Anti-Chinese attitude

On June 1, 2000, which happened to be Pancasila day, my three female friends and I had a very shocking experience as we met a very anti-Chinese man in Alessandro Nannini Cafe at Plaza Senayan, Jakarta.

We were given a table in the corner. However, noticing an unattended table, one of my friends who is Chinese like me, asked the waiter if the table would accommodate the four of us. At that time, the man who was sitting near where I was standing shouted: "Hey"! to my Chinese friend. She didn't hear it. My friend returned telling us that the other table had been reserved. As she was about to sit down, suddenly the man sitting behind her moved his right elbow roughly towards my friend's chair and her back. Then followed an exchange of arguments as we tried to blame each other as to who really started the trouble.

A cafe employee came to our table to stop the quarrel. "It's all right! We are all one. We are all the Indonesian people"!, he said.

I was shocked that the man who looked educated could be so ill-mannered. On that particular day we were supposed to think of how to strengthen the unity of the people of this beloved country of ours.

A. TRESNASARI

Jakarta