Chalid Salim

Ignatius Franciscus Michael Salim (24 November 1902–10 March 1985), born Abdul Chalid Salim, was an Indonesian journalist, communist activist and political prisoner. He was imprisoned without trial by the Dutch in the Boven-Digoel concentration camp from 1928 to 1943. He was the brother of Agus Salim and the cousin of Sutan Sjahrir. His book Fifteen Years in Boven Digoel was the only Dutch-language book about Digoel ever published by a former prisoner.

Biography Early life and journalism career Mohammed Ali Abdul Chalid ben Soetan Mohammad Salim was born 24 November 1902 into an elite Minangkabau family in Koto Gadang, near Fort de Kock, West Sumatra, Dutch East Indies. According to some accounts he may have been born on an island in the Riau Archipelago where his father worked at the time. His father, Soetan Mohammad Salim, was a colonial prosecutor and judge whose highest rank was chief judge for the indigenous court in Tanjung Pinang. His brother, Agus Salim, was a prominent anti-colonial intellectual who would later be Indonesia's first foreign minister, and his cousin Sutan Sjahrir would later be leader of the Socialist Party of Indonesia and Indonesia's first prime minister. Salim's family often spoke Dutch at home.

By the time he was of school age, his father had retired to Weltevreden, outside Batavia, and had been appointed to the Landsraad. Salim was sent to a Dutch-language primary school there, and he later studied in Algemene middelbare schools (equivalent to a modern high school) in Batavia and Padang. He also lived in Surabaya for a time, where he was reportedly roommates with the communist Aliarcham, who would also later be exiled to Digoel. Salim was initially released when no proof of any crime could be determined, but a further search of his possessions revealed documents that the police said proved that he and Efendi were planning to launch a violent communist uprising. When they were led back to the ship, Salim recalled that they sang The Internationale and communist anthems, which irritated the guards. After his arrival at Digoel, Salim was soon sent to Tanah Tinggi, a more remote camp for "difficult" prisoners who refused to work for the Dutch. In particular he complained at their rough treatment from military officers on board, and the cramped quarters below deck which led internees to become ill. After leaving the hospital in 1930, he worked at eradicating mosquitoes to help in the fight against malaria. In his walks around the camp grounds over the 1930s, he got to know every corner of it very well.

When hundreds of prisoners were released in the early 1930s, Salim was passed over. In 1935, his cousin Sutan Sjahrir was exiled to the camp along with Mohammad Hatta; Salim was part of a welcoming party who greeted them. Hatta brought fifteen boxes of books with him. Salim and other inmates visited him regularly to borrow the books.

Salim converted to Catholicism on 26 December 1942 after long discussions with a priest, Father Meuwese.

Release from Digoel and emigration Boven-Digoel was so geographically remote that it was unaffected by the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies. It was only in 1943, with rumours of a possible Japanese landing at nearby Merauke, that authorities decided to evacuate most of the remaining detainees to Australia. Salim was among them; he later said that he saw no alternative but to collaborate with the Dutch and evacuate. However, when in Australia many of the former detainees were recruited to contribute to the war effort through the Association for a New Indonesia (SIBAR, ), Salim did not participate. By chance, he encountered the ex-Digoel camp doctor Schoonheyt, who was again working as a doctor there after being interned in Surinam during the Second World War. Schoonheyt became Salim's doctor. Officials admitted that the rules did not technically forbid compensation for Digoel internees, but he finally received a formal rejection in May 1977. He was buried in the Eikelenburg cemetery in Rijswijk.