Maria Hertogh riots

Posted by yesterday.sg under 50years
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By Swa Yong Shen

To me, the most important moment in Singapore’s history between 1959 and 2009 was the Maria Hertogh riots. Maria was a Dutch girl born in a Catholic family. When she was five, war broke out and the Japanese imprisoned her father. Her mother found a Muslim lady, Che Aminah, to take care if Maria. Post war, Maria’s parents could not find their daughter as Che Aminah had moved away. Che Aminah renamed Maria as Nadra and bought her up as a Muslim.

After some time, Maria’s parents found her. The Hertoghs and Che Aminah went to court to decide who should have the custody for Maria. In July the same year, the court gave Che Aminah the custody for Maria . While Maria was in Che Aminah’s care, she married a Muslim man. She was only 13 then. On December the same year, the court announced that Maria was too young to get married and declared that her marriage was not recognized by the court. The court also decided to give the custody back to Maria’s Dutch parents.

From November to December that year, there were reporters reporting Maria staying in a Convent. These reports angered the Muslims, the think Europeans do not have respect for them. Che Aminah took an attempt to make an appeal to get the custody back but was unsuccessful. This angered the Muslims fully. Riots broke out and Muslims attacked Europeans or anyone that looked European. During the riots, 18 people were killed and 173 people were injured. This Maria Hertogh riots taught me to respect other religions and races. I will want to preserve racial harmony!

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