RI migrants in United States lack a field of influence
RI migrants in United States lack a field of influence
By Akhmad Kusaeni
NEW YORK (Antara): If one wants to know about the tight competition among immigrants in the U.S., one should go to New York City, a megalopolis which is heaven or hell for immigrants from various countries and nations.
Immigrants from all over the world come to the "melting pot" to look for a new beginning and realize their dreams.
How are the immigrants from Indonesia doing?
"One or two have been successful, but most are doing badly. They lose out in competition with immigrants from other countries," said Hazairin Pohan, a diplomat at the Indonesian permanent representative office at the UN.
The loss in competition is indicated by the fact there is no specific field that is dominated by immigrants from Indonesia. "Migrants from certain countries," said Pohan, "are already in a position to dominate a certain field of business that is hardly accessible for immigrants of other countries."
Bangladeshis or Pakistanis have the greatest influence on the network of newspaper kiosks on sidewalks or subway stations.
Indians control most fuel stations. The majority of cab drivers are Spaniards and Russians. Chinese dominate the restaurant business. Koreans are dominant in laundries while Jews rule the investment and real estate business.
A comparison with fellow ASEAN countries shows that Indonesian newcomers lag a few steps behind the others. "Many Philippine immigrants find jobs as nurses and secretaries at embassies in the U.S.," said Pohan.
Malaysian and Thai restaurants outnumber Indonesian eateries. Even the Queens area which hosts a large Indonesian community, does not have any Indonesian restaurants. Instead you will find Penang (Malaysia), Jaiya (Thailand) and Pho Bac (Vietnam) restaurants.
"We only have Ibu Upik on Van Horn Street. She serves Padang food in her house but not every day," said Ucok, an Indonesian student who is a customer of the eatery.
Another indicator of the lack of competitiveness of Indonesian immigrants is that they do not have a communication medium which could potentially tighten family and emotional bonds.
Newspaper stands offer publications in Indian, Korean, Chinese, Spanish, Arab and Tagalog, "but there is no Indonesian language newspaper," said Ridwan Kamil, a teacher of the Bandung Institute of Technology on a study assignment in New York.
Indonesian immigrants are not as hard-working as immigrants from other countries. They want light work but high pay.
No Indonesia Town
A special town area inhabited mostly by Indonesian immigrants is nonexistent.
"China Towns, Korea Towns, Spanish neighborhoods and Jewish residential areas abound in the U.S. but there is no Indonesia town," said Wisnu Utomo, a former diplomat who is now an investment consultant in the U.S..
"People say that Queens is the center of Indonesian people. Show me its exact location. In Astoria? We have a mosque in the area but no Indonesian neighborhood. In Elmhurst? There is Top Line that sells Indonesian food, but you cannot call it Indonesia Town," said Achyar Hanif who has lived in New York for the past 20 years.
Why have immigrants from other countries been successful? The answer is complex.
"Indonesians do not justify all the possible means of making a livelihood. Limitations in matters of religion and norms have made them lose out to the Chinese for example," said Syamsi Ali, a New York branch Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Association (ICMI) board member.
"Indonesian immigrants here generally have a lack of English language skills. It makes them uncompetitive compared to immigrants of other countries with English as a second language such as the Philippines, Hong Kong, India or Taiwan," said Prijanto Tirto Prodjo, deputy chief of the Bank Bumi Daya representative office in New York.
"Generally Indonesians come to New York only to work and not to take up permanent residence. They work here for two or three years. When they have US$20,000 to $50,000 they are content to return to Indonesia where they buy a house, a plot of land or a rice field and do nothing else," said Syamsurizal.
"Indonesians coming to the U.S. are generally employees of the Indonesian Embassy, Consulate and employees of Indonesian bank representative offices and companies. They return to Indonesia after their term is finished. New ones will come to take their place and so on. Not many come to settle," said Fachri, who has lived in the U.S. for decades.
"Indonesians lack solidarity. They want to hamper each other," said Aji Sastra Jumena, a cab driver in New York. "Indonesian immigrants have no 'godfathers' like those from other countries," said somebody else.
Korean migrants
The Koreans are hard-working and driven immigrants who possess a strong sense of solidarity with their fellow countrymen. For example, five Korean immigrants who may have just arrived, would share an apartment, splitting the rent among themselves. Each of them would work up to 16 hours a day, and when they would have saved enough money, they would jointly open a shop or a laundry. If successful, they would invite their relatives and acquaintances to immigrate to America.
By contrast, few Indonesians are successful in setting up a joint venture.
"There used to be the Bali, the Ramayana and the Nusantara to name a few Indonesian restaurants. The owners always quarreled, and the businesses were eventually closed," said Benny Sutjipto, another immigrant.
Immigrants from India, China and other countries already have a mafia-like network. While most Indonesians immigrants come on their own. They are without help, guidance, training and capital.
Immigrants from other countries have strong organizations and "Godfather-style" leaders. They arrange the arrival, training and employment of new immigrants. They provide loans for capital and see to all the necessary legal administrative procedures for the newcomers.
"People from South Asia like India and Bangladesh, for example, can get jobs easily here because things are well organized. These immigrants could have arrived two or three months ago but are able to get a driver's license to work as a cab driver, even though they don't know the streets in New York very well yet and can hardly speak any English," said one Indonesian immigrant.
The story of Jewish immigrants is even more astonishing. "A new arrival immediately obtains a green card. There must be a syndicate or something we don't have," he said.
"There was once a syndicate that brought in Indonesians, but they were all con artists. They didn't help the newcomers but raked in money from them instead," said Wisnu Utomo.
This syndicate had an office in Los Angeles as well and operated under the guise of a travel agency, he said. In its advertisement it offered "free study abroad in the U.S." on a tourist visa and it lured as many as 2,000 people into going there.
It turned out that the "free study abroad in the U.S." was an English language course at an adult learning center in U.S. libraries. The course was free of charge.
"Many were cheated. The fraud was soon detected by the authorities and the travel agency was closed down as a result," said Wisnu.
There have been many suggestions for assisting the advancement of Indonesian immigrants in the U.S. The existing organizations such as the Indonesian Community Association in New York, the Indonesian Citizens Union, etc. are all expected to play a bigger role in helping newcomers from Indonesia by sponsoring work skills training and job placement as well as lending work capital for interested entrepreneurs.
There are also long-term proposals as voiced by the Indonesian Ambassador to the U.S. Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti. He has asked students who are considering leaving school due to the monetary crisis not to return to Indonesia but to look for whatever work there is in the U.S. so they can finish their studies.
"Do not go home, find work and continue your studies here. If necessary become U.S. citizens. Why not? I dream of U.S. senators originating from Indonesia. I long for American bank directors of Indonesian origin," said Dorodjatun, addressing the Indonesian Students Association in the U.S.
In the current globalization era, the Indonesian citizenship policy that rejects dual citizenship should perhaps be reviewed.
Israel is a country which recognizes dual citizenship and reaps benefits from the arrangement. A great number of Jews have both Israeli and American citizenships.
According to the book Asian Americans by Stanley Karnow there are only four million Jews in the U.S., but they have 35 delegates in Congress. This is in strong contrast to the Asians in the U.S. whose number is many times that of the Jews, but they have only two representatives in Congress. Neither of them hails from Indonesia.