Natrah Meninggal Dunia
Natrah atau Bertha Hertogh meninggal dunia pada 8 Julai 2009….
DARI BERNAMA
09 Julai, 2009 20:30 PM
Maria Hertogh Atau Natrah Meninggal Dunia Di Belanda Pada Usia 72 Tahun
KUALA LUMPUR, 9 Julai (Bernama) — Bertha Hertogh atau Natrah nama Islamnya pada satu ketika, dilaporkan meninggal dunia di kediamannya di Huijbergen, Belanda Rabu.
Beliau meninggal akibat leukemia pada usia 72 tahun, menurut Duta Malaysia di Belanda, Dr Fauziah Mohd Taib, menerusi e-mel kepada Bernama Khamis.
Bertha menjadi isu di Singapura pada 1950, akibat perebutan terhadapnya antara ibu angkatnya Che Aminah dengan keluarga asal beliau yang berketurunan Belanda.
Bertha ketika itu berumur 13 tahun dan telah memeluk Islam dan bernikah gantung dengan seorang guru berusia 22 tahun bernama Mansor Adabi.
Namun undang-undang British/Belanda tidak membenarkan wanita di bawah umur 18 tahun daripada berkahwin.
Natrah akhirnya diperintahkan supaya dipulangkan kepada ibu bapa kandung di Belanda.
Keputusan mahkamah itu menimbulkan kamarahan masyarakat Islam di Singapura, sehingga berlaku rusuhan yang dikenali sebagai Rusuhan Natrah.
Dilaporkan seramai 18 orang terbunuh dan kira-kira 200 orang cedera dalam tragedi itu ketika mereka bertempur dengan tentera dan polis British, sehingga Singapura diletakkan di bawah perintah berkurung selama dua hari dua malam.
Dr Fauziah berkata Natrah akhirnya pulang ke Belanda, namun hati dan perasaannya masih melekat di Malaya, ketika itu.
Natrah yang menggunakan nama Bertha pernah kembali ke rantau ini pada 1999 untuk penggambaran filem dokumentari mengenai dirinya oleh sebuah syarikat televisyen Belanda.
“Menurut Bertha, beliau hanya merasa bahagia ketika zaman kanak-kanaknya,” kata Dr Fauziah.
Sebuah filem mengenai Bertha arahan Ben Sombogaart dilaporkan akan dikeluarkan tahun depan.
– BERNAMA
July 09, 2009 20:42 PM
1950 Child Custody Victim Bertha Hertogh Dies at 72
KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 (Bernama) — Bertha Hertogh or Nadra, who made world headlines in 1950 when she became the centre of a legal conflict between her Dutch parents and a her adoptive Muslim mother, died at her residence in Huijbergen, The Netherlands yesterday.
She was 72.
Hertogh or fondly known as Nadra when she lived in Singapore and Indonesia, died of leukimia, according to a statement from Malaysia’s ambassador to The Netherlands, Dr Fauziah Mohd Taib that was e-mailed to Bernama here, Thursday.
After the judge assigned her to her Dutch parents, riots broke out between Muslims and Christians in Singapore, which resulted in 18 deaths and 200 hundred others injured.
Dr Fauziah said for many people, Nadra, who was born in Bandung, Indonesia, remained an icon in the battle against British imperialism and an example of what religious differences could lead to.
She later returned to The Netherlands, but her heart always remained in Malaysia and Indonesia, Fauziah added.
In 1999, Nadra returned to this region for the first time since the riots to film a documentary for a Dutch television station.
“According to Hertogh, her childhood had been the only period in her life that she was really happy. Bertha Hertogh is remembered as a loving and caring woman who continuously dedicated her life to others. Her own happiness always came in second,” said Dr Fauziah.
At the moment, a motion picture titled Nadra is in pre-production stage in Singapore, Malaysia and The Netherlands.
The film captures the pespective of Nadra and the events that led to the riots and how she became a victim of religious and colonial conflicts.
The film is directed by Ben Sombogaart and is expected to be released in the fall of 2010.
– BERNAMA