Asian women and western partners

Asian women and western partners

After reading the letter written to Kompas by Hertien K.
Surtikanti that was reprinted in The Jakarta Post on June 29, I
am, as an Indonesian married to an expatriate, very angry with
what has been written.

"On average Asian women especially Indonesians are proud and
stuck up if they work for or have a personal relationship with a
Western man. These women see things from the exterior only." How
many, especially Indonesian, women has she made this assumption
from?

I and my many friends who are Asian and married to Westerners
never think that we are "more" than we feel. I consider that this
low-value attempt to demote such relationships is based on either
jealousy of those who have a relationship with a Western partner,
or a consideration that such a relationship is not every bit as
loving and caring as any other relationship in the world.

I think that anyone who is educated would not write such
nonsense simply because of an apparently single negative
impression. That is not fair on Asian women with a Western
husband or partner.

MARTHA BOOTHBY

Jakarta