Kawan-kawan yang baik, Ini essay saya dapat dari seorang kawan Kwik Han Bing, putra dari Prof. Kwik Hok Tiang, mengajar kimia di Univ. Airlangga. Memang Dr. Thio, seorang yang patut dihormati. Salam, Han Hwie-Song
From: "liechenie" <lieche...@shaw.ca> Date: January 5, 2010 10:18:03 PM PST To: "Han-Bing Kwik" <bing.k...@comcast.net> Subject: Fw: Dr. Thio Oen Bik Han Bing, Dit stuurde ik naar een oude klasgenoot van mij van de HBS die zelf dokter is en nu als gepensioneerd huisarts in Engeland woont. Hij is geinteresseerd in Overseas Chinese.Thio Oen Bik was een goede vriend van oom Sik Ien. Chen Ie T o wet your appetite about Overseas Chinese, I will send you this little story. Also because you are a doctor yourself. Thio Oen Bik was born in East Java. He studied medicine in Holland and finished about 1930.At that time a fight was brewing in the world. The battle against fascism was in full swing and in Europe the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1933. When volunteers were asked to defend the Spanish Republic against the Falangist forces of Franco, Thio Oen Bik joined the International Brigades comprising of volunteers of many nations to fight for democracy and liberty. He came to be detached to the Malinowsky batallion, commanded by Rodion Malinowsky, who later became the defense minister of the Soviet Union. For 3 years Thio Oen Bik was the batallion medical officer.After the victory of Franco in 1936, Thio Oen Bik and others had to be evacuated . He escaped to France and from there on to Rusia, looking for another theater of war to combat fascism. After a long journey he ended up in Yenan where Mao Tse Tung had his headquarters fighting both the Japanese and the KMT. There Thio Oen Bik was the doctor who assisted at the birth of the daughter of MTT and Chang Ching. After China's Independence in 1949. dr.Thio wanted to go home to join the fight for Indonesian independence. But by the time he arrived in Indonesia, Indonesia was already independent so he went into government service devoting his skills to public health.He remained devoted to the cause of helping the poor and remained simple and poor.At one point he lived in a simple atap hut with a gedek wall separating him from a swine pen Dr. Thio finally finished his career as director of a leprosy hospital in Ambon, true to his ideal of serving the people and the most unfortunate of mankind. He passed away sometime in 1970-1980 A true humanitarian and the best that Overseas Chinese can produce.We all should be proud of him. Chen Ie
