Tired building workers and rapidly growing trees are slowly taking over the colonial house. The two Villa next door have already been demolished.
‘This is where the new Sheraton will be,’ says Debby, a volunteer of the Medan Heritage Trust. 'First they demolish the back, as that’s still allowed by law.Then compromises are made behind closed doors.’ She sighs: ‘That’s corruption. Then the front walls go down too.’ Debby takes photos with her mobile phone, for the archive. It’s all she can do now. Demonstrations and petitions haven’t helped.
‘Our past gives us something special,’ Debby says. ‘If we can differentiate ourselves in some way, then it’s with our colonial architecture.’