Verpleegster met zieken in het Mater Dela Rosa-ziekenhuis in Batavia vlak na de oorlog 1945 - 1946

This photograph by Anefo captures a nurse and a patient in the Mater Dela Rosa hospital in Batavia, now Jakarta, shortly after the war. The image speaks to the complex intersection of colonialism, identity, and humanitarianism. The nurse, dressed in a traditional white habit, reads aloud from a newspaper titled “Oranje,” a clear reference to the Dutch royal family. Next to her sits a patient, his emaciated frame a stark reminder of the brutal conditions of the war and its aftermath. The setting in Batavia, the former capital of the Dutch East Indies, places this encounter within the fraught history of Dutch colonialism in Indonesia. The nurse embodies a Western ideal of care and compassion, while the patient represents the human cost of conflict and colonial exploitation. This photograph serves as a reminder of the uneven distribution of suffering and the complex roles individuals play within larger systems of power. It invites us to reflect on the intertwined legacies of colonialism, war, and healing.