Minority and majority stock

Pribumi means of native stock, non-pribumi therefore means of non native stock or of immigrant stock. Bearing this definition in mind, who are the pribumi of the United States?

The answer is; the red Indians. Who are the non pribumi of the United States? The answer is the people of immigrant stock. Now then, why are the pribumi in the USA discriminated against whereas in Indonesia it is the non pribumi who are getting the flak?

Is it a matter of minority and majority stock? I don't think so. Whites in Indonesia are also a minority class. They are a spoiled bunch. Let us face it bluntly, the act of discrimination, so far as people are concerned, is a matter of a mental perception, a mental attitude. A different mental perception between "You" and "Me".

Why do people think men are better than women? Expatriates better than locals? Europeans better than Asians? Whites better than Yellow people. Yellow ethnic Chinese better than brown ethnic Javanese? We can carry on adding to the list ad infinitum without solving the problem.

How can we solve the problem then?

It all depends on you and me. If you can accept that Kofi Annan is neither black nor white, if I cannot see that Susi Susanti is of ethnic Chinese origin, you and I are well on the way to forgetting the dark sides of the meaning of the word discrimination. But do not limit your mental perception to a list of celebrities. Have you, ethnic Chinese, ever thought of inviting your Javanese neighbor to a chat in front of your TV?

To chat neither in Javanese nor in Mandarin but in a language you both can follow. I saw European ladies performing the Legong dance at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center the other day, but I dare say that I have rarely heard of ethnic Chinese girls learning Balinese dances in my short stay although many are following Swan Lake ballet classes.

To respect one another through learning each other's culture is another step toward mental reconciliation.

It is easy to build up invisible walls around you by way of not speaking the language everyone understands, by boasting you are richer and better educated, that local culture, local food, local language, in fact everything local is inferior. Maintaining those invisible barricades are the start of a smoldering conflict that may end dramatically sooner or later.

Efforts at reconciliation through sporting, cultural and informal meetings, local activities are good ways to forge better understanding.

ZAHAR INDRA

Jakarta