Early Life

Text

“If you know a little about Indonesia, actually the Europeans exploited the Indonesians because they had rubber, oil, sugar, and generally they became a colony of some European nation and it was Holland at the time, the Netherlands. And so, the foreigners, the people that were not Indonesian, lived in very nice houses, had servants, they didn’t have to do too much housework for themselves, everything was taken care of them, for them, cooks, maids, childcare. And also, whenever they had their meals they were very formal with tablecloths and china and all those layers of china and goblets. So that was 'the life.'”

Editor's Note: Anna van de Steenhoven was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, on October 11, 1923. Marchiena Davis provided this context for her mother's growing-up experience in Indonesia, helping to explain what was at stake and what her family's expectations were at the time.