BINTANG BETAWI Batavia (Jakarta) - Edisi Jumat, 20 Mei 1904
Description
Contract Workers
Apparently, the service to provide contract workers is profitable. This service is not only favored by thugs[1], but also an income option for retired ambtenaar[2]. One of them, P. Wiersma, is a retired major. He had received permission to gather some people in the Dutch East Indies to be sent as contract workers in Suriname (people here say Srirama).
[1] Vrijman, a person or a group of people who are free/independent and usually rebellious and do not want to cooperate with the colonial government.
[2] The term for civil servants in the Dutch Colonial era, dressed in white coats, hard helmets like headpieces and went and came home from work by bicycle. This position is the dream of most indigenous children, because it is seen that their lives are guaranteed. However, in 1929 the peace of life of the ambtenaar was shaken by the difficult economic conditions.