The Journey of Belonging
The Journey of Belonging – a herstory between time and space is a collection of stories, letters, photos, drawings, and questions in which the Indonesian writer and visual artist Lala Bohang and the Indo-Dutch writer and historian Lara Nuberg explore what binds them together.

Are their lives connected by 350 years of Dutch presence in the Indonesian archipelago? Or has colonial history hardly left its mark on the lives of these two young women?

The cooperation between Lala Bohang and Lara Nuberg originated from the exchange project ‘My Story, Shared History’, initiated by Dutch Culture, Indisch Herinneringscentrum and Komunitas Salihara.

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“In the time the world will leave behind the plateau of colonialism and post-colonialism, we are entering a new stage in our history. In the future Europe’s imperialism will seem as far removed as the Roman empire does to us today. In the forthcoming years children born a century after World War II will see their shared history in a broader and warmer light. Lala, Lara, and their little book are a proof of that.”

– Ayu Utami, writer

“In this period of worldwide polarization, it is important for citizens of independent countries that have been entangled and intertwined by colonization many decades ago, to keep having a dialogue. Decolonization is a much longer process than the formal moment of declaration of independence followed by struggle for recognition of this independency. Do peranakans in the country of the former oppressor deal differently with their mixed roots and the past of their ancestors than the peranakans who live in the liberated country? It is interesting how two authors of the third generation, Lara (born in the Netherlands) and Lala (born in Indonesia), communicate about their ties with the past of their ancestors.”

– Marion Bloem, writer

English Version Details

Pages: 157 pages, Paperback
Published Date: January 28, 2020
Publisher: Twentifive Media
ISBN: 9789090327488
Language: English

Dutch Version Details

Pages: 172 pages, Paperback
Published Date: December 22, 2020
Publisher: ROSE stories
ISBN: 9789083063690
Language: Dutch; Flemish

Indonesian Version Details

Pages: 172 pages, Paperback
Published Date: August 19, 2021
Publisher: Gramedia Pustaka Utama
ISBN: 9786020654850
Language: Indonesian

Adopt The Journey of Belonging (English version) here
Adopt In Haar Voetsporen (Dutch version) here
Adopt Perjalanan Menuju Pulang (Indonesian version) here and here