Stories from Deli

A unique phenomenon in DelL
C. F. HAGEE.

(With illustrations based on photographs by amateur photographer J. J. H. Soeteman.)

Deli possesses an institution whose equivalent one would search in vain throughout the Indies. I mean the Immigrant Asylum in Medan, which stands there as proof in stone that, whatever some may have claimed, in Deli the principles of humanity are not lost sight of.

This asylum, opened in 1888 and intended to accommodate 150 patients, was, like the Leprosy Asylum established in Medan, established entirely through voluntary contributions, primarily from planters, who contributed so generously that both institutions are still maintained from the interest on these princely gifts. The reader will be able to judge somewhat of the charitable spirit of the Delian planters if they know that the immigrant asylum always houses 150 patients, while the leprosy asylum’s population has fluctuated between 83 and 100 patients over the past five years.

The asylum’s population is quite diverse, as eligible for admission are Chinese and natives from outside Deli who suffer from chronic or incurable diseases, who cannot support themselves due to physical disabilities, who are insane, or who, being ill, have no means of care. Thus, on January 1, 1903, among the 150 inmates in the immigrant asylum, there were, among others, 59 insane and 33 partially or completely blind.

Let us now take a closer look at the institutions themselves. The immigrant asylum and the leprosy asylum are both organized in exactly the same way and are adjacent to each other. This is the case for both institutions. I cannot say anything more about the leper asylum, because the lepers who walk freely along the Lord’s paths in Medan have instilled in me sufficient respect for possible infection to forgo visiting a leper institution.

The immigrant asylum is always open to interested parties without prior notice, and I took advantage of this opportunity several times to visit there, completely unexpectedly. It is located about a 20-minute walk from Medan on the beautiful Laboean Road, in a peaceful, fresh environment, ideally suited to keeping the sick and elderly in a comfortable mood. From Laboean Road, one turns onto a side lane and, passing neatly landscaped and maintained lawns with trees and flowers, arrives at the house of the caretaker, to whom, along with one Chinese head supervisor, two attendants for the mentally ill, and one night watchman, the interests of the residents are entrusted.

A physician is also employed by the institution. It is certainly a testament to the way the residents are treated that only a few people are needed to manage the institution. Without the excellent morale of the residents, this staff would be insufficient. Perfect order prevails everywhere, and in 1902, it was only necessary to punish residents eight times, namely by withholding refreshments or confinement in a cell for a maximum of eight days. The main door of the caretaker’s house also gives access to the ash

However, don’t believe this is the only access to the yard: in the fence that encloses the asylum at the front, there are two wide gates, which are only closed at night, but cannot even be locked, while the asylum borders the river at the rear, where the patients bathe and which is fordable in all places. However, the patients don’t need to leave secretly. They are free to leave and thus make room for others, who often have to wait a considerable time for admission. If a patient wishes to leave the institution, they can, if healthy, continue to serve their contract as a coolie and return to the company. However, if they wish to return to their native country, they will be transported there at the expense of the company where they served as a coolie, otherwise at the expense of the asylum.

Moreover, the Javanese receive 15 to 20 guilders, and the Chinese receive a bill of exchange with China of 10 and 15 dollars. They also receive clothes, a blanket, a pillow, and some small amenities from the asylum, so that the people are not thrown out onto the streets without means (at least for an Oriental).

The first thing you encounter upon entering the asylum is a large covered space where 40 to 50 men and women are working. This is the mat-making workshop. On one side lie the empty shells of coconuts, while on the other side you are shown various types of rope, mats, and loopers, into which the fibers of the shells have been converted. These are the coconut mats and loopers, also known in the Netherlands, which can be made here in any shape and size. As far as the doctor deems it harmless, everyone works to the best of their ability.

A few insane women are busy making stuffing for carriage cushions; a few idiots sit among blind Chinese and Javanese, picking at tufts of coconut fiber; however, they produce nothing, because it always remains the same tuft. This is not held against them, however, because the goal is not to profit from the labor of the inmates, but simply to keep the people occupied for 5.5 hours a day. The manufactured articles are sold as much as possible, and the proceeds, proportional to the labor performed, are distributed among the workers. A small portion is retained and goes into a savings account, which is used during the Native and Chinese New Years to pay for wajang and gamelan, which, together with the festive table provided by the asylum and an additional allowance of half a dollar for each inmate, turns the New Year’s days into festive celebrations.

During 1902, the labor of the inmates brought in 1,814 dollars, of which 1,690 dollars were paid to them. From the mat-making workshop, one has an unobstructed view of the neatly maintained grassy plains on which the various buildings stand, intersected by flat, stone paths, laid out in such a way that the blind can reach wherever they wish, without assistance from others. To the left of the mat-making workshop lies the kitchen, where inmates serve as cooks and assistants, and where a large kettle of tea is always available to the inmates to prevent the use of unboiled water.

The diet consists of copious portions of rice with vegetables and fresh or dried fish, or fresh or dried meat. Pork is the preferred choice for the Chinese. Besides the large kitchen, there are two smaller ones where the inmates can prepare delicacies, each according to their own taste, purchased with their saved money. Each inmate receives, besides a daily allowance of five cents for refreshments, wages for work performed, or, as with the kitchen staff, lawn mowers, etc., a fixed monthly salary. What is striking, besides the orderly care observed down to the smallest detail, is the freedom of the inmates within the asylum.

Even the insane can fully indulge their idiosyncrasies, as long as they remain harmless. For example, an insane person charged with the planting and maintenance of Bengal grass outside the compound, and who takes impeccable care of it as long as he knows he is not being monitored, has the habit, as soon as the dinner bell rings at 10 a.m., of walking to the asylum and circling the entire compound three times with a stick over his shoulder, to which a bundle of clothes is attached. After this walk, he voluntarily returns to his cell to bathe and eat.

I saw another lunatic hurry to the kitchen after receiving his food and liberally sprinkle his rice with tea.

Apparently no one is paying attention to them, so they can move freely in

Feel their movements. Walking from the work shed into the establishment, one sees three widely spaced buildings that serve as accommodations for the patients. Along the walls of the spacious, airy rooms, each patient has their own sleeping table, covered with a neat mat; at the headboard, a pillow and a blanket, all provided by the asylum, as well as the cutlery.

Among the Chinese, behind the pillow, one often finds a small oblong box for storing their money or other belongings. The blind have their box secured with a chain to one of the table legs. Several patients, during their stay in the asylum, have accumulated a tidy sum from their daily allowance and their wages. It is remarkable that these “treasure chests” are rare among the natives, even though everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the same income as others.

Here too, the Native does not deny his complete lack of deliberation and thrift. The numerous musical instruments hanging on the wall above the sleeping tables prove that there is a fair amount of music being made in the free time. One of the rooms for the Chinese also serves as a tailor’s shop. A Chinese man also holds sway here, and the clothes are made, again by residents, for the asylum and for the hospitals of the various companies and enterprises.

The four sewing machines used for this purpose are the property of the residents, who were enabled to acquire them through the asylum’s intervention.

The residents receive a change of clothes twice a week. All laundry is meticulously done, again by residents (including an insane woman), for a fee. A separate room for the partially or completely paralyzed deserves special mention. The sleeping tables here are very low to the ground, so that partially paralyzed people can leave or climb into their beds without assistance. For two men who are completely unable to move and who are always lying down, the sleeping tables are covered with a mattress instead of a mat. Given the difficulty for paralyzed people and many severely crippled people, a bathing facility has been installed in one of the corners of the room, connected to a corridor leading to the tanks or the river for bathing.

The needy are carried there twice a day and bathed, a task undertaken by a mentally ill Chinese man. He takes his duty very seriously and is fully committed to his foster children. I even saw him, on his way to bathe and eat himself, return to help a Klingalese man who had crawled in from outside the building and had not yet bathed. The able-bodied patients bathe in the river or in one of the two large, covered basins designated for this purpose, each with a water pipe. The women are housed in separate wards. which are closed at night, a measure necessary for peace and order. In addition, provision has been made for them to use certain facilities at night without going outside.

These facilities are so clean that I only noticed them when my guide drew my attention to them. The same was true in the building for the restless insane, which has a couple of toilets and a bathroom. This building also consists of two rows of very new, high cells for one person or for three to five people, each of which can be closed off with a gate. A wide, covered gallery, surrounded by fencing, runs around the building. One of the cells is painted completely black for the benefit of lunatics who are afraid of shadows. There is a similar building for lunatic women. At night, the gate to the gallery is locked, but not the cells, except for a few who cannot be trusted and who then have a toilet in their cell. The lunatics are thus free within the building and can use the facilities if they wish.

To ensure the buildings can be opened quickly in the event of fire, all locks are opened with the same key. The night watchman carries one key, and the caretaker keeps another. Whenever I unexpectedly visited the asylum, there were always two or three people locked in cells, one of which was even working again when I returned a few days later. Insanity that is particularly dangerous for the surrounding area is practically non-existent; unmanageable episodes that necessitate isolation usually last no more than four or five days. And even during that period of confinement, the cells are opened during mealtimes and the sick are let out. Everyone then finds their place on the lawn between the two insane asylum buildings and devours their meals there.

The quiet lunatics find their lodging in the regular wards with other patients, provided they don’t prefer sleeping in the cells, which is the case for many. The cells of such lunatics, who naturally perform regular work outside, however, remain open all day and night. If I now mention some pigs, cats, a herd of fine cattle, and a large vegetable garden, all cared for and cultivated by patients, then I believe I have given a sufficient sketch of the asylum to convince the reader that Deli has succeeded in creating an institution it can point to with satisfaction.

Eigen Haard 1903, no. 20, May 16, 1903