Eef Vermeij retires: collection in the spotlight

Eef's work took him not only to the IISH, but also abroad. He spent a long time in Bangkok, Thailand. That was also where he discovered the collection that has stayed with him the most, a collection he would like to share with future generations of IISH'ers as a farewell gift. “When I talk about this collection, I get emotional. I already have a lump in my throat,” Eef says emotionally.

Say Hi to the Leaders

It is the ‘Say Hi to the Leaders Collection,’ a collection of some 1,098 post-it notes that were hung up during the Red Shirt protests in Bangkok in 2010 as a form of protest against political developments in Thailand. ”It had been turbulent in Bangkok for months. There were shootings, which also resulted in deaths. The protest moved to an intersection in the city center. I lived nearby, so I regularly visited to collect material and take photos,” Eef describes the situation.

“At one point, I saw a sign with the text 'Say hi to the leaders' written on it. There were pens and Post-its next to it. I immediately thought: someone has to collect this, because this is primary source material.” And so it happened: after the protest was violently broken up by the army, Eef and his assistant returned to the sign, which, to his surprise, was still there. “During the walk from my house, we picked up all kinds of things. When we got to the sign, there were four or five soldiers standing two meters away from it.”

Collecting the collection

But Eef didn't let that stop him. “I had tools with me and started dismantling the plastic signs. The soldiers looked a little surprised, but let us do our thing. It was only when we were fifty meters further on that an officer stopped us. He wanted all the items we had collected. At a moment like that, you have to play a bit of poker, so I gave him some other items and continued walking with the sign with the post-its.”

Then things got tense. “The officer started shouting at the soldiers standing a hundred meters away, but they were too far away to hear what he was saying. We just kept walking, greeted them politely, and left the area. Somehow, it all ended well.”

After this action, Eef's assistant made an inventory list of the post-its with English translations so that they could be included in the IISH collection. Several people have already researched them, both inside and outside Thailand. “The collection was taken off the streets and doesn't belong to anyone, but it would be nice if it could ever return to Thailand,” Eef hopes.

Sincerity and anger

The brightly colored post-its contain texts such as “Keep fighting. Don't give up to the government. I support you,” and “I wish all the Red leaders good health. Never back down, many people are supporting you. Keep on fighting from a police housewife in Bangkok.” Eef says, ”Every time I see this collection, I am moved by the sincerity and anger of the text on the post-it notes.”

If you have any questions for Eef about this collection, you can happily pull him aside in the coming months: in May and June, he will be training his successor at the IISH. He is keeping his plans for a trip to Asia after that under wraps for now: “There has to be something left to guess,” he concludes with a smile.

Click here to go to the “Say Hi to the Leaders Collection.”