page_title: Republic of South Maluku
section_title: Second and third generation Moluccans in the Netherlands
hierarchical_section_title: Republic of South Maluku / History / Second and third generation Moluccans in the Netherlands
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Repronegatief. Honitetoe-Alfoeren voeren de 'Tjakalélé' krijgsdans op, Seram
context_page_description: South Maluku, officially the Republic of South Maluku, is an unrecognized secessionist republic in the southern Maluku Islands archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia that claims the islands of Ambon, Buru, and Seram as part of its territory, all of which are currently part of the Indonesian province of Maluku.
  Dutch conquest exerted colonial control across the archipelago in the 19th century, establishing a unitary administration. The borders of present-day Indonesia were formed through colonial expansion finalised in the 20th century. After the occupation by the Japanese Empire during World War II ended in 1945, nationalist leaders on Java unilaterally declared Indonesian independence. Early organised indigenous resistance came from the South Moluccas with support and aid from the Dutch government and military. The South Moluccan rebels initially clung on to an early post-colonial treaty prescribing a federal form of statehood. When that treaty, agreed between the Dutch government and the Indonesian government in December 1949, was broken, they unilaterally declared a fully independent Republic of South Maluku in April 1950.
context_section_description: Towards the end of this period of terrorist violence, the Dutch government had already dropped the idea that the Moluccans were temporary residents, but had not been able to create a channel of communication through which to discuss and implement policy measures that opened a way to the future. The social situation left much to be desired; school attainment was low and unemployment high. Earlier attempts to set up a communal platform for the government and Moluccan representatives had not been successful, because of antagonism within the Moluccan communities and impossible political demands made at the outset by the Moluccans. In 1976 a platform was formed where government policy measures could be discussed with representatives of the Moluccan community, the IWM (Dutch abbreviation for: Inspraakorgaan Welzijn Molukkers). In 1978 a substantial White Paper (De Problematiek van de Molukkers in Nederland) was sent by the government to parliament. It offered measures to enhance Moluccan participation in Dutch society, in particular in the fields of education and the labour market.
  The IWM has proved a valuable communication channel for communal projects. A case in point was the plan to create thousands of jobs for Moluccans in government service. The primary goal was to combat high unemployment, but a secondary goal was to open up a particular section of the labour market where Moluccans were significantly underrepresented. The recognition that employment, education and social welfare in general were important fields where the situation of the Moluccan population, and especially of the new generation, had to be improved, was a positive development. Partly because the second generation was already much more oriented to Dutch society, partly as a result of the policy of affirmative action, participation in the labour market and in the school system developed positively after 1980. Levels of educational attainment rose, unemployment levels were lower and the jobs fulfilled were also somewhat higher in scale. In general the second-generation Moluccans made a great leap forward in this period, compared to the first 'soldier generation'.
  The situation of the Moluccans in the Netherlands is at present remarkably different from that in 1970. Practically all Moluccans are now Dutch citizens. This makes it more difficult to give the precise number of Moluccans in the Netherlands, though research shows that there are to date about 40,000 persons who can be classified as Moluccan. A majority of this population identifies itself to a certain extent with the Moluccan islands where their families once came from, but this identification seems less and less an impediment to integration in Dutch society. In this sense the Moluccans have at last become 'normal immigrants'.
  Notwithstanding Moluccan integration into modern Dutch society has halted terrorist radicalisation, up to the 1990s the Netherlands were reminded yearly of the traumatic side of their colonial past, when celebrations of the RMS independence declaration frequently resulted in angry sentiments or even serious rioting in the streets of the capital.
  In the 1950s and 1960s Moluccan musicians made their mark together with artists from the Indo community. In the 1980s, bands like Massada were popular. Massada's hitsong "Sajang e" is the only song in the Malay language to reach number one in the Netherlands. Also from the South Moluccan community in the Netherlands is the singer songwriter Daniel Sahuleka. In Indonesia, many famous musicians are ethnic Moluccans, like popstar Glenn Fredly, who toured the Netherlands in 2008 and acknowledged Daniel Sahuleka as one of his main inspirations. In the 21st century new generations of South Moluccans in the Netherlands have chosen ways to manifest their heritage and express themselves, by performing traditional Tifa music and Cakalele dances, but also by expressing themselves with contemporary music like hip-hop. In addition, in Dutch football many South Moluccans in the Netherlands have made a name for themselves, including Simon Tahamata a
caption: Image showing traditional cakalele dance performance; nowadays Moluccans are rediscovering their ancient cultural traditions.
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