Firas A.

– Extended Essay

Abstract

This essay focuses on an investigation of the main socio-economic characteristics of the south
Moluccan district in Maastricht, the Netherlands. In order to arrive at a balanced conclusion
about the socio-economic characteristics of the 1500 Moluccans living in the south Moluccan
district in Maastricht, many different factors, including the population demographics, income,
employment, education and quality of life were investigated. For this purpose questionnaires
were created and several interviews and self constructed surveys were conducted. These,
along with the secondary data collected from the administration office and government, were
evaluated throughout this essay in order to provide further valuable insights into the socio-
economic characteristics of the families living in the district. In addition the visual
environment was also investigated to give a more thorough picture of the socio-economic
characteristics of the district.

After the analysis and interpretation of the primary and secondary data, the investigation
arrived at several interesting conclusions: the district has proven to be suboptimal for large
families. This finding explained the low number of people below 18 years living in the district
(as large families had to move outside the district to avoid space problems). In addition,
statistical evidence in the essay suggests a complex negative relationship between age and
education/income. Further research revealed that the reason for the exceptionally low number
of intercultural marriages within the district is a result of parents trying to keep their culture
alive by choosing a partner from the same origin, pointing towards social segregation.
Clearly, the investigation is of high value for anyone who is keen to obtaining a deeper
understanding of one of the most important minorities existing in modern Dutch society.
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

An investigation of the main socio-economic characteristics of

the south Moluccan district in Maastricht, the Netherlands
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

Table of Contents
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

List of Illustration

Cover – Pictures of the south Moluccan district in Maastricht, taken by Firas A. 1

Figure 1 – Moluccans’ location of origin and current location 5

Figure 2 – The location of the Moluccan Islands within Indonesia 5

Figure 3 – The location of the south Moluccan district within the Netherlands 5

Figure 4 – The location of the south Moluccan district within Maastricht 6

Figure 5 – Building used as a shelter for Moluccans (Eijsden 1951-1961) 7

Figure 6 – Annotated map showing the south Moluccan district 8

Figure 7 – Sample representing the age structure of the south Moluccan district 10

Figure 8 – Photograph of Moluccan church in the district and chart showing religions 11

Figure 9 – Showing trends in the education levels among the Moluccan population 12

Figure 10 – Showing the negative relationship between education and age 13

Figure 11 – Negative relationship between level of education and income 13

Figure 12 – Showing relationship between gender and level of education 14

Figure 13 – Employment figures from the south Moluccan district 15

Figure 14 – Showing figures for annual income of people living in the district 16

Figure 15 – Showing marital status data constructed for the Moluccan district 17

Figure 16 – The majority of the population dislikes intercultural marriages 18

Figure 17 – Showing how many people live in one household 19

Figure 18 – Three children playing in front of their house in the district 20

Figure 19 – Nearby noise, pollution and traffic generated from a main motorway 20

Figure 20 – A draw back: cars park on the street (no off-street paring available) 20

Figure 21 – There are some grassed spaces and a plenty of well kept trees 20

Figure 22 – Information about how inhabitants of the district rated their housing quality 21
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

1. Introduction

Today, approximately 40,000 Moluccans live in the Netherlands1, most of them in one of the
60 different Moluccan districts existing within the country2. The main purpose of this essay is
to investigate the main socio-economic characteristics3 of one of the 60 Moluccan districts:
the south Moluccan district in Maastricht. In order to be able to draw a balanced conclusion
about the socio-economic characteristics of the 1500 Moluccans living in the south Moluccan
district in Maastricht4, many different factors, including the population demographics,
employment, income, education and quality of life were investigated. Thus, the population
composition of this area was analysed and evaluated.

The network of maps on page 5 (figure 1 – 4) gives detailed information about the
Moluccans’ location of origin and current location. Point A in figure 1 represents the
Moluccan point of origin: the Moluccan Islands. These islands, also known as the Moluccas,
Maluku Islands or simply Maluku, are an archipelago in Indonesia, and part of the larger
Malay Archipelago. They are located on the Australian Plate, lying east of Sulawesi
(Celebes), west of New Guinea, and north of Timor.5 Figure 2 below depicts the location of
the Moluccan Islands within Indonesia, shown in green on the map.

Point B in figure 1 below represents the current whereabouts of the Moluccans under
investigation in this essay: the municipality of Maastricht, capital of the province of Limburg.
The city is situated on both sides of the Meuse River in the south-eastern part of the
Netherlands between Belgium and Germany.6 Figure 3 below depicts the location of the south
Moluccan district within the Netherlands, whereas figure 4 on page 5 indicates where exactly
the south Moluccan district is located within Maastricht, the Netherlands.

1
Source: https://www.nidi.knaw.nl:10011/en/output/2002/mvb-50-06-beets.pdf
2
Source: (Leaflet) Inspraakorgaan Welzijn Molukkers, Utrecht
3
Socio-economic characteristics such as age, education, marital status, employment, income and housing quality
4
Source: Moetira Maloekoe Heer-Maastricht (District administration office)
5
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maluku_Islands
6
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maastricht

4
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

New Guinea,
located just east
of the Moluccan
Islands

Sulawesi
(formerly more
commonly
known as
Celebes),
located west of
the Islands

The The red spot

Netherlands represents the
Moluccan
Islands and is
Province
shown in green
Limburg,
in figure 2
located in the
south-east of
the country.
Its capital is 7
Maastricht.

7
Network of maps constructed with Google Earth and Photoshop, using resources from Wikipedia

5
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

Figure 4

Figure 4 – Red arrow showing the location of the south Moluccan district within Maastricht 8

After the Dutch East Indies were decolonized, the Moluccan native soldiers of the Dutch
colonial army, the Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger (KNIL), found themselves in an
awkward situation. Since they were a force that helped the Dutch control the Indies and even
fought for the Dutch and against the new independent Indonesia, the Moluccan KNIL soldiers
were considered as traitors by the majority of the Indonesian population. In 1951 when violent
conflicts seemed to escalate, the Dutch government decided to transfer the last 12,500
Moluccan KNIL soldiers with their families to the Netherlands.

The Dutch government promised these ex-soldiers and their families that their stay in the
Netherlands would be only temporary (3-6 months) and that they would soon be able to return
to a safe home on their independent Moluccan Islands. After the arrival of the south
Moluccans in the Netherlands, they were placed in former concentration camps like
Westerbork and camp Vught.
8
Map constructed using resources from Google Earth and Photoshop as editing tool

6
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

The people living in the south Moluccan district in Maastricht today were particularly placed
in Eijsden (south-eastern Netherlands, figure 5 below). During their stay in Eijsden they were
completely isolated from Dutch society, not just geographically (due to the remote nature of
the building) but also socially.

Figure 5

The building used as a shelter for Moluccans (1951-1961, southeastern Netherlands) 9

In 1960 the construction of the south Moluccan district in Maastricht (figure 6, page 8) was
finally completed and in 1961 the first south Moluccan families who had arrived in 1951
moved from their old “temporary” home in Eijsden to their new houses in Maastricht.

Figure 6 displays a map of the south Moluccan district in Maastricht. The map shows the
Moluccan church, the administration office and the Moluccan nursery school “Taman Kanak”
(offers Moluccan children entertainment and basic education). Furthermore, the households
from which the questionnaire was retrieved back successfully are marked green. Moreover,
the yellow shading indicates the houses where the interviews took place. The buildings which
are marked in red represent official buildings in the district. Details regarding the annotation
of the map are included in the key of the map.

9
Source: Moetira Maloekoe Heer-Maastricht (District administration office)

7
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

Placeholder for figure 6

(Map of district)

8
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

2. Research Methodology

As there was only very little secondary data available on the socio-economic characteristics of
the people living in the south Moluccan district, the construction of a questionnaire, consisting
of 12 key questions, was a convenient way to obtain valuable insights into the socio-economic
characteristics of the south Moluccan district in Maastricht. The next step was to seek
permission for the research activities from the district administrator. After a short period of
time, broad support for this research was expressed and pilot exercises were conducted to test
questionnaires and audiovisual equipment. The final version of the questionnaire was
distributed in Dutch and Indonesian to accommodate possible language problems, particularly
among the older residents. The process of distributing the questionnaires took one week, as
they were only handed out personally. This way of distributing and collecting the
questionnaires initially seemed time consuming, but it has proven to be highly productive.
During the process of handing out and collecting questionnaires, opportunities for informative
conversations could be optimally used, as the majority of the people was very kind and open-
minded. Each household that could be reached received one questionnaire in the requested
language and was given one week to fill it in. Getting in touch with the administrative head,
Mr. Lewerissa, and the minister of the church of the Moluccan district was another way to use
the time in between efficiently to obtain further insights. After more than five extended
meetings with Mr. Lewerissa, concerns about getting enough background information were
eliminated. One week later 30 out of 40 questionnaires were retrieved successfully, reflecting
earlier expectations about a low response rate. However, due to the relatively small Moluccan
population, 30 questionnaires were found to be sufficient for conducting valid statistical
analysis. The 30 questioned households will serve as a sample throughout this essay,
representing the population of the south Moluccan district. The obtained data served as a basis
for the creation of a variety of graphs and statistical tables. They will be, along with the
secondary data collected from the administration office and government, evaluated throughout
this essay in order to provide further valuable insights into the socio- economic characteristics
of the 116 families10 living in the south Moluccan district in Maastricht. A questionnaire,
filled in by a Moluccan person, is included and can be found in the appendix (page 26) of this
essay. While the questionnaire was distributed, one aim was to cover both genders equally, as
this would ensure a balanced analysis and would give the opportunity to make comparisons
between both genders concerning their socio-economic characteristics.

10
Source: Moetira Maloekoe Heer-Maastricht (District administration office)

9
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

3. Presentation, analysis and interpretation of the data

The first part of the questionnaire focuses on the age structure of the people living in the south
Moluccan district in Maastricht. After analyzing the questionnaires, it became evident that the
age group 35-65 years accounts with 73.30% for the largest part of the population. Looking
for an explanation for this anomaly, the reason was found in the past: in 1961, when the
Moluccan families moved from their temporary home in Eijsden to their new homes in the
south Moluccan district in Maastricht, parents felt more (economically) secure which resulted
in a significant increase in the birthrates among the population. In addition, the post World
War II baby boom resulted in generally high birthrates in the Netherlands, which further
contributed to the increase in birth rates within the district. The population pyramid of
Moluccans living in the Netherlands provides necessary evidence and can be found in the
appendix (page 28).
Figure 7

Age

80,00%
70,00%
60,00%
50,00%
Percentage of
40,00%
Population
30,00%
20,00%
10,00%
0,00%
Below 18 18-35 35-65 Above 65
Percentage of Population 3,30% 6,70% 73,30% 16,70%
Age Group

Figure 7 – Sample representing the age structure of the south Moluccan district

Since the south Moluccans arrived in 1951 in the Netherlands, the percentage of people above
65 years started to decrease at an increasing rate. The age group 65+ now accounts for only
16.70% of the overall population. The high mortality rate associated with the age group 65+
can be explained by considering the fact that most of the people within this age group are
approaching the age of 80+.

10
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

Further examination of the houses within the south Moluccan district has shown that the
houses, having only four bedrooms, are not optimal for sustaining larger families. Therefore,
families with many children had to move outside the south Moluccan district. This might
explain the low percentage of people below 18 and between 18-35 years within the Moluccan
district. Today 178 Moluccan families11 live outside the south Moluccan district, but still
within Maastricht.

The next part of the socio-economic investigation focuses on finding out more about the
religious characteristics of the south Moluccan population in Maastricht. The survey revealed
that almost all respondents were of Protestant faith. Further secondary research has shown
that there is a connection between the past activities of the Dutch colony in Indonesia and
religion dominating in the south Moluccan district today. The Dutch colony actively
contributed to the spreading of the Protestant faith among the native soldiers of the Dutch
colonial army (KNIL). All the Moluccans entering the KNIL accepted the Protestant faith and
passed it on to their children. This is one reason why today the Protestant belief clearly
dominates among the population of the south Moluccan district in Maastricht.12

Figure 8

Religion Protestant
3% Atheist

97%

Figure 8 –Photograph of Moluccan church in the district and chart showing religions

11
Source: Interview with Mr. Lewerissa (district administrator)
12
Source: https://www.nidi.knaw.nl:10011/en/output/2002/mvb-50-06-beets.pdf/mvb-50-06-beets.pdf

11
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

Point four in the questionnaire primarily deals with the educational aspects of the district. As
evident in figure 9, the majority of the population has “basic education”13.

Analyzing the results shown in figure 9 below with respect to age resulted in an interesting
discovery: a negative relationship exists between educational level and age. In fact, people
who reported to have “no (completed) education” belong without exception to the age group
65+. Their descendants who represent the second generation show a slightly higher level of
education, as the majority of them has obtained “basic education” (as defined above). The
trend continues: most of the people who belong to the third generation have “middle
education”14 and therefore show a higher educational level than their fathers and grandfathers.
Finally, the fourth and youngest generation within the south Moluccan district shows the
highest level of education, as the majority of them has a “high level”15 of education. Reasons
for the existence of a negative relationship between age and level of education will be
investigated in the following paragraphs.
Figure 9

Education

Higher Education 4
Educational Level

Middle Education 6

Basic Education 15

No education 5

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Number of People

Figure 9 – Showing trends in the education levels among the south Moluccan population

13
Basic education defined as lower/preparatory vocational education or junior general secondary education (in
the Netherlands known as VBO/LBO or MAVO)
14
Middle education defined as secondary vocational education, senior general secondary education (MBO,
HAVO)
15
Higher education defined as senior or university preparatory education (VWO)

12
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

One reason for the negative correlation between age and level of education (shown in the
graph below) could be the role that parents play in the education of their children.
Figure 10

Figure 10 – Showing the negative relationship between education and age

The second generation of south Moluccans living in the south Moluccan district in Maastricht
had parents who just spoke a few words of Dutch. The lack of the parent’s education affected
their children negatively, resulting in them having only “basic education”. As the education
level of the first generation was exceptionally low, they were not able to support their children
(second generation) in the educational area, resulting in the above mentioned outcome. Nor
were they able to afford private tuition or higher education for their children, since there is
also a negative relationship between level of education and income. A low level of education
in the first generation leads to a low level of income among first generation. This in turn
allowed the children of the second generation to have an only slightly higher level of
education. The slightly higher level of education resulted in a slightly higher level of income
which in turn brought about an even higher level of the children’s level of education in the
third generation. Over the generations the educational and hence economic conditions
improved. Cleary, throughout the past decades, language barriers and other educational
obstacles have largely diminished, with young Moluccans in the south Moluccan district
being able to fully integrate themselves into Dutch society. Figure 11 represents a theoretical
model explaining the relationship between education and income.

Figure11

13
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

The next graph deals with the relationship between gender and education, and was created
combining two different sets of data from the questionnaire. It becomes evident that there is a
fairly balanced relationship between gender and education. However, it is worth pointing out
that generation by generation the degree of inequality in education between males and females
decreases.

It is realistic to assume that the level of integration plays a role in this case. The more
integrated the less inequality. The fourth generation (the green part of the column) can be
considered to be fully integrated into Dutch society and therefore shows perfect equality
between males and females in the level of education. Interviews with youngsters from the
fourth generation showed that some of them feel themselves “Dutch to certain extent”.

Figure 12

Gender/Education Relation

100% 6,70% 6,70%

90%
80% 10% 9%
70%
60% Higher Education
Percentage of
50% 24,30% Middle Education
Population 26,70%
40% Basic Education
30% No education
20%
6,70% 10%
10%
0%
Male Female
Gender

Figure 12 – Showing relationship between gender and level of education

14
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

Figure 13 below shows that there is a relatively high percentage of unemployment in the south
Moluccan district in Maastricht. 33 percent of unemployed Moluccans are primarily 35-65
years old. During talks with people from this age group, it became obvious that most of them
still face problems finding a job due to their low level of education. Only very few people
reported that finding a job is challenging due to ethnic differences such as skin color.

However, as the level of education has proven to be higher among younger Moluccans, the
percentage of unemployed Moluccans might decrease considerably in the near future. Thus
Moluccan youngsters, having a higher level of education than their parents, might face fewer
problems finding a job.
Figure 13

Employment Figures

17%

Employed
Unemployed
50% Retired

33%

Figure 13 – Employment figures from the south Moluccan district

The majority of the employed 50 percent are blue-collar workers (e.g. working in the building
construction sector or as car mechanic). This is normal, considering their low level of
education. Blue-collar jobs are generally declining in the area whereas more highly skilled
people are demanded by the labor market. Their low level of education and high age makes
many of them inflexible and therefore eliminates retraining as a possibility.

15
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

A further important socio-economic aspect is income. Figure 14 below was constructed using
analyzed data from the questionnaire. With 43 percent of the population earning less than
10.000 € annually, the majority has a comparatively low level of income. This is attributable
to the widespread low level of education among the people representing the current
workforce.

With 37 percent of the population earning 10.000 – 30.000 € annually, the lower middle
income group within the south Moluccan district in Maastricht seems to be considerably
small. Only 20 percent of the people earn 30.000-60.000 € annually.

Figure 14

Annual Income in €

0; 0%
6; 20% 0; 0%
Less than 10,000
13; 43%
10,000 to 30,000
30,000 to 60,000
75,000 to 100,000
More than 100,000
11; 37%

Figure 14 – Showing figures for annual income of people living in the district

People earning more than 60.000 € annually were not found, and are therefore very rare or do
not exist within the south Moluccan district in Maastricht. The reason for this might not just
be related to the general low level of education (and therefore income), but also to the fact
that families with higher incomes probably moved out of the district, as they are able to afford
better housing.

16
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

Following a specific plan in order to cover as many socio-economic characteristics as

possible, the marital status was the next social characteristic to investigate. As research has
shown, 50 percent of the population living in the south Moluccan district is married. A
possible reason for this strong tendency towards marriage was found while comparing marital
status figures created for the south Moluccan district in Maastricht with the data available for
Indonesia. Marriage is generally favored and encouraged in Indonesia. The same mindset was
observed in the south Moluccan district in Maastricht. During interviews with people living in
the south Moluccan district in Maastricht, it became evident that indeed most of the people
have a very positive attitude towards marriage. Furthermore, in Indonesia, parents strongly
favor the marriage of their children, as it is considered to be a very important part of their
social lives. The same could be observed among parents living in the south Moluccan district
in Maastricht. Thus, it is safe to assume that the marriage pattern in the south Moluccan
district today has its roots in the original culture and tradition of the south Moluccans. The
tradition obviously has been maintained throughout the years of the stay of the Moluccans in
the Netherlands.
Figure 15

Marital Status

50,00%
45,00%
40,00%
35,00%
30,00%
Percentage of 50%
25,00%
Population 16,70% 16,70%
20,00%
13,30%
15,00%
10,00%
3,30%
5,00% 0%

0,00%
Single Divorced Widowed Married Partnership Other
Martial Status

Figure 15 – Showing marital status data constructed for the south Moluccan district Maastricht

Interestingly, most of the 16.70 percent of divorced men and women were not married to a
Moluccan person, but to someone from a different ethnical background. Thus, intercultural
marriages seem to be less successful, as cultural or religious differences tend to result in
fundamental problems. However, it is not the intention to generalize this observation.

17
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

Figure 16 below indicates that the Moluccans generally prefer to be partnered with a person
from the same origin. With 21 out of 23 couples, being married to another Moluccan person,
the phenomenon seems clear. Before starting this particular investigation, different
expectations were drawn. More intercultural marriages were expected, as a result of high
integration and the long passage of time since migration.

After several interviews with married Moluccans from the south Moluccan district, asking for
reasons for their avoidance to marry a person with a different cultural background, it became
clear that many Moluccans see the marriage with someone of the same origin as the only way
to preserve and pass along their own culture.

Figure 16

Partnered with a Mollucan person?

25

20

15
Number of People
10

0
Not Yes, Other Other Other
Limburg
Married Moluccan Indonesian Dutch Nationality
People chosen this 6 21 0 2 0 1

Figure 16 – Showing that the majority of the population dislikes intercultural marriages

However, it is very likely that the number of intercultural marriages is significantly higher
among Moluccan living outside this district. Outside the Moluccan district, the degree of
integration might be higher and the living in the same environment as other Dutch might
result in more intercultural marriages. It is remarkable that, the two people who reported their
partner to be from the Province of Limburg, also reported that they have been living less than
5 years in the south Moluccan district in Maastricht. Thus, intercultural marriages are more
likely to occur outside the Moluccan district, and are not necessarily rare.

18
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

The next aim was to find out how many people live in one household, and whether there is
overcrowding or if there are any associated space problems. This is another way to measure
their standard of living and gain more information about their socio-economic characteristics.

In figure 17 below, it is evident that only 17 percent can possibly be suffering from an
overcrowded household. After examining the inside of several houses as part of the
environmental assessment report, it became evident that the houses are not able to sustain
larger families. This left large families with no other option than moving outside the south
Moluccan district, in order to avoid overcrowding and space problems. In turn, this is likely to
have led to the current low percentage of households with more than four people within the
district.
Figure 17

Number of people in household

4+ People 1 Person
17% 13%

2 People
3-4 People 33%
37%

Figure 17 – Showing how many people live in one household

As shown in figure 17 above, in 13 percent of the households a person (usually over 65 years)
lives alone. Two people live in 33 percent of the households, followed 3-4 people living in 37
percent of the households. Until this point, there is a positive relationship between number of
people in household and percentage. The percentage of households almost decreases by 50
percent as the number of people in household changes from 3-4 to 4+ people. This again,
might be due to the above mentioned reason, where large families move outside the district to
avoid overcrowding in their own household.

19
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

The picture (figure 18 below) shows three Moluccan children playing with bow and arrow on
the sidewalk. The houses in the background are typical examples of houses in the Moluccan
district. They have a tiny front garden and a small garden. Both are mostly poorly fenced and
overgrown. Many children were seen playing on the street, in front of their houses. However,
as there is only residential traffic, it does not depict a potential threat to the safety of the
children.
Figure 18 Figure 19

Numerou
s trucks
Tiny, pass by,
over- causing
grown,
noise and
front
pollution
garden

Congest-
No play- ion
ground occurs at
for least two
children times a
day
Figure 18 – Three children playing in front of their house. Figure 19 – Nearby noise, pollution and traffic.

On the other hand the nearby main motorway (fig. 19) does represent a potential threat to the
safety of the children. In some areas of the district, the fence protecting children from the
motorway is broken and has not been repaired. The motorway causes some noise, but normal
speech within the district is still possible. However, signs of pollution are evident: walls and
buildings show some staining. It probably would have been worse without the high number of
mature trees in the area. The trees seem to be well kept and there are plentiful grassed spaces
(fig. 21).The absence of off-street parking can be considered to be another draw back (fig. 20)
Figure 20 Figure 21

Houses Trees seem

are built to be well
right next kept
to each
other
District
contains
No off- plentiful
street grassed
parking
spaces

Fence to
motorway
Fig. 20 - A draw back: cars park on the street. Fig. 21 – Plentiful grassed spaces, well kept trees is damaged
at some
places

20
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

Figure 22 below displays how inhabitants of the south Moluccan district in Maastricht rated
their housing quality.

The majority of the people rated their housing quality with 6/10 and 7/10. This indicates that
there is room for improvement of the housing quality within the district. However, the 6
people who rated their housing quality remarkably high with 9/10 and 10/10, were primarily
people who also reported to live alone, or only in couples. On the other hand, people who
rated their housing quality remarkably low were people with 4+ people in the household.

Figure 22

How would you rate the housing quality?

12

10

Number of People 6

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
People chosen this rating 0 1 0 1 1 12 8 0 3 3
Rating System: 1 (Very Poor) to 10 (Excellent)

Figure 22 – Giving information about how inhabitants of the district rated their housing quality

Thus, it is safe to assume that households with 4+ people are less satisfied with the housing
quality than households with 1-2 people. This can be explained by considering the negative
relationship between the number of people in a household and available space for each
person. As more people live in one household, less space is available for each individual
person (sometimes even leading to less privacy). This results in less overall satisfaction in the
housing quality, and explains the results shown in figure 18 above.

21
 Firas A. – Extended Essay

4. Conclusion
The essay has revealed the major socio-economic characteristics of the south Moluccan
district in Maastricht. It became evident that the district is suboptimal for large families,
which explained the low number of people below 18. However, after further investigating the
demographics of the district, it became evident that the age group 35-65 years accounts for an
exceptionally high percentage (73.30%) of the overall population. Reasons for this anomaly
were found by considering the past of the Moluccans in the Netherlands and the effects of the
post world war II baby boom. Furthermore, the low level of income among early generations
can be explained by their low educational level – whereas a negative relationship between age
and level of education/income was discovered (the older the person the lower the level of
education and thus income). Moreover, the low rate of intercultural marriages has proven to
be the result of an attempt (by parents) to preserve and pass along Moluccan culture,
unconsciously pointing towards traits of social segregation. Furthermore, investigating the
relationship between gender and education has revealed that the fourth generation (which is
the youngest generation) arrived at a state of full integration and therefore shows perfect
equality between males and females in the level of education.

Finally, the survey revealed that the majority of the inhabitants of the district are of Protestant
faith. Further research has revealed a close connection between the activities of the Dutch
colony and religion dominating in the south Moluccan district today. Clearly, the statistical
analysis would have been more accurate and valid if more people would have been willing to
fill in the questionnaire. In some cases it was hard do convince people from the non-
commercial nature of the project. Furthermore, due to a limited Dutch vocabulary some
interviews did not develop properly and some questions remained unanswered.

It would be interesting to investigate the exact reason for the people living in the district.
After such a long time, one would expect the number of inhabitants of the district to decline.
Maybe this is about to happen in the near future, as it has been proven how integrated and
educated the fourth generation became. Their high educational level might bring about a
higher income, which in turn could be used to afford a more luxurious living outside the
district. The existence of the Moluccan district might become less important and indifference
towards old traditional customs might arise. Clearly, further research, with more economic
resources, needs to be conducted in order to get a more accurate picture of the development of
the south Moluccan district in the present and future.

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 Firas A. – Extended Essay

5. Bibliography/References

Books/Leaflets:

 Inspraakorgaan Welzijn Molukkers, Utrecht (15/05/1980) „Wie zijn ze eigenlijk?“

 Moetiara Maloekoe, Heer-Maastricht (2001 Edition) „Stichting Moetiara Maloekoe“

Internet:

 Ben Allen & Aart Loubert, the Hague Legal Capital (Retrieved on 06/09/2006)
“History and Identity: Moluccans in the Netherlands” URL:
http://www.safecom.org.au/dutch-moluccans.htm

 Gijs Beets, Evelien Walhout and Santo Koesoebjono (Retrieved on 04/09/2006)

“Demografische ontwikkeling van de Molukse bevolkingsgroep in Nederland” URL:
https://www.nidi.knaw.nl:10011/en/output/2002/mvb-50-06-beets.pdf/mvb-50-06-
beets.pdf

 From Wikipedia®, the free encyclopaedia under the terms of the GNU Free
Documentation License (Retrieved on 05/09/2006) “Main article on the South
Moluccas Republic” URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Moluccas

 From Wikipedia®, the free encyclopedia under the terms of the GNU Free
Documentation License (Retrieved on 06/09/2006) “Main article on Maastricht” URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maastricht

Interview/Information:

 Information based on interviews conducted with Connies Lewerissa, Administrator of

the south Moluccan district in Maastricht, (22-28/06/2006)

 Information based on interviews conducted with arbitrary selected people (of different
age groups) living in the south Moluccan district, (15-30/08/2006).

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 Firas A. – Extended Essay

6. Appendix

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 Firas A. – Extended Essay

Flow chart for figure 11

Flow chart created to clarify the idea of how education can affect income

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 Firas A. – Extended Essay

Placeholder for the questionnaire

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 Firas A. – Extended Essay

Population pyramid from 2002

16

Population pyramid (2002) of the Moluccans living in the Netherlands, clearly indicating the baby boom

16
Source: https://www.nidi.knaw.nl:10011/en/output/2002/mvb-50-06-beets.pdf/mvb-50-06-beets.pdf

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 Firas A. – Extended Essay

17

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Source: http://www.ferdinandus.com/images/Permanent/maluku.jpg

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