Publication Date: Oct 2015
RRP: $39.95
ISBN: 9781922235909
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Category: Herb Feith Translation Series

Forbidden Memories

Women’s Experiences of 1965 in Eastern Indonesia

Mery Kolimon, Liliya Wetangterah and Karen Campbell-Nelson


This is the first book to consider the experiences of women survivors of 1965 anti-communist violence in the majority Christian province Eastern Indonesia. So far, most studies of the 1965 violence have focused on the Muslim majority population of Java and Hindu majority population of Bali. The book presents stories from across the regions of Sumba, Sabu, Alor, Kupang and other parts of West Timor of women who were imprisoned and tortured or whose husbands were murdered. The book is a critical examination of the role of the Protestant Church at the time of the violence and in its aftermath, including ongoing sanctions and political purges against those considered to be supporters of the Indonesian Communist Party. Themes include the impact of the violence on women teachers, members of the women’s organisation Gerwani and the fracturing of social and religious communities. The writers critique the role of religious and state institutions for failing to care for this vulnerable community in the face of state terrorism and a culture of fear. The editors and research team hope this publication will create a safe and peaceful environment for survivors to tell their stories and for society to acknowledge their suffering and to struggle with them to restore their rights.


Mery Kolimon

Mery Kolimon was born in SoE, South Central Timor. She began serving as a pastor with the congregation in Bijeli, East Mollo Presbytery, South Central Timor (1997-99). After completing her doctoral studies at the Protestant Theological University in Holland in 2008,...
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Liliya Wetangterah

Liliya Wetangterah was born in Kupang. She completed her theological studies at the Faculty of Theology at UKAW in 2007 and served with the Ebenhezer-Oeba Congregation in Kupang. The following year, she began further study of church law at the Jakarta...
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Karen Campbell-Nelson

Karen Campbell-Nelson, Ed.D., works as a professor on the Theology Faculty and with the Graduate Program of Artha Wacana Christian University (UKAW) in Kupang, NTT, Indonesia. She has experience with human rights documentation and gender issues, including gender- and sexual-based...
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