Mi Tori (My Story)
Wan Pikin’ Tori (Short version)
Odi Odi! My name is Jonathan Robert Sutrisno Tjien Fooh, but you can call me Jona! I am a re-searcher, poet, writer, and community organizer born and raised in Suriname, currently based in Amsterdam. My way of moving through the world is shaped by Suriname’s diverse ‘Alakondre’ (melting pot) identity, the enduring spirit of the Amazone rainforest, Caribbean winds and the collective history of colonial oppression she carries. My work is rooted in untangling various systems of exclusion and oppression, channeling storytelling as a medium for connection, resistance, liberation, and healing. Academically, I have a Psychology (BSc) background from the Anton de Kom University of Suriname and Cultural Anthropology: Sustainable Citizenship (MSc) from Utrecht University. Both in my poetry and re-search, I am inspired by decolonial, feminist and queer ways of knowing and looking at the world, remixing and collaging everyday personal stories with mythology, ancestral knowledge, history, and critical reflections.
A Langabere Tori (Longer version)
Telling stories has always been an essential part of my life. It runs through my veins, my culture, my being. Both of my grandfathers were storytellers in their own way; one a photographer and the other an artist and gamelan player. In Surinamese cultures, stories are often told through dance, music, or poetry to pass down knowledge and wisdom from one generation to the other. Stories also give movement to resistance and activism. Being conscious of this lineage, and knowing that when I speak, my ancestors speak through me, fuels me to breathe life to erased (hi)stories through re-search and storytelling.
So, am I a storyteller or re-searcher? I’ve always felt a pull between my academic pursuits and my creative expression. For a long time, I struggled to combine the two, as they felt like separate parts of my identity. But over time, I’ve learned to embrace a more fluid approach, seeing my ability to weave both academic re-search and artistic storytelling as a strength rather than a conflict. Through this, I’ve come to resist binary thinking, allowing myself to explore intersections where intellect meets emotion, and where re-search becomes art.
Currently I’m doing research about historical and intergenerational trauma, perspectives on healing and the role of Javanese ways of storytelling in the context of indentured labour and the impact of colonialism on the Javanese-Surinamese community in Suriname and the Netherlands. This research is part of the Re/Presenting Europe Project: Healing the Afterlives of Colonialism and my work at Athena Institute (VU Amsterdam).
My previous re-search explored themes related to the meaning of rukun and wellbeing in the lives of Javanese women in Suriname, arts-based research, queerness, identity, migration, and the politics of belonging.
In 2015, I published the children’s book ‘De Magische Tuin van Mbah Semie’ (The Magical Garden of Grandma Semie), inspired by Javanese-Suriname culture and mythology.
I also worked as a writer and translator on the oral history project ‘Geheugen van Noord Commewijne’ (Memory of Noord Commewijne). As a spoken word artist & poet, I perform and write curated pieces for exhibitions, (community) events and talkshows.