King's 'Dream' fits for Chinese-Indonesians<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Today, the issue of racial discrimination
\nanywhere in the world seems to be inseparable from Martin Luther
\nKing's speech delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in
\nWashington D.C. on Aug. 28, 1963.<\/p>\n
Although there is a marked difference in terms of economic
\nstatus and political history between the Chinese in Indonesia and
\nthe African-Americans in the United States, it is still relevant
\nto refer to King's I have a Dream speech.<\/p>\n
The issue is that discrimination based on race breeds racial
\nprejudices that lead to ethnic tensions, and it does not matter
\nwhether the race in question is of high, middle or low economic
\nstatus. However, it is certainly those of the lower economic
\nstrata that feel the burden of the discrimination.<\/p>\n
Many Chinese-Indonesians have a dream much like King's. They,
\ntoo, dream that one day right down in Cengkareng, West Jakarta,
\nlittle pribumi (indigenous) boys and Chinese-Indonesian girls
\nwill be able to join hands with little Chinese-Indonesian boys
\nand pribumi girls as sisters and brothers. They too dream that
\ntheir little children will one day live as a nation where they
\nwill not be judged by the color of their skin but by their
\ncharacter.<\/p>\n
One day, a well-respected Indonesian businessman, who has
\ndeveloped a successful housing complex on the outskirts of
\nJakarta, said he hoped that the community around the complex
\nwould also be able to enjoy the benefits of the facilities that
\nhe has built, which included a shopping mall, schools, a
\nuniversity, a hospital and other facilities.<\/p>\n
He wanted to pour back his profits into the community. He
\nwanted to show people in the community that the Chinese also
\nwanted to provide the local community with the benefits of the
\npublic facilities, and that the Chinese were not merely
\ninterested in making money.<\/p>\n
Although to some it may sound like he was perpetuating racial
\ntendencies, what he actually hoped was that the racially biased
\nperception of the Chinese would change.<\/p>\n
During the mid-May riots, this businessman's shopping mall was
\ncompletely looted and heavily damaged by mobs more than 1,000
\nstrong. Structural cracks can be seen on the walls of the many
\nparts of the mall that were burned. Most, if not all, of the
\nshops in the mall were also destroyed and looted.<\/p>\n
It will take a fortune to restore the mall to its former
\nglory, but that is perhaps the easiest part of rebuilding the
\nbusiness. It will also take great courage for the shop owners to
\nopen their businesses once again. Yet, despite the damage, the
\nmall will be repaired. This shows that the dream of the Chinese-
\nIndonesians remains in their hearts and souls.<\/p>\n
Even a poor Chinese-Indonesian in the Central Java town of
\nSurakarta (one of the areas worst hit by the riots), who lost her
\nsmall shophouse during the violent unrest, still has a dream that
\nsomeday, little Indonesian boys and girls of Chinese descent will
\nbe able to join hands with little pribumi boys and girls as true
\nsisters and brothers.<\/p>\n
She is also dreaming that the Chinese will no longer be judged
\nby the color of their skin or the squint of their eyes, but by
\ntheir character. However, perhaps at the moment she has no choice
\nbut to continue to imagine this hopeful dream.<\/p>\n
-- Amir Sidharta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kings-dream-fits-for-chinese-indonesians-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }