Perils of multiculturalism

For Indonesians, the rioting in France -- now entering its 14th day -- looks disturbingly familiar. Here in our own country over the last ten years, we have been no strangers to burning buses, rock-throwing rioters, police officers battling protesters, firemen trying to extinguish the flames, and the destruction of public schools and churches.

It is precisely because we know how painful it is to experience urban riots that our sympathy for the French people and their government comes naturally. It is heart-wrenching to watch France being devastated by what seems to be endless riots affecting dozens of cities and towns across much of the country day after day. The riots started on Oct. 27 in Paris following an incident in which two young people were electrocuted. Some 1,200 cars have been burnt and 330 people arrested since the riots began.

Due to its liberal immigration policy, France has often been regarded by its less-accepting neighbors with a degree of cynicism. It is home to refugees and asylum seekers from the world over, from the Middle East to Africa and Asia, including Indonesia.

As citizens of a developing country, we can only marvel at its welcoming approach and its readiness to help all sorts of afflicted aliens. It is not without reason that the famous maxim -- Liberty, Equality and Fraternity -- was coined in France four hundred years ago.

But playing host to so many nationalities is not without risk. Perhaps France's neighbors are not completely wrong either. Multiculturalism is a nice sounding word until it is translated into reality. It is a complex phenomenon loaded with sensitive issues like the divides between rich and poor, different faiths, ways of perceiving things, and different habits, to say the least.

To date, not a single multicultural country can claim it has no social problems. As a multiethnic country, Indonesia is no stranger to the perils of a multicultural society. It has suffered a lot because of it.

Take shelter, a basic human need, as an example. Everybody needs shelter but the problem is that shelter and housing in this globalized world comes in various shapes and is of variable quality. When the difference is too great between one community and another, it can become a potent recipe for conflict.

France has a bold policy that declares everybody who comes to the country to be French, no matter where they come from or what their religious or ideological persuasion is. It is much the same as when Indonesia decided in 1945 -- the year Indonesia declared its independence -- that the members of the 400-odd ethnic groups in the country would all be treated as Indonesians.

But 60 years on, ethnic and religious conflicts still frequently occur in Indonesia, not to mention the growing economic divide between the wealthy minority of the country's population of 220 million people and the impoverished majority.

Should we be cynical about this apparent failure of the French multicultural experiment? Or should we despair because the chances of solving our own problems with multiculturalism look more remote now that we see that even a developed country can fail to solve these sort of problems? Such a pessimistic approach would definitely not be the right way to look at the rioting in France.

On the contrary, we should look forward to the possibility of sharing our respective experiences on the issue, especially as multiculturalism is rapidly becoming commonplace in many countries now that people are freer to move from one place to another.

We are acutely aware that it is not enough to simply have the goodwill to say we want a multicultural society. A lot of work has to follow, and it should come from both the government and the people. Unfortunately, there is no universal recipe as to how to deal with the perils of multiculturalism as the conditions pertaining in each society at each time will be different.

For Indonesia, and we believe it applies to France as well, a pledge for tolerance from societal groups alone will not work. There should be mutual respect between them and a readiness by one group to defend another, be it ethnic or religious, that happens to be discriminated against.

Although such words as these are easy to say, it does not mean that we have succeeded in implementing them. Their implementation will require perseverance and strong political will on the part of the government.

We also need to learn that cultural uniformity will not work. For 30 years, Soeharto tried to wipe out Chinese culture but it did not work. Culture can never be eliminated. Every culture must be given a place to grow. Assimilation does not work, integration is more plausible.

Accepting different cultures may be the hardest part of integration in the French context as the country has a proud culture and traditions.

For the immigrants in France, they have to do their part also because, unlike in Indonesia where the different ethnic groups had always been present since before independence, the immigrants in France are relative newcomers.

The French government has to make sure that it has good communications with the immigrants. It has to familiarize itself about the their resentment in various sectors like housing, education and job opportunities.

They should be able to say one day that they are proud French men and women, not second-class citizens. Otherwise, like in Indonesia, pent-up anger will once again explode.