I have chosen to do this task as my independent project for Extension English as I believe that my Opa's life was full of bad and good memories that I believe would be good to share with a community of people.
Rest In Peace Opa.
07.12.2009 <3
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Sunday, August 22, 2010
Chapter One- The beginning of the end.
On the 18th of July 1932, in Bandung Indonesia, a new baby boy was named. This boy was named Hans Jurgen Vanderwel and little did he know that in around ten years time we would be split up from his two brothers, his mother and his father and be taken to a Japanese POW (prisoner of war) camp, were he would be burnt with cigarettes, tortured and live on little, if any rice a day.
Hans grew up with two brothers, a German mother and an Dutch father.
Hans up until the age of ten was a normal everyday Indonesian boy. He slept on the Bataan wood floor with his brothers, ate rice and traditional Indonesian meals cooked over a small fire, went to a small school and was very grateful of the very few things he got. Sadly however this normality stopped, when one afternoon in the year of 1942, the Japanese raided their house of the family and possessions with his mother and two brothers being taken off to a women’s POW camp, his father went to a men’s POW camp on the outskirts of Indonesia and himself taken as a young boy, also to a men’s camp, although neither of which were his parents camp. Once there he was placed in a cell where not only the officers did but also fellow cellmates torture him. Life was hell as far as my Opa was concerned, and who wouldn’t, with cigarettes being put out on your cold, tender skin and getting little, if any food daily. He called this the beginning of the end. The beginning of his death, the end of everything he had ever hoped for; children, a wife, a house and a new beginning. He lost hope of ever reuniting with his family and friends again, until that special day in 1945 that he would never forget. The day that the world war was declared over and he finally got freed from that hellhole.
Chapter Two- The start of the new beginning.
After approximately three weeks from being freed from the prisoner of war camp, Opa got some good and bad news. The bad news that we would never reunite with his parents again and the good news being that his brothers had survived and he would reunite with them soon but for now, he had to kep healthy and stable.One year after his release, Hans decided to move to Holland, and six years after moving to the Netherlands he decided to start college at the age of 20. This college however, was not a typical college for the Bachelor of Arts or Science degree, but a college for future naval officers. This was the Royal Netherlands Naval College and this is where my Opa believed that the start of his new beginning began.
At the Royal Netherlands Naval College or RNNC, Opa was taught everything from traditional sea rope knots, to how to navigate through the sea.After six studious and exciting years, Hans finally graduated. For the first few months after graduating, Hans spent as much time with his new girlfriend, Adajie Bekebrade, a young dutch women who caught not only his eyes, but his heart. After the first six months of keeping his graduation certificate in the cupboard, Opa finally decided to do something with it and set sail on KPM shipments. This brang great pleasure to my Opa.
In the year of 1956 my Opa, Hans Vanderwel, married my Oma, Adajie Bekebrade. However, this wasnt the average walk down the aisle wedding as my Opa was at sea, and my Oma was sitting in the longue room on the day of their marriage and therefore they got married over the phone.
Chapter Three-The beginning.
Four years after Ada and Hans were married, the new beginning was really happening, with the birth of their first child, Marianne Vanderwel, my mother on the 24th of March, 1960 and the birth of their second child Linda Smith, my aunty, on the 25th of July, 1964 with both births in Haarlam, The Netherlands. Also, after the commitment of many years to KPM shipments, Hans was made Captain of his ship, to his great pleasure. Although, with this came the hard work of keeping up with his family whilst off shore and my Opa did this through, taking Linda, Marianne and Ada on the ship for 2-3 weeks at a time. Through this came great family time and remarkable memories that still live on in both my mother's and aunty's mind.
Chapter Four- The End.
In 2006 my Oma and Opa happily celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and here is where my Opa was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or more commonly known as dementia after not believing that is was there 50th wedding anniversary, after putting his dinner in the cupboard and beer's in the dishwasher. The following story was written by my cousin Kate and myself after realising that something wasn't right to the once, most loving, kind and gentle man anyone could have ever known.
He sat at the table outside, looking out at the pool and rolling his tobacco. The sun was shining, the birds were twittering, it was a beautiful day. Yet something was bothering him. His wife had asked him to do something, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember. Frustration took over. It was easier not thinking about the present, the past was where the memories were. But try as he might, he couldn’t escape the present completely and while so many blissful moments faded away, moments that could have made everything seem not so bad, it was the unpleasant moments that remained, those that were clouded with his thoughts of paranoia and suspicion. When his wife talked on the phone, why did she speak so softly? When things went missing from where he had left them. Who would have moved them? When he wasn’t allowed to leave the house, why wouldn’t his wife give him the keys to the car? But most of all was the fear, because he was still aware enough to know that his mind was slipping and that this was hurting all those he loved most.
The phone rang inside and he got up to answer it. “Hello… hello…” No answer. He hung up.
“Who was it Hans?” His wife came in to the room.
“There was no one.” He stared at the phone confused. It rang again. This time his wife answered. Hans watched as his wife began speaking to the phantom caller. “It’s Lin, Hans.” His wife told him when she saw his doubtful look.
“Who?”
“Lin… your daughter.” His wife sighed and went to sit in the other room away from him. Suspicion washed over him as he hurried into his office to listen to their conversation on the other phone. He was only able to hear half of what they were saying but it was enough for him to understand. His wife was complaining about him and together they were plotting against him, trying to send him away. He sat there for another 10 minutes before he realised they had hung up.
“Hans!” his wife called. “It’s time to go.” It was happening. They were sending him away now. He wouldn’t go. But even as he thought this he knew it was useless. He had no power over what happened to him anymore. His wife walked into the room with a smile that he automatically distrusted. She was happy that he was going away.
“The bus is here, Hans.”
“Bus to where?” Maybe there was still a way out of it. His wife sighed again. They went through the same thing every week. “The bus for your Alzheimer’s group.”
As they pulled up to the island Hans had one of his rare moments of clarity. This was the island he had taken his grandchildren to when they were younger and which they had nicknamed ‘Opa’s Island’. He remembered a day, a couple of years ago, where him and his wife and four grandchildren had hired a boat and gone fishing around the island. It was around the same time that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer disease. He heard someone say that they had arrived at McArthur Island. “No.” He contradicted them. “This is Opa’s Island.”
Four months later, Hans kicked his toe on something as he walked into his lounge room. Except... where was the lounge...? the TV...? the coffee table…? There were just a few boxes. He glanced outside and saw a group of people sitting around the table conversing in low whispers. As he opened the sliding door their voices abruptly stopped and their eyes turned to him, staring. “Are you ready to go, dad?” One of them asked. This was it. They had come to take him away. He took a step back running into the door. “NO! I’m not going. You can’t make me go!” He yelled at them. He tried to get away but hands grabbed him, holding him back. They were trying to calm him, make him come quietly. He started to struggle but then froze.
In his moment of lucidity he looked around at them all, at each and every face and for the first time saw them. They were not strangers. He saw his two daughters and their husbands, he saw his grandchildren and finally he saw his wife. This was his family. A memory of his 65th birthday came to the forefront of his thoughts in that moment, of him arriving home from his motorbike joy ride to his family waving and smiling and cheering him. They were not trying to get rid of him, they were helping him. They were not putting him away but were taking care of him. And his wife, his beautiful wife, was not deserting him but joining him, taking the next step of their life together. It didn’t matter that they were going to a retirement village or that he may not even remember this moment tomorrow. Hans Vanderwel belonged in the heart of each and every person in his family. For now he was content.
Sadly on Monday, the 7th of December 2009, we had to say good-bye to not only an Opa, a father, a brother, a son, a friend or a captain but to a man loved by so many people. Even though he's gone I believe all those memories not only I have but also my sister, brother and cousin have of my Opa taking us to the super bee, ginger factory, and Opa's Island will remain in our hearts and minds forever and ever.
Rest In Peace Opa,
We miss you.
07.12.2009 <3
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