By the end of 1945, the striking Indian seamen believed that their occupations and protests at the KPM offices and Indian High Commission had been very effective. They had followed the fear-mongering press coverage of the Battle of Surabaya, where Indonesians and sometimes Indians were represented as fanatical ‘extremists’ and anyone supporting them dismissed as ‘communists’. In response, they generated powerful images through press photos of the demonstrations and their appearances in the filming of Indonesia Calling!, which they hoped would carry their message across the Left and perhaps internationally. Their protests forced KPM to pay for much of the repatriation process and to promise them back pay to cover the strike. The Indian High Commissioner had also promised support and protection.

Some seamen had been deported very quickly. Abdul Rehman, for example, President of the Union and a high-profile leader of the Boycott, had been shipped out in mid-December 1945, while Mohammed Hanif, the Vice President, was among 135 Indians repatriated on the Mooltan in mid-January. Rehman wanted to see his young family, but he was also eager to return to Australia. He had been crucial in building the confidence of Indian seamen in the ISUiA and knew he still had important work to do.

For the others, repatriation had been promised in the New Year, as was pay for the period of the strike. They had also received promises that no retaliation would be exacted for their stand, which for them meant they would be protected against the power of the nully. They expected that there would be no negative reports on their CDCs and that they would not be discriminated against by either Dutch or British shipping companies in the future.

The December promises seemed to offer some stability, allowing the Union to get on with its core business of trying to get better wages and conditions. Campbell was making plans to travel to India to maintain his contacts with Indian seamen and unions, and expected to be in India for six months from November 1946.

As a group of seamen prepared to leave in early February, they held a dinner in honour of the Australian trade unionists who had worked so closely with them.