s final resolution.

In 1929, Anton wrote for the magazine De Communistische Gids (The Communist Guide) led by David Joseph Wijnkoop, former chairman of the Dutch Communist Party. He used the pen name "Adek", short for Anton De Kom. In his writings, Anton tried to show readers that Suriname and Curacao were in the same position as Indonesia: both suffered from Dutch colonialism.

In the same year, Anton spoke at the 18th grand congress of the Dutch Communist Party. In his speech, he talked about Suriname's desire for independence. He also spoke about the welfare of the Surinamese, racism and repression against the people of color in Suriname, and the need to cooperate with Indonesia.

Anton's campaign began to bear fruit. Suriname and Curacao, which had never received special attention from the Dutch parliament or Tweede Kamer, began to be discussed. In July 1929, the Tweede Kamer held a meeting titled "Indonesia, Suriname, Curacao want full independence from the Netherlands".

Returning to Suriname

In December 1932, Anton returned to Suriname. He wanted to visit his mother, who was very ill, but eventually never got the chance to see her because she had passed away. While in his home country, he used the opportunity to campaign for the liberation of Suriname. However, the colonial police in Suriname were also making moves, monitoring Anton's activities.

Peter Meel in Anton De Kom and the Formative Phase of Surinamese Decolonization wrote that Anton's arrival in Suriname caused anxiety for the colonial government. Their concerns were proven when Anton distributed pamphlets in strategic areas of Suriname in early 1933. In his pamphlets, he called for national liberation, independent government, absolute freedom of organization and opinion for workers, and the promotion of political, economic and cultural emancipation for the oppressed.

Anton established a free consultation and information center for Surinamese workers. Meetings between Anton and the workers often took place at Anton's parents' house in Pontewerfstraat, Paramaribo. Most of them were so-called “contract workers” from Java and India who hoped to return to their homeland. "They found that hope in Anton," writes Peter Meel.

Klaus Breunissen in Ik Heb Suriname altijd Liefgehad: Het Leven van de Javaan Salikin Hardjo (I have always loved Suriname: the life of the Javanese Salikin Hardjo) mentions that for Javanese workers, the figure of Anton was likened to the incarnation of Gusti Amat, a prince who was exiled by the Dutch from Java to Ambon and was believed to have come to Suriname to save his people. Indian workers even saw Anton as the embodiment of Mahatma Gandhi.

The Arrest of Anton de Kom

In a short time, Anton's influence was widespread in Suriname. To prevent Anton from gaining greater support from the people, on February 1, 1933 the Surinamese colonial government banned all forms of gatherings around his house. Anton protested vehemently and sued the governor. The police were preparing to arrest him.

On the way to the governor's office, the police tricked Anton by saying the governor was ill and couldn't accept guests. Instead, Anton was offered a meeting with the attorney general to discuss the ban, but under one condition: Anton had to come alone without his followers. The police's offer was accepted. However, instead of being taken to meet the attorney general, the police immediately took him to the police station.

The crowd, knowing where Anton was being taken, immediately moved towards the police station to demand Anton’s release. Some of them were Javanese workers who sympathized with Anton's struggle. The attorney general ignored the people’s demands on the grounds that Anton was planning to overthrow the government. Clashes between police and demonstrators were inevitable, resulting in two demonstrators being killed and 23 others injured.

"As a result of the chaos, the Surinamese government then implemented anti-revolution laws, improved the quality of police weaponry, and formed a security force whose members were drawn from the local population," wrote Peter Meel.

For Javanese workers, the figure of Anton was likened to the incarnation of Gusti Amat, a prince who was exiled by the Dutch from Java to Ambon and was believed to have come to Suriname to save his people.

Anton was sent to prison for three and a half years on subversive charges. On May 10, 1933, he and his family left Suriname and returned to live in the Netherlands as political exiles. Amidst the poor economic situation, Anton didn't stop his political activities. In 1934, Anton published his monumental work entitled Wij Slaven van Suriname (We Slaves of Suriname). Anton's writing, according to Martijn Blekendaal, was inspired by Hatta's defense speech entitled "Indonesia Merdeka", which was read out in a Dutch court on March 22, 1928.

Anton was also inspired by Multatuli's Max Havelaar: The Dutch East Indies Coffee Trade Auction Guild. Anton's concern for the fate of the workers in the East Indies was realized by inviting the Surinamese people to focus on the fate of their "comrades" in the East Indies. For Anton de Kom, "...both the working class in the West Indies and the East Indies are victims of Dutch colonialism," wrote Van Kempen in De Geest van Multatuli: Proteststemmen in Vroegere Europese Kolonien (The Spirit of Multatuli: Voices of Protest in Former European Colonies).

Anton saw the oppressed peoples of various ethnic groups, especially Surinamese, Hindustani and Javanese, as proletarians betrayed by the system. He then proposed that an organization and unity was needed to fight and change the system.

"We just want to prove one thing: my brothers and sisters of color, you are slaves, and you will forever live in suffering and poverty if you don't believe in the unity of the proletariat...One key thing I learned while abroad: organization. Maybe one day I will succeed in erasing the caste barriers that have divided people of color. However it is certainly not impossible for black people, Hindustani, Javanese and natives to understand that only solidarity can unite the Sranan children," Anton wrote in Wij Slaven van Suriname.

According to Sandew Hira in Van Priary tot en met De Kom: De Geschiedenis van het Verzet in Suriname, 1630-1940 (The History of Resistance in Suriname 1630-1940), Wij Slaven van Suriname is not only a symbol of anti-colonialism, but also a symbol of the struggle carried out by Surinamese people and written from the perspective of a Surinamese. It is no surprise that Wij Slaven van Suriname marks a new chapter in the writing of Surinamese history.

Fighting Against Fascism

During the Second World War, Anton joined the Dutch anti fascist movement to fight the Nazi-German army that had occupied the Netherlands since May 1940. During these four years of fighting against the Nazis, Anton became a target for the Nazis. On August 7, 1944, Nazi soldiers managed to capture Anton and sent him to Scheveningen prison. Together with other prisoners, he was transferred to the Vught concentration camp in the same month. Then in September 1944, the Nazis transferred him again to the Sachsenhaussen camp in Oranienburg, Germany.

Poor camp conditions and forced labor during his incarceration caused Anton's health to deteriorate. He contracted tuberculosis and succumbed to the disease on April 24, 1945. Anton died in Camp Sandbonstel, near Bremervorde (between Bremen and Hamburg). His remains were buried in a mass grave and it was not until 1960 that his body was brought to the Netherlands and buried at Nationaal Ereveld Loenen, Apeldoorn, Netherlands.

In the endnotes of the book Wij Slaven van Suriname, Anton had expressed his hope that one day he could return to Suriname. "Sranan is my homeland. One day I hope to see you again. When that day comes, all sadness will be erased." However, Anton never made it back to Sranan, which is a creole term referring to Suriname.

Anton De Kom's name was later immortalized as the name of the national university, replacing the University of Suriname. On April 24, 2006, in the Bijlmer area, Southeast Amsterdam, where many Surinamese people live, the Dutch government inaugurated a statue of Anton de Kom on the square that is named after him. The Surinamese people remember Anton as a hero.

"By the poor of Suriname, Anton was actually hailed as de zwarte messias van het Surinaamse proletariat (the black savior of the Surinamese proletariat)," wrote Rene Zwaap in the magazine De Groene Amsterdammer.*

The author is an alumnus of Leiden University, the Netherlands.

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