Netherlands Embassy Pays Tribute To Asian Forced Labourers Of Thailand–Burma Railway

BANGKOK, Aug 16 (Bernama) -- The Netherlands Embassy in Thailand paid tribute to Asian forced labourers of the Thailand–Burma Railway at the Nadukal–Hero Stone Memorial in Kanchanaburi on Saturday.

Led by Chargé d’Affaires Joost Van Ettro, the embassy delegation laid a wreath at the memorial, in what its founder described as the first such tribute by a foreign embassy since the memorial was installed in 2024.

“We are deeply grateful to the people of Kanchanaburi, and to all those who continue to care for these places of remembrance and preserve their history for future generations,” Van Ettro said.

Malaysians and Indians in Bangkok (MIB) chairman Dr Silva Kumar, who installed the Hero Stone in 2024, described the wreath-laying as a milestone in efforts to recognise the suffering of Asian forced labourers.

“We are very proud and happy, as this is a milestone in recognising the Asian forced labourers, whose suffering had never been properly recognised,” he told Bernama.

The memorial was established to commemorate Asian labourers, known as romusha, who were forced to work on the 415-kilometre railway linking Thailand and Myanmar during World War II.

While the exact death toll remains unknown, historical estimates suggest that about 100,000 people died during its construction, including around 12,000 Allied prisoners of war and tens of thousands of Asian forced labourers who endured harsh and often deadly conditions.

-- BERNAMA