The Story Behind Tangsi Mrican

The aerial photos of  Vrije Emigratie (VEDA) in Lamper Tengah, Semarang. The building itself now become the properti of Angkatan Darat (Indonesian Army) and used as housing complex and well knowed as Tangsi Mrican(source: Royal Tropical Institute) 

The Small Hall, located in the center of the
complex, current condition (above) and
in the past (below) showing the activity of
depositing money and delivering packages
by emigrants
(source: Royal Tropical Institute)

Hello world! Long time no posts, and things are getting so vulnerable to ill in this pancaroba season, a transition from wet season to dry season. Well on early of January, I’ve visited a place that during my Junior High School, every sport activity, I was passed through the area but haven’t know yet if the area has a important historical value, despite the building itself are in the old forms. Its Tangsi Mrican, a military housing complex that recently I’ve just realized that in the past it’s a transit camp for the plantantion labour from all over Java before they were sent to the various location in Sumatera called Vrije Emigratie (V.E.D.A) that owned by Algemeene Vereeniging voor Ruberplanters ter Oostkust van Sumatera (A.V.R.O.S), one’s of the leading  plantantion company in Sumatera Island. It has role as a mediator of labor among about 150 plantation companies that consist of private domestic ownership, private foreign ownership, and the state ownership. The major commodities are rubber, cacao, sugar, and palm oil. An indexes that containing the digitalized document about the site was founded in Royal Tropical Institute sites, thanks anyway for mas Khrisna Wariyan for the sites! Anyway on the introduction, its written

Een in Oktober 1927 door den Chef der Vrije Emigratie te Semarang samengstelde brochure over de Vrije Emigratie werd door de Deli Plantersvereeniging uitgeven als Medeeling No. 17 Teneide omtrent de Vrije Emigratie, sedert 1928 een gezamenlijke instelling van de Deli Plantersvereeniging (D.P.V) en de Algemeene Vereeniging voor Ruberplanters ter Oostkust van Sumatera (A.V.R.O.S), haar organitasatie en werkwijze belangsellenden in een kart bestek te kunnen voorlichten, beslaten wij over te gaan tot een nieuwe bewerking van bovenbedoelde publicatie, doch in beknopter vorm en verlucht door een aantal afbeeklinger Moge dit werjke medewerken om meerde bekendheid te gevea aan het instituut der Vrije Emigratie (V.E.D.A)

Medan, 1 December 1929

Het Bestuur der Vrije Emigratie

van D.P.V en A.V.R.O.S

This Inleiding on the journals, principally explaining that in order to creates a good administration and education for the labours, related to the orientation in the destination and also the kind of new method, so its decided to built the Vrije Emigratie (V.E.D.A) in Semarang, to achieved all of the objectives above. According to Mahandis Yoananta, a National Geographic reporters, AVROS prefers to recruited its labor from Java and China (see also His articles here). Then the question was, why its should be Javanese and Chinese? Its because of locals there was short in supply and native Malay was not interested work in the plantation company. The words Vrije Emigratie  (eng: Free emigration) means recruitment that based on links between Laukehs (old countrymen who had worked in the plantation) and Sinkehs (new comers) in the same village. VEDA had branches in Purwokerto, Purworejo, and Madiun, later in Meester Cornelis (Batavia) and Surabaya and sub-branches everywhere in Java. Following the nationalization of foreign company during the Banteng Program, the AVROS also nationalized by the government of Indonesia, and since 1967, the premises of AVROS is property of The BKS-PPS (Badan Kerja Sama Perusahaan Perkebunan Sumatera).

The houses in front of VEDA Semarang, the left photos showing the arrival of the returnees by VEDA bus from the harbour of Semarang (source: Royal Tropical Institute) and on the right side is the current condition of the houses there.

The VEDA building currently became the property of Angkatan Darat (Indonesian Army) and used as the camp for the army personnel. The forms was still not changes a lot, but a lots of replenishment occurred, and some were destruct the original construction. The main hall, the biggest one’s in the back section, were torned down, and being built new housing complex, only the small hall remains. Visiting the VEDA building, were remembered me about the story from my friends, a locals from Pematang Siantar, North Sumatera. He told me that a lot of Javanese lived in his city, and a lot of Javanese settlement were existed over there, majority, they were a plantation workers. Its true then from my friends story and this is, the VEDA building are the proof of the emigration flow of Javanese people to the plantation in the North Sumatera region.

The route of Javanese workers emigration from Dutch Indies (present day
Indonesia) to Suriname, taken from the documentary titled Javanen uit
Suriname in 1987 by Fons Grasveld.

Another interesting story was, this Javanese people also those who were later emigrated to Suriname. I got this fact from the Dutch documentary film made in 1987 titled Javanen uit Suriname by Fons Grasveld. One's of the descendant of the Javanese people in Suriname recount the story from His father that they comes from North Sumatera. Most of them were "fooled" by the promise of the recruitment agency that offers them a better condition than in Deli. Its indeed the harsh condition experienced by these workers in Deli plantation from underpaid, overworked, even tortured for those who tried to resisted against the law. The people then accepted this offers and they realized that its even took farther journey, and much much less possibility to them to returns to Java.

P.S.  Another photos, kindly check lopenSMG fanpage album here , thanks for the pict Mbak Tami and Lovink!