I received a registered letter 24 hours before reporting to a building near the railway station to bring one suitcase and that you would be resettled in the west. I gathered my clothes into one bag, and I packed everything to be ready to go. I cleaned the house and made sure everything is neat and clean. I arrived at the Jakarta train station with my son and daughter, and some 20 railway cars were waiting for us. There 70 to 80 people in a car. After a while, there was a muffled sound of closing latches... the doors were shut, leaving us in total darkness. The grills, too, were closed to prevent escape. Air entered only through the cracks. The whistle blew, and the train started moving slowly. So, we traveled for 72 hours without food or water. We were hungry and thirsty. There is no room to sit in. To make room, we were forced to stand with our hands above our heads... There was water pale for use as a disposal container for human waste. I looked out the window, and I saw the full moon. The train stopped suddenly, and the car jerked forward, and we screamed and fell to the floor. I got up, and people were asking:
Woman: What's going on??
Man: What's happening??
Then, I heard shouting in German:
Guard 1: "Offne die Tur". Open the door!!
Then, another guard with a semi-automatic rifle pointed the gun at us.
Guard 2: "Wir wählen zwanzig von Ihnen aus und steigen aus dem Waggon." We are going to select twenty of you and you are going to get off the train car, he thought to himself.
They made their selection and then closed the door and shouted outside the locked door:
Guard: "Zieh dich aus, gib mir dein Gepäck und knie jetzt auf den Boden!!" Take off your clothes and give me your luggage and kneel on the ground now!!
There was silence, and then there was the sound of shooting and people screaming and groaning. I knew that they are going to get shot and left for dead. Then, the train slowly started to move again. The people in the car with me were shaking and praying to God for Him to save them, but where is He? I didn't know where he had gone off too. It has been several hours, and I've started to smell something rotting. Like burning flesh...I looked out the window from the train and saw smoke coming from under it; I heard a noise in the distance. It was the camp. We all screamed and cried. The train stopped, and the guards unlocked the door and yelled and screamed at us.
Arrival: Camp Celebration.
We came to a big hall...
Guard: GET UNDRESSED! LEAVE ALL OF YOUR VALUABLES BEHIND AND LINE UP AGAINST THE WALL!!!
They yelled at us, and we had to drop everything that we had and do what they say. I was at the time with my friend Marcel Pembrooke and with my son and daughter. They took from us our papers, our clothing, and our hair.
Marcel Pembrooke: Psst. Hey Hey, what-what's going on, Elias??
Elias Walker: Don't worry. We'll figure it out. Just stick next to me.
We were cold, and we were scared.
Marcel Pembrooke: If they brought us here, they'd put us to work. They're not ready to kill us yet.
Elias Walker: But, what about our Family-
Guard: SHUT UP WORTHLESS THING!! GET TO THE BATH-HOUSE NOW!! GIVE ME THOSE CHILDREN!!
Elias Walker: NO!! NO!! PLEASE NOT MY CHILDREN!! PLEASE!!
They took my children away from me. They took my Silas and my Danka. I never saw them again... I cried while the guard took my children away, we had to go, we had to run. We jogged around the camp to get to the Bathhouse. They ran us there; we saw people collapse, and they would shoot them on the spot.
