Chinese-Indonesian women seek Canadian husbands

Chinese-Indonesian women seek Canadian husbands

By Greg Heakes

VANCOUVER (AFP): A number of Indonesian-Chinese women are
offering themselves to Canadian men as mail-order brides in an
attempt to escape mob violence in their homeland.

The women, many of them professionals who lost their savings
in Indonesia's economic crisis, want to marry overseas and
Canadian and American men are at the top of their list, according
to Iwan Suwandi, chairman of the Vancouver Forum Against Human
Rights Violations in Indonesia.

"Families want to save their daughters from rape and one of
the ways to do that is to put them in mail-order magazines,"
Suwandi said. "It's a sign of desperation."

Theckla Lit Kwok-yeun, an activist here for ethnic Chinese
from Indonesia, said the mail-order brides fear gang violence in
Indonesia that reached a peak in May.

"Some of the women are contacting people they know in Canada
and asking relatives to put ads in the newspaper for them," Lit
said.

Julang Tujianto, spokesman for the Indonesian consulate in
Vancouver, said officials there have no way of knowing if there
has been an increase in Indonesians emigrating to Vancouver
unless they come in and register with the consulate.

"Whether it (mail-order brides) is becoming a trend, I don't
know," Tujianto said.

Activists and human rights groups estimate the number of
people killed in the riots in Indonesia at 1,000. The groups say
at least 20 of those were women who were raped and then killed or
died from their injuries.

The rights groups claim that over 150 women were gang raped or
sexually abused in Jakarta alone.

Rumors say the rapes have continued in recent months, with
attackers paying taxi drivers US$15 to help trap unsuspecting
female passengers.

"These ladies are still in a very stressful situation," Lit
said, adding the taxi ruse has been reported to the Indonesian
Women's Association.

The reports of assaults on ethnic Chinese women in Indonesia
outraged Chinese around the world, sparking demonstrations at
Indonesian government offices overseas including this west coast
city, home to one of the biggest ethnic Chinese communities in
Canada.

Lit helped organize a candlelight vigil for the rape victims
in Vancouver earlier this month which was attended by more than
500 people.

Many of them signed a petition -- now totaling over 10,000
names -- which calls on the Canadian government to press
Indonesia to improve human rights.

"People are still scared. They are arming themselves," said
Lit. "Those who can get out are the rich. Most people can't
afford it."

Meanwhile, Canada is assembling a team of government and human
rights experts to investigate the reports of mass rapes and
sexual assaults of ethnic Chinese women, a report said.

The Vancouver-based Southeast Asia Post reported Friday that
Canada's Asia-Pacific Secretary, Raymond Chan, will spearhead the
Canadian delegation, which will include forensic experts, sex
assault counselors and investigators.

It is expected to begin work in October.

"Our objective is to help the authorities bring the culprits
to courts in Indonesia," Chan told the paper.

Canada's Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy recently met with his
Indonesian counterpart Ali Alatas to discuss the turmoil.