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Michiel Hoek
Oudemirdum, 14 maart 2006
Beste mensen,
Mijn naam is Michiel Hoek, een rasechte Hollander. Maar dit verhaal gaat in geen geval over mij, … maar over mijn broer in Ethiopia. Een éénling, een legende, … een menselijk produkt ontstaan door omstandigheden, … een mens gemaakt uit liefde, …. een persoon die is ontweken en waarvan zijn bestaan is verzwegen, …. het gaat over mijn bloedbroeder Daniel, die maar één doel heeft, …. OVERLEVEN!
Daniel is nu 41 jaar oud, en heeft een boek geschreven over zijn leven in Ethiopia.
Als er één persoon bestaat die zoveel ontberingen heeft doorstaan, … dan is dat mijn oudste broer Daniel.
Neem contact met mij op indien u interesse heeft zijn levensverhaal te vertalen en te publiceren, en ik zal een ontmoeting tussen u en mijn broer realiseren, … indien uw intentie oprecht is. Hierbij stuur ik u een samenvatting toe van zijn levensechte verleden, heden, … en toekomst, in de hoop enige interesse van uw kant te ontvangen. Zijn verhaal heb ik op 14 maart 2006 mogen ontvangen. Maak kennis met het Ethiopische straatleven, treinroven, liefde en bedrog, moord en de doodstraf, mededogen en … OVERLEVEN. Wie het eerst serieus en oprecht reageert, heeft deze primeur die alles in zich heeft om een bestseller te kunnen zijn, in handen. Andere surgesties of opmerkingen zijn ook welkom.
?DUTCH TIES THAT BIND?
- THE STORY OF DANIEL HOEK BY DANIEL HOEK
Summarized Account of the Story:
The book consists of six parts, with each part covering a period and segment of the author?s life. Each part of the book is comprised of several chapters. The narrative chronologically relates the periods from birth and early childhood through life on the street; which further progressed to petty crime during his early to late teens; then to more serious and daring acts of armed robbery, grand theft and murder as Daniel took to a life of crime in his early to late twenties. These activities often led to arrest and imprisonment. The bright side of this otherwise sordid story is the eventual re-union of the author with his family for the first time ? a forty-year odyssey that was realized while in prison on death row.
The following is a brief outline of the contents of each part of the book. Each part represents a different phase in the life of Daniel Hoek.
Part 1: Birth and Early Childhood
The setting is the 1960?s the decade of cultural change throughout the world. The author?s father, Pieter Hoek, a Dutch agriculturist comes to Ethiopia from the Netherlands as a member of a project start-up team to establish an integrated sugar plantation and factory.
1.1 The young Dutch agriculturist, Pieter Hoek, falls in love with a local girl while working at the newly established sugar factory.
1.2 One thing led to another and within the year a beautiful mixed race baby boy, Daniel, the author, was born. The mother and father both loved the baby boy and for a while, it appeared that the baby would grow-up in a normal family and have a wonderful life.
1.3 Within two years however, trouble started brewing. Pieter had to return to Holland. Despite his promise to send a flight ticket to enable his Ethiopian lover and child join him in Holland, once out of Ethiopia, he completely failed to contact them. This was a big disappointment for the young single mother. Pieter went back to his country and contracted a ?more suitable marriage? in Holland.
1.4 Because of financial difficulties and the cultural stigma attached to single motherhood, Wizero Bizunesh, Daniel?s mother, had no choice but to agree to repeated requests for marriage from someone who lived in her neighbourhood.
1.5 The new life with the step-father did not turn out well for the growing boy as the new man of the hose became increasingly abusive to both mother and child.
1.6 As a mixed race child, the young Daniel started becoming aware of how his peers, his abusive step-father and some other people within the community were abusing and tormenting him. Epithets and insults about his skin colour were thrown at him repeatedly, thereby creating huge emotional problems for the boy. From these initial experiences, the young boy started understanding that he did not belong in that environment, i.e., he began to fell a sense of rejection. Growing up without parental love and proper education, his young heart started questioning his racial identity coupled with a burning desire to find out about his biological father, a consummate quest that was to last for several decades.
1.7 Armed with some information from his mother about his absentee Dutch father who had abandoned him, the irrepressible boy undertook a 100-kilometer journey on foot, and walked from Nazareth to Addis Ababa; destination ? Royal Netherlands Embassy. The nine-year old Daniel reasoned that the best place to search for his father would be the Dutch Embassy, whereupon on getting there, he contrived to stay by lying to the Embassy staff; telling them that his Dutch father was in Holland and that his Ethiopian mother was dead. By fabricating this pitiful story, the young Daniel managed to stay at the Royal Netherlands Embassy for about three months living in decent surroundings where he was well taken care of. However, this good life was not to last for long, because his love-sick mother, who was very worried about his disappearance, somehow managed to discover his whereabouts and came to the Embassy to fetch him.
Part 2: Street Life ? Juvenile Delinquency & Crime
2.1 Once back home in Nazareth, the physical abuse by his unloving and insufferable step-father continued without relent even as the helpless mother tried in vain to defend and protect her son. His step-father, after finding him at the cinema on one occasion, accused him of stealing one Birr (then equivalent to about one US Dollar), shackled his hands together, beat him up mercilessly and punished him by burning his hands with fire. After this harsh punishment, Daniel then ran away from home in order to avoid any further abuse and torture.
2.2 On running away from home in Nazareth, young Daniel lived on the street and effectively became a homeless street waif living on verandahs (?Verandah Boy?), scavenging for food from garbage bins and managed to survive sleeping on verandah?s and side-walks.
2.3 After nearly one month of surviving in Nazareth as a street boy, Daniel then moved to Dire Dawa, a railway town about 400 kilometres to the south-east of Nazareth. As a street smart urchin, Daniel started maturing, usually hanging around restaurants and hotels and ate left-over food. Daniel also started working as a casual labourer, doing any odd jobs that he could find.
2.4 As the boy was maturing in life and age, his next stop was Addis Ababa, the capital city, where life seemed to offer better opportunities. There he honed his street survival skills and started petty theft around the train station.
2.5 Life around the train station became interesting and stealing of goods from the freight trains became exciting and at the same time offered a financially rewarding line of work. This led to regular train robberies.
Part 3: Train Robbery
The railroad that runs from Addis Ababa to Djibouti is traveled by old diesel locomotives which carry import and export freight items to and from the port of Djibouti to Addis Ababa and vice versa. These old locomotives are slow moving and traveled at night.
3.1 Daniel having gained sufficient experience on how the trains operated along the Ethio-Djibouti railroad, now forms a robbery gang which was comprised of other tough and experienced young boys and makes himself the leader of the gang.
3.2 Train robberies were planned during the day time and executed at night. Over time the loot became bigger and the robbery increasingly daring.
3.3 Some of the gang members easily boarded the slow moving trains, and at designated spots unloaded cargo by pushing them over while other gang members waited to collect the looted items and take them to their hide-out.
3.4 While roughing up train drivers and sometime passengers was quite common, killing was not part of the plan.
3.5 Accidental deaths of the some gang members were not uncommon during some robberies.
3.6 With money flowing in, Daniel and his gang started spending money on booze and women, and started living riotously. The boisterous night life became a regular part of their criminal lifestyle and quite enjoyable too.
3.7 Despite all the ?successes? from his criminal endeavours, Daniel became increasingly restive and wanted to find his father. He organized kids of similar mixed-race background and formed an association.
3.8 He made yet another attempt at the Dutch Embassy demanding this time not only to go and meet his father but also a Dutch citizenship. He created a scene by organizing a demonstration in front of the Embassy with the help of the other mixed-race kids that he had recruited for the purpose.
3.9 On another occasion, he scaled the walls of the Embassy and managed to elude the guards and the security system of the Embassy, and broke into the Ambassador?s residence where he physically assaulted the Ambassador and his wife. This incident led to his arrest.
3.10 Daniel made yet another attempt to go to Holland to search for his biological father by posing as a business man and tried to secure a visa to go to the Netherlands directly or indirectly through a another European country. As soon as the visa applicant was recognized from his past behaviour, the Embassy not only refused to grant him a visa, but also stamped an uncomplimentary remark on his passport.
Part 4: Trip to Eastern Europe
4.1 Posing as a business traveler, Daniel then went to the Belgian Embassy and applied for a visa hoping that if he managed to get to Belgium, he could travel freely within the Benelux area and go to the Netherlands by train. Again his visa application was denied as soon as the Belgian consular officials saw the remark that was stamped on his passport by the Dutch Embassy.
4.2 Daniel then secures another passport and tries at the Bulgarian Embassy where he was successful and got a visa.
4.3 Daniel flew to Sofia and then traveled to Bucharest, Romania by train, where he encountered serious problems with the Romanians authorities on account of language difficulties.
4.4 Arrested as a suspected terrorist, Daniel was sent back to Sofia where he was imprisoned for three months and deported to Ethiopia.
4.5 Not one to give up easily, Daniel sets out for Khartoum in the Sudan with the hope of getting into Libya where he thought it would be quite easy to slip into Europe.
4.6 The war-torn Sudan also proved to be more difficult than envisaged. Daniel had to travel through battlefields and encounter combatants. He was again arrested by the Sudanese authorities and sent back to Ethiopia.
4.7 Once back in Addis Ababa, Daniel went back to the Dutch Embassy. He again scaled the walls of the Embassy compound and managed to gain entrance to the Ambassador?s residence, where at gunpoint he was able to extract a promise form the Ambassador to meet him in town.
4.8 They met at the Ghion hotel where the Ambassador told Daniel that the Embassy had always refused to give him a Dutch visa because, after referring Daniel?s case to Pieter Hoek, his putative father had denied fathering a son in Ethiopia. Thus, without the tacit approval of Pieter Hoek, there was no way the Dutch Embassy could provide him with a visa or Dutch passport for that matter. Following this interaction Daniel became dejected and depressed. It was a big and quite unexpected disappointment for him. Daniel then went back to Nazareth, the town of his birth.
Part 5: More Crime and Prison
5.1 Daniel now back to a familiar environment of friends and relatives, starts illegal dealings which inevitably lead to a difficult life in prison.
5.2 Daniel teams up with others and becomes involved in smuggling contraband from the neighbouring Somaliland to Dire Dawa.
5.3 Problem brews with friends and fighting starts within the group because Daniel felt that he was cheated out of some a huge sum of money, the proceeds from an illegal foreign exchange deal involving fake currency. Daniel was arrested in the Kenyan border and spent time in detention. On his release, Daniel?s partner refused to give him his share of the money. After entreating his partner to no avail, other people got involved in the altercation and violence erupts. Daniel armed after arming himself with a pistol and some grenades, attempted once more to get his money, and after every attempt at talking things over failed, Daniel then hurled a grenade which caused a huge devastation, and also shot his opponent. An innocent person is killed unintentionally by the grenade blast. This leads to Daniel?s arrest and detention in prison custody. Daniel is refused bail, and thus ends up in Addis Ababa Central Prison.
5.4 Daniel experiences a rough time in prison. Fights break out regularly amongst the prison inmates and between the inmates and sadistic prison guards, with Daniel often involved in these fights. Daniel soon gains the reputation of a skilful and fearless fighter, and because of this, is rightly tagged as the number one trouble maker within the prison. This required that he was closely watched by the prison authorities and frequently implicated in one misdeed or the other. This earned him regular punishment in solitary confinement.
5.5 In 2000 there was an attempted breakout from prison by some inmates who had served in Special Commando Forces of the former Communist regime in Ethiopia. These prisoners attempted a daring escape in broad daylight by overcoming the guards and arming themselves with rifles. Using the cover of a rainstorm, these dare-devil prisoners attempted their breakout. A gun battle ensued and at the end of the fire-fight, the seven prisoners who attempted the escape were killed along with some prison guards.
5.6 Daniel was unfortunately identified as a culprit in the prison escape attempt that resulted in the bloody gunfight and clash with prison guards; he was chained and thrown into a dark room in solitary confinement for three months. After the period of solitary confinement was over, he was restricted to a maximum security area.
5.7 Because of his reputation as a trouble maker, Daniel was regularly implicated in prison riots and other problems that occurred in the prison. In 2002 he was taken along with several hundred inmates to a remote area where he was beaten up seriously after which he was kept in horrible conditions for months.
Part 6: Sea Change in Prison and Hope
Setting is Addis Ababa Central Prison, the largest prison in the country with over 5000 inmates milling around. A new set of events take place and Daniel is about to turn a new leaf and a new beginning in life.
6.1 Daniel was put in a cell with some Nigerians who are born again Christians. These born-again prisoners regularly hold Bible reading and prayer fellowship meetings. Daniel started attending some of these meetings and listed to sermons regularly and a gradual change began to take place in his life, especially his behaviour. He gave up most of his old habits, stopped quarrelling and fighting, and actually started making a conscious effort to change his personality and conduct within the prison. Daniel credits the preaching of these Nigerian born-again as the reason for changing his life. As Daniel started straightening up his life, he decided to resume the quest for his father, this time, based on a different strategy.
6.2 With the help of the Red Cross and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Daniel managed to locate his father, Pieter Hoek, who by now was living in Pretoria, South Africa. Pieter was not disposed to providing his residential address, but only used a post office box number in his reply. He sent Daniel a one hundred South African Rand currency note and wanted to know what crime Daniel had committed why he was imprisoned. Daniel wrote back to say that he had killed somebody. Pieter Hoek broke off any further contacts.
6.3 Daniel wrote some twenty or so letters to Pieter Hoek that went unanswered. The rude and threatening tone conveyed in the letters did not help matters as Pieter Hoek became afraid that this ?stranger?, the putative son that he never knew might come over to South Africa and kill him. Daniel then became bolder in his overtures and even started asking Pieter Hoek if he had any other children. Apparently, Daniel?s earnest desire to know about his siblings and his step-mother must have caused a lot of sleepless nights for Pieter Hoek, who wanted old ghosts to remain in the past. Pieter Hoek became un-cooperative and refused to discuss anything with Daniel.
6.4 Daniel, not one to give up easily, continued his search for possible siblings using the family name as basis for linking up with possible relatives. After a lot of help from Christian groups based in America, Daniel was able to locate a Michael Hoek in the Netherlands and established contact with him. Michael Hoek then wanted to find out from his father, Pieter Hoek, whether he had a long lost brother somewhere in Africa. Pieter Hoek denied having ever fathered a son while in Ethiopia. Daniel then sent some pictures of Pieter Hoek as a young man to Michael Hoek, and it turned out that these pictures were quite convincing. Michael discussed these developments with his family members in Holland, but Pieter Hoek continued to be obstinate in denials and would not readily admit to ever having fathered a son in Ethiopia about four decades ago.
6.5 Meanwhile, Michael became generous towards Daniel and started sending money, clothes and other gifts, in addition to other morale boosting letters and photographs. To resolve the matter definitely, Michael proposed a DNA test, with the proviso that if the tests turned out negative, all relations and communications would be stopped. Daniel agreed to the proposal. Michael paid for a lawyer in Addis Ababa to arrange for the collection of necessary samples required for the scientific tests to be conducted in Holland. After the DNA testing was done, the results were positive. Michael Hoek then confronted Pieter Hoek with the facts, and it was at this stage that his father then finally admitted that he had indeed fathered a son in Ethiopia, and had kept the fact secret for the family?s sake. However, the members of the Hoek family in Holland were glad to have a new family member added to their number.
6.6 With the genetic testing conforming the ties of consanguinity, Michael Hoek then continued his communications with Daniel and decided to come down to Ethiopia to visit Daniel in prison. (Daniel had deliberately not divulged the fact that he had been sentenced to death for murder, and that he was presently on death row, awaiting execution.) When Michael came to Ethiopia, the brothers had a very happy re-union, after which Daniel revealed his true situation to Michael. Michael was undaunted by the sad revelation and obtained the services of an expensive lawyer to help Daniel. This was quite helpful and they managed to lodge a successful appeal at the Federal Supreme Court and were able to get Daniel?s death sentence commuted to life imprisonment.
6.7 In the interim, Michael continues to provide material and financial support to Daniel by sending money, clothes and other supplies regularly to Daniel from Holland. Michael also arranged for a TV crew from South Africa to shoot and produce a documentary on Daniel?s life story.
6.8 Daniel has already served eleven years of his life sentence and shall be eligible for release or parole after serving a total of twenty-five years. Presently, Daniel is a changed person, a born-again Christian who attributes the sea change in his life to Jesus Christ, who he now confesses as his Lord and personal Saviour; and by whose miracle and faithful intervention, he credits the successful search for members of his family and the eventual re-union with them. Daniel now considers himself a happy man, and is content with his circumstances and now occupies himself with writing his autobiography and translating interesting books on psychology and morality into Amharic, the lingua franca of Ethiopia. Daniel hopes that by these activities, the youth might be able to learn something from his tumultuous life, and change from a life of crime to more productive ways.
Met vriendelijke groeten,
Michiel Hoek // Oudemirdum (The Netherlands)
