Chinese in Singkawang support family planning<\/p>\n
Text and photos by Lewa Pardomuan<\/p>\n
SINGKAWANG, W. Kalimantan (JP): An old Chinese saying states,
\n"The more children you have the wealthier you will be."<\/p>\n
Although most Indonesians now believe that a small family has
\ntwo children, the Indonesian-Chinese in Singkawang and the
\nneighboring districts prefer to have three or four children. They
\nsay that having only two does not seem to be enough.<\/p>\n
Now that the idea is gradually disappearing, many Indonesians
\nof Chinese descent believe that the more children they have the
\nmore suffering they will face.<\/p>\n
The new view has flourished among the people following their
\nacceptance of the birth control program which was for a long time
\nregarded as taboo.<\/p>\n
A popular belief, "Problems behind mosquito nets are the
\nbusiness of husbands and wives," has also lost its meaning.<\/p>\n
Hardship is among the factors which has made the Chinese here
\nthink twice before deciding to have big families. Having a small
\nfamily means better education and food for the children.<\/p>\n
The people, long known for their reluctance to use birth
\ncontrol, have turned out to be the active participants in the
\ngovernment sponsored Family Parenthood Program.<\/p>\n
The Chinese living in Singkawang, the capital of Sambas
\nregency, constitute 54 percent of the 75,000 population. The
\naffluent are found in business offices, shops and markets, while
\nthe poor work at the pepper, rubber and orange plantations, are
\nfishermen or work for timber companies, and mainly live on the
\noutskirts or in the villages.<\/p>\n
About 70 percent of the Chinese in Sambas have jobs other than
\ntrading.<\/p>\n
In West Kalimantan, the Chinese make up 14 percent of the
\npopulation and are regarded as indigenous along with the Dayak
\n(41 percent) and Malay (39 percent).<\/p>\n
The people's participation in the program in 13 districts in
\nSambas regency ranges between 20 percents and 75 percent of the
\nIndonesian-Chinese in each area.<\/p>\n
Abdul Gafar, field coordinator of the Sambas office of the
\nNational Family Planning Coordination Board (BKKBN) told The
\nJakarta Post recently that the authorities did not coerce the
\nChinese into taking part in the birth control program.<\/p>\n
"There is no intention to restrict the number of Indonesian-
\nChinese here, just to stop them from doing business," he said.<\/p>\n
Funeral<\/p>\n
Gafar said that the program entered Singkawang as early as
\n1974 but it was not until 1987 that the Chinese were approached.<\/p>\n
With special programs, the office intensified its efforts in
\n1990 to encourage the people to join the family planning program.
\nThe office allocates Rp 350,000 each year to organize the annual
\nmeeting.<\/p>\n
BKKBN approached funeral agencies for permission to use their
\npremises as meeting places because of the population's deference
\nto them.<\/p>\n
Gafar said the campaigns used to receive lukewarm response
\nbecause the Chinese claimed that they did not have time to leave
\ntheir businesses, but when the funeral agencies became involved
\nthe response improved, he said.<\/p>\n
The people's high respect for the funeral agencies is obvious
\nbecause those who can't attend the meeting are willing to pay a
\nkind of "fine", he added.<\/p>\n
He said that language problems have also been overcome by
\ninvolving campaigners of Chinese descent especially when
\norganizing in the rural areas.<\/p>\n
Gafar said that the involvement of the Chinese in the campaign
\nhad been proven to be effective. In the past, the non-Chinese
\ncampaigners who organized door-to-door campaigns were often
\nmistaken as tax collectors, he added.<\/p>\n
He said the younger people are also encouraged to be better
\ninformed by organizing speech contests about family planning.<\/p>\n
Lili Bastian, a trained midwife who is also a campaigner, said
\nthat in the past many women believed that contraception pills or
\ninjections would cause womb cancer. Now that the people's
\nknowledge of the family planning program is better, such fears
\nhave disappeared.<\/p>\n
Lili, herself a Chinese-descendant, acknowledged that the
\nhusband's parents also played an important role in the decision
\non whether their daughter-in-laws should take part in the program
\nbecause many couples still live with their parents.<\/p>\n
"Not many fall into this category because many have become
\nindependent," she added.<\/p>\n
Lili said that the campaigns also aim to change husbands'
\nworry that sterilization would create a kind of "emptiness" when
\nhaving sex with their wives.<\/p>\n
Bong Cin Nen, a young campaigner, said that the door-to-door
\ncampaigns were the most effective way to introduce the family
\nplanning program to the local people. These campaigns, he said,
\nenable the campaigners and the people to have a thorough
\ndiscussion about the program.<\/p>\n
Bong said that fathers must also be convinced about the
\nbenefit of taking part in the program because they also have a
\nsay in every decision involving family life.<\/p>\n
Important<\/p>\n
Bong, who graduated from senior high school in 1987, said the
\nfact that many Chinese in the regency are poor was why birth
\ncontrol was deemed necessary.<\/p>\n
Bong Wui Kong, a member of the Sambas Council, told the Post
\nthat the family planning program was a success. The prevailing
\nproblem, he said, was how to reach the people living in the rural
\nareas who could not attend the campaign because they work all
\nday.<\/p>\n
Some people in rural areas still believe that using
\ncontraception is taboo and that unscrupulous officials often
\novercharge the program participants, he added.<\/p>\n
Lili explained that sterilization was among the birth control
\nmethods used in the program, but said that it was only encouraged
\nfor women of a certain age who have certain number of children.
\nShe said that injection, intra-uterine device (IUD) and the pill
\nare the most popular means of birth control.<\/p>\n
She said that the pill is the favorite because injection
\nsometimes led to bleeding while IUDs can be painful.<\/p>\n
Lili said that family planning here could mean having four
\nchildren rather than the recommended two.<\/p>\n
"Having two children is often considered not sufficient. The
\npeople think that it would be better for them to have three or
\nfour because if one of the children dies they still have the
\nothers," she said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/chinese-in-singkawang-support-family-planning-1447893297",
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