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.