Chinese descendants<\/p>\n
Many people took a break during the recent tense atmosphere to
\nwatch the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup on TV.<\/p>\n
Indonesians, no matter what background or ethnic group all
\ncheered for the red and white flag. Everyone embraced the proud
\nfeeling, seeing our young players, either Chinese descendants or
\nindigenous Indonesians, unruffled by opponents, simply doing
\ntheir best to bring glory to our country. At the same time, one
\ncan not help ponder on the injustice that many Indonesian Chinese
\nhave suffered in the last week.<\/p>\n
Despite the fact that many Chinese descendants donated a lot
\nof basic staples to the needy over the past few months, the most
\nransacked areas in last week's riots were those of Chinese
\ncommunities.<\/p>\n
Following the government policy for unity, Chinese schools
\nwere banned decades ago. This alone will not change the
\nappearance of Chinese. After years of Indonesian education,
\nspeaking Indonesian as their mother tongue, Chinese descendants
\nwere still treated differently.<\/p>\n
According to an eye witness account at the airport during the
\nriots' boiling point May 14, rioters stripped naked a Chinese
\ngirl at Glodok. Others recounted that rioters forced
\nmotorcyclists to take off helmets to check their race. In some
\nareas, looters only targeted houses of Chinese. This kind of news
\nreport has greatly shaken the confidence of both Indonesian and
\nforeign investors.<\/p>\n
With many foreign embassies evacuating their citizens,
\ntogether with the temporary closure of long-time established
\ncompanies, we probably can expect another imminent capital
\nflight. At a time when the economy's recovery is needed most, we
\ncan expect that it will take a longer time for capital to return.<\/p>\n
While economists say that the monetary crisis will take three
\nto five years to recover, the current chaos has certainly
\nexacerbated investors' fears.<\/p>\n
While lamenting last week's incident, one cannot help
\ncontemplate on how to avoid this from happening again.<\/p>\n
People perceive that one of the reasons for rancor toward
\nChinese is economic disparity. Many tend to think that all
\nChinese are rich. The fact is the wealthy ones are only a
\nminority. There are more Indonesians of Chinese descent who live
\nlike ordinary people or even worse, in grinding poverty.<\/p>\n
Why do people have the wrong perception of Chinese?<\/p>\n
The minority of wealthy Chinese needs to introspect their own
\nextravagant lifestyle while a lot of others are in hunger.<\/p>\n
Another factor of prejudice towards Chinese is the cultural
\ndifferences. But this requires both sides' efforts to obtain a
\npeaceful solution. We must learn to accept and tolerate our
\nneighbors' different rituals to avoid misunderstanding. Haven't
\nthe tragedies of Bosnia and Rwanda taught us anything?<\/p>\n
In order to advocate mutual tolerance and understanding, we
\nmust also ask: \"Did the government do enough in respect of this
\nmatter?\"<\/p>\n
The government should remind the people of the role that
\nminorities have played in the construction of our country.<\/p>\n
Didn't Chinese descendants stand side by side with Indonesians
\nto shed their blood and sacrifice their lives in the independence
\nwar against the Japanese and the Dutch?<\/p>\n
How about building the economy in the past 30 years? Didn't
\nthe Chinese shed as much sweat to put Indonesia in the spotlight
\nof the international community? Today, while Indonesia suffers
\nits monetary woes, aren't Indonesian Chinese tormented as well?<\/p>\n
Although we cannot reverse what has happened in the past week,
\nwe should hope that the situation will ease, that foreigners will
\ncome back and the monetary crisis will be over.<\/p>\n
When the time comes, we urge the government to devote more
\nstrength to the agenda for \"minority problem\" and bring real
\nharmony to our society.<\/p>\n
CHEN HSUEH CHUANG<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/chinese-descendants-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }