Learn to respect others<\/p>\n
Since the May riots I have been following with interest the
\nletters and articles that have been published in The Jakarta Post
\nand have noted that not one pribumi, or indigenous person, has
\nactually apologized for the barbaric acts committed by the
\npeople. Instead letters of justification have poured in.<\/p>\n
The most appalling article was the one by Masli Arman printed
\non July 30.<\/p>\n
Do we really think that we can generalize and say that all
\nChinese are bad just because a few have behaved in that manner?
\nIn that case Hitler is justified for the massacre of Jews, for I
\nam sure he must have had his own grievances against a few of
\nthem.<\/p>\n
We, during the Soeharto regime, became used to being oppressed
\nand therefore do not see the need for freedom of expression,
\nrespect for other races and habits.<\/p>\n
When in a foreign land, a person feels secure among his own
\nrace until the indigenous people make him feel so at home he
\nactually forgets his origin. I think, in that way, the Chinese
\nhave actually done that. As Masli Arman himself puts it 70
\npercent of the Chinese have assimilated and 75 percent don't even
\nknow Mandarin.<\/p>\n
If the Chinese tend to stay in one area -- they do in all
\ncountries, but then so do the Indians, the Africans, the Italians
\nand the Indonesians -- they cannot be chastised for it. I think
\nthat an Indonesian in America or India would be delighted to
\nspeak his own language on meeting a fellow Indonesian, or would
\nyou rather speak English or Hindi for fear of disrespecting the
\nnational language there?<\/p>\n
So why this stress on assimilation, especially for the
\nChinese? Where is the respect and regard for a foreign race? What
\nabout Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity)?<\/p>\n
Yes, surely they say, in Rome do as the Romans do -- but this
\nmeans adapt yourself to the situation at hand. It does not ask
\nyou to forget your culture. It does not ask you to forget your
\nroots. It asks you only to be social, to live peacefully, have
\nregard for the indigenous people's habits and to enjoy whatever
\nis available without discrimination.<\/p>\n
As a mother and a woman, the acts of barbarism have so
\nfrightened me that today, when I go out of the house, I am not
\nsure what my fate will be. I am not the only mother who thinks
\nlike this -- there are mothers who all over this country worry
\nabout the welfare of their daughters.<\/p>\n
A letter by Sumarsono Sastrowardoyo in the July 29 edition
\nsays that the Chinese should not blame others for their fate. I
\nwould like to ask him, Should every Chinese-Indonesian become a
\nmartyr because it is their unfortunate fate that they chose to
\nstay and settle in Indonesia? Should they just wait for another
\nwave of barbarism, the rape of their women and children and loss
\nof their life's earnings? Should they just silently suffer?<\/p>\n
I would request the Post not to print such articles. Although
\nI fully believe in the freedom of speech, in the current
\nsituation such articles will only serve to fuel the minds of more
\npeople. The article has lowered the dignity of journalism.<\/p>\n
Let us learn to respect others and to accept them for the way
\nthey are, for don't we accept every child of ours regardless of
\nhow good or bad they may be?<\/p>\n
POONAM<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/learn-to-respect-others-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }