AKTIVITAS WANITA EROPA DI KAMP INTERNIRAN BATU LINTANG KUCHING 

ACTIVITIES OF EUROPEAN WOMEN IN THE BATU LINTANG KUCHING INTERNATIONAL CAMP

Pendudukan militer Jepang atas Kalimantan menyebabkan warga sipil Eropa, termasuk para wanita diinternir dalam Kamp Batu Lintang. Di dalam kamp mereka di awasi secara total dan mendapat pembatasan yang ketat. Para wanita menghadapi kondisi hidup yang keras dan sulit. Mereka kelaparan, sakit, ancaman kekerasan dan tekanan psikologis dari milter. Kamp Batu Lintang menjadi tempat yang menampilkan kekuasaan militer Jepang yang menata, mengawasi, dan membatasi kehidupan sipil dalam struktur yang represif dan hierarkis. Kondisi ini merupakan hasil dari sistem yang merenggut paksa hak kemanusian yang dimiliki oleh para wanita. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji dan mengeksplor : (1). Aktivitas wanita selama di dalam Kamp Interniran; dan (2) Tindakan kekerasan yang diperoleh selama di dalam Kamp. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode sejarah yang melewati lima tahapan: Pengumpulan topik, pengumpulan sumber seperti foto, wawancara, laporan Palang Merah Internasional dan buku harian yang didapat melalui Imperial War Museum Inggris, Australian War Memorial, NIOD Instituut, Beeldbankwo2, International Committee of the Red Cross dan National Archives. Penelitian dilanjutkan dengan kritik sumber untuk menguji keabsahan dan keaslian sumber. Tahap interpretasi, peneliti menggunakan teori Dehumanisasi milik Paulo Freire, tahap akhir adalah Historiografi. Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa perempuan Eropa di Kamp Interniran Batu Lintang menunjukkan ketahanan luar biasa melalui berbagai aktivitas kolektif seperti pendidikan informal, kerja domestik bersama, pertanian skala kecil, dan praktik keagamaan. Aktivitas ini bukan hanya bentuk adaptasi terhadap kondisi ekstrem seperti kelaparan, penyakit, dan pembatasan, tetapi juga menjadi bentuk perlawanan pasif terhadap dehumanisasi sistem kamp. Meskipun dihadapkan pada kontrol ketat dan kekerasan simbolik dari otoritas Jepang, para perempuan tetap mempertahankan identitas, solidaritas, dan ekspresi diri—termasuk melalui penulisan rahasia, perawatan antar sesama, dan ritual spiritual—yang membantu menopang kehidupan komunitas mereka.

Kata Kunci : Kamp Interniran, Wanita, Batu Lintang, Kuching

The Japanese military occupation of Kalimantan resulted in the internment of European civilians, including women, in the Batu Lintang Internment Camp. Within the camp, their lives were subjected to constant surveillance and strict limitations. The women endured extremely harsh conditions—marked by hunger, illness, threats of violence, and psychological pressure from the Japanese military. Batu Lintang functioned as a space in which the Japanese military exercised absolute authority, organizing, monitoring, and restricting civilian life through a repressive and hierarchical structure. These circumstances were the product of a system that forcibly stripped the women of their fundamental human rights. This study aims to examine and explore: (1) the daily activities of women during their internment in the camp; and (2) the acts of violence they experienced while in captivity. The research employs historical methodology, proceeding through five stages: topic selection, source collection—including photographs, interviews, reports from the International Red Cross, and diaries obtained from the Imperial War Museum (UK), Australian War Memorial, NIOD Institute, Beeldbankwo2, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the National Archives. The study then applies source criticism to assess the authenticity and reliability of the materials. In the interpretive phase, the researcher uses Paulo Freire’s theory of dehumanization, followed by the final stage of historiography. The findings reveal that European women interned at Batu Lintang demonstrated remarkable resilience through a variety of collective activities, such as informal education, cooperative domestic labor, small-scale gardening, and religious practices. These activities not only served as forms of adaptation to the extreme conditions of hunger, disease, and restriction, but also functioned as acts of passive resistance against the camp’s dehumanizing system. Despite being subjected to severe control and symbolic violence by Japanese authorities, these women maintained their sense of identity, solidarity, and self-expression—through secret writing, mutual care, and spiritual rituals—which collectively sustained their community life within the oppressive environment of the camp.

Keywords: Internment Camp, Women, Batu Lintang, Kuching