The Unifying Nutmeg of Banda

Kompas/Totok Wijayanto

Clay Paays (left) and his older brother, Ray Paays, in Banda Naira, Maluku, Friday (28/4). The two brothers visited Banda to trace their family tree in Maluku.

A good friend is really important, but family is everything. Clay Paays, 55, a Dutch citizen of Indonesian descent, tells his experience in retracing the steps of his ancestors in Banda, Maluku.

Along with his brother Ray Paays, 60, Clay traveled thousands of kilometers around the globe from the Netherlands to Indonesia in search of their ancestors’ graves. Armed with a historical document from the Dutch government, Clay and Ray arrived in Jakarta on April 15, 2017. Then, they went to Ereveld Menteng Pulo, the cemetery housing around 4,300 Dutch citizens who died during the Independence War.