Costavina Aya "Coosje" Ayal (15 April 1926 – 28 March 2015) was a resistance fighter in

Western New Guinea Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She gained fame as the sole female survivor of the only guerrilla group in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

(present-day Indonesia) that held out during the Japanese occupation.

Biography

Coosje Ayal was born in the village of Titawaai on the island of

Nusa Laut Nusa Laut is the smallest inhabited island in the Lease Islands group east of Ambon, in Indonesia's Maluku province. It lies just off the south-western corner of Saparua island, separated from it by a deep channel. The island's coasts are fringed ...

in the Moluccas. When Ayal was six years old, she was adopted by her aunt Tina and uncle Seth Nahuway and moved to

Manokwari Manokwari is a coastal town and the capital of the Indonesian province of West Papua. It is one of only seven provincial capitals of Indonesia without a city status. It is also the administrative seat of Manokwari Regency. However, under pro ...

, Western New Guinea. Because her uncle was a civil servant of the Dutch colonial government, she went to a Dutch school, where she learned the

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...

. During the

Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–1942 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by forces from the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Forces from the Allies attempted ...

, Ayal's uncle was called upon by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ( nl, Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger, KNIL) to hide weapons, food and ammunition in the jungle. When the Japanese fleet entered Dore Bay on 12 April 1942, an armed militia of 62 persons–of which sixteen-year-old Coosje Ayal was a member–was already hiding there, led by KNIL captain . The militia remained in the jungle for thirty months. Ayal wore a soldier's uniform and learned how to handle a carbine and hand grenades, but also performed 'domestic tasks' such as cooking, mending clothes and caring for the wounded. The 17 surviving members of the group under KNIL sergeant were relieved by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

on 4 October 1944. Coosje Ayal's aunt had been among those killed by the Japanese. Ayal followed a nurse's training in Brisbane, Australia, as an infantrywoman in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Women's Corps and she was promoted to corporal. In Brisbane she also met the Dutch Caribbean soldier Henry Evers, whom she married in 1947. The family lived on Nusa Laut, in the Netherlands, and in the

Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...

. In 1964 they returned to the Netherlands, where Coosje Ayal first worked in a packaging factory and later founded her own catering company. From 1988 she received a Resistance pension. Ayal always took part in the National Remembrance 15 August 1945 and has often been interviewed about her experiences as part of the resistance group in New Guinea that managed to avoid the Japanese occupiers. She died on 28 March 2015 and was buried with military honors on 3 April with a service at the

Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk (; en, Great, or St. Lawrence Church) is a Protestant church in Rotterdam. It is the only remnant of the medieval city of Rotterdam. History The church was built between 1449 and 1525. In 1621 a wooden spire was added t ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

Honors

On 31 January 1946 Coosje Ayal received the Cross of Merit. In 1981, she received the

Resistance Memorial Cross The Resistance Memorial Cross or Resistance Commemorative Cross ( nl, Verzetsherdenkingskruis) is a medal awarded in the Netherlands to members of the Dutch resistance during the Second World War. The medal was instituted by Royal Decree (No. 104 ...

. In addition, Ayal received the

Mobilisation War Cross The Mobilisation War Cross (Dutch: ''Mobilisatie-Oorlogskruis'') is a Dutch medal awarded for service during World War II. Establishment and criteria The Mobilisation War Cross was established on 11 August 1948 by royal decree of Queen Wilhelmin ...

, the

Decoration for Order and Peace The Decoration for Order and Peace ( nl, Ereteken voor Orde en Vrede) is a military award of the Netherlands. The medal was established on 12 December 1947 by royal decree of Queen Wilhelmina. The medal commemorates at least three months of servic ...

, the

Wound Badge The Wound Badge (german: Verwundetenabzeichen) was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between th ...

, and the

Veteran's Badge The Veteran's Badge is a badge awarded by the Ministry of Defence to any person who served in the British Army, Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Air Force, Volunteer or Regular Reserves of the British Armed Forces. History In 2004, the Vetera ...

. On 17 March 2023 the ''Rembrandtweg'' in Ridderkerk was officially renamed to the ''Coosje Ayalstraat''.

Biography

Honors

See also

References

Further reading