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Memories of Pramoedya Ananta Toer

3 May 2006

The passing of Pram on 29 April 2006 feels like the passing of an era.

Way back during the Dutch era, Pram was developing his literary skills and became awkward enough for the Dutch to give him a taste of the inside of a prison for a couple of years, on charges of being 'anti-colonial'.

Much has been written about the wonderful quartet of books he conceived and retold to his fellow inmates while incarcerated on Buru Island in the Suharto years. But he also wrote a book about the Kartini, Indonesia's first feminist advocate, and a book in defence of the Chinese when they were being heavily persecuted in the 1950s.

When the military took power in 1965, his house was ransacked and many valuable documents, being prepared for publication, were destroyed. This was a profound loss for him, almost like the loss of a child.

His book, The Mute's Soliloquy, told of his years on Buru Island and contained a list of nearly one hundred people who died or went missing during the 14 years of imprisonment there. This book is one of the most searing condemnations of the crimes against humanity perpetrated during the long years of the Suharto dictatorship.

One of my fondest memories of him is when we met in 1999 during his trip to the US. I had the good fortune to attend a meeting, one of many, at which he spoke about this book. We were reminded all the time of his deafness - the result of a beating when he was arrested in 1965 - as all questions had to be repeated to him on the platform. The hall was packed, standing room only, and the feeling among the audience was electric.

The world is a poorer place with his passing and our thoughts go to his wife and children.

Carmel Budiardjo

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