Straatleidsters (Street leaders)

Small vignettes of women going about their daily routine at Camp Karees, Bandoeng. 'Every street had a street leader, and every house had a head of the house who was responsible for the people in the house.' Correspondence of Mrs Hanny Balt, the daughter of Mrs Hessels Van Zalm, November 2001. The street leaders also acted as referees in disputes, often about food, and fetched, divided and distributed fruit and vegetables. The street leaders also sorted and delivered mail and announcements, and admonished the naughty street boys. This is one of 28 drawings created by internees of Camp Karees and presented to Mrs Frederika Hessels Van Zalm as a token of appreciation for her tireless work running the camp's kitchen. Mrs Hessels Van Zalm was detained in Camp Karees with her two daughters Hanny and Dicki, nicknamed Ponny, her youngest son Dirk, nicknamed Bully, and her father Dirk. Her eldest son Fred was sent to a men's camp. Camp Karees was one of many internment camps created in Indonesia, by the Japanese, for the detainment of Dutch residents in the Second World War. Camp Karees was created for the detainment of women and children. A number of elderly men were also detained at Camp Karees. The camp held 6000 internees and private cooking was forbidden. All meals were provided form a central kitchen and trading for food from outside the camp was severely punished. 'Karees was a collection of houses in the poorer section of Bandoeng, fenced off with gedek (plaited bamboo sheets) topped with barbed wire.' Shirlie Fenton Huie, 1992.