Ethnic Chinese at the ready for quick escape<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Anecdotal evidence shows thousands of Chinese-
\nIndonesian families in the capital have prepared themselves to
\npack up and head to more accommodating shores at the first sign
\nof renewed unrest.<\/p>\n
With passports up-to-date and in hand, the families said last
\nmonth's riots taught them a valuable but painful lesson about
\ntheir acute vulnerability in this society.<\/p>\n
\"My relatives and most of my students keep their passports
\nwith them so they can flee as soon as a new riot takes place,\"
\nEdison Yulius, a lecturer of architecture at Tarumanegara
\nUniversity here, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.<\/p>\n
The families, he said, were kept on tenterhooks that more
\nriots may break out in the next few days.<\/p>\n
In a desperate bid to offload their belongings and get quick
\ncash, some are reportedly offering houses, vehicles and furniture
\nat low prices.<\/p>\n
Temporary<\/p>\n
Preferred destinations for temporary refuge are Singapore,
\nMalaysia and Hong Kong, which require no visas.<\/p>\n
\"If another violent riot happens again, I'll immediately rush
\nto the airport with my two teenage daughters and leave all our
\nbelongings behind,\" avowed housewife Liliek of Jelambar, West
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
She said she knew of hundreds of families, neighbors and
\nfriends who shared a similar strategy to get out.<\/p>\n
\"It's no use to stay and defend our shop or house only to face
\nan endless horrifying nightmare.\"<\/p>\n
She told of a couple undergoing treatment at Bhakti Husada
\nHospital for deep psychological trauma.<\/p>\n
They could not bear to face the reality of the deaths of their
\nthree teenage daughters at the family's shop at Glodok business
\ncenter in West Jakarta on May 13.<\/p>\n
\"Two of the girls threw themselves into the fire that gutted
\nthe shop after they failed to help their youngest sister, who was
\ngang raped by a mob,\" Liliek recounted.<\/p>\n
Distraught, the young girl followed her sisters by jumping
\ninto the fire from the second floor of the building.<\/p>\n
\"Their parents are in a deep shock from this tragedy which
\ntook their only children, and they refuse to communicate with
\nanybody,\" Liliek explained.<\/p>\n
\"The lesson of the family's grim suffering and many other bad
\nexperiences during last month's riots are more than enough for
\nus.\"<\/p>\n
Liliek said she quickly took her two teenage daughters to the
\nlocal immigration office to obtain passports because she did not
\nwant her children to be victims in any future riots.<\/p>\n
\"My eldest daughter told me how her friends were stripped
\nnaked by mobs during the recent riots. They were not raped but
\nthe mobs brutally groped their breasts.\"<\/p>\n
Her family lived in constant fear until their passports were
\ncompleted last week.<\/p>\n
\"At least, we have a plan for survival,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Hard decision<\/p>\n
Last week, the Forum of Reform Entrepreneurs revealed that
\nabout 110,000 Chinese-Indonesian families had left the country
\nsince the riots erupted.<\/p>\n
About 80,000 of the families planned to return if the
\npolitical and security situation stabilized, 20,000 were still
\nundecided, and the remaining 10,000 had decided to move to
\nSingapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong, the group's spokesperson Nazar
\nHaroen said.<\/p>\n
Deep concern prevails in the Chinese-Indonesian community over
\nthe future, and for good reason.<\/p>\n
Ethnic Chinese are the usual target for mob violence during
\ntimes of hardship in Indonesia for their perceived wealth.<\/p>\n
They make up 4 percent of the more than 200 million population
\nbut reportedly control about 70 percent of the trade and commerce
\nthrough the vast archipelago. Economic recovery for the country
\nalso involves drawing them, and their business, back.<\/p>\n
Despite the resentment and hostility against them, many
\nChinese-Indonesians are quick to point out that this is the only
\nland they have ever known.<\/p>\n
\"The decision to prepare to leave Indonesia, the country where
\nwe were born and grew up, is not an easy choice,\" said Oin Yang
\nMin Tze of South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"My shop and belongings have all been looted and burned. I
\nstill owe so many people but cannot afford to pay them. I even
\nhave to struggle for my family's daily needs.\"<\/p>\n
Still, he is preparing for the worst.<\/p>\n
\"I spent the only money we had after the riots to make
\npassports for me, my wife and my two daughters.\"<\/p>\n
Oin Yang and his family plan to fly to mainland China or the
\nUnited States, where his brothers are enthusiastically waiting
\nfor his family's arrival.<\/p>\n
\"But I hope our plan will not become a reality,\" he whispered.
\n(bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ethnic-chinese-at-the-ready-for-quick-escape-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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