RI school in Singapore offers hope for Chinese

RI school in Singapore offers hope for Chinese

By Ruth Youngblood

SINGAPORE (DPA): Clusters of ethnic Chinese parents who left Indonesia for Singapore during last year's racial violence gather each morning on the grounds of the serene Indonesian school, thankful their youngsters are safe.

The laughter of children on slides and swings with their new friends is a refreshing contrast to memories of the final days in their homeland, where terror of brutal attacks left no alternative but departure.

Mothers chatting about the events surrounding the June 7 general election acknowledge they are not anxious to risk a quick return if ethnic resentment is likely to fester anew.

"I tell my son and daughter that we will most likely go back," said 34-year-old Wang. "But I don't know when. We'll see."

Many of the mothers whose offspring have been enrolled since May 1998 in the private school that follows the traditional Indonesian curriculum see their husbands, with businesses in Jakarta, infrequently. Their families are in limbo.

But the school has provided the stability and opportunity for uninterrupted studies deemed essential for youngsters whose educations were so abruptly and in some cases traumatically terminated.

The enrollment has nearly doubled to more than 300 from about 160 since riots shook Jakarta and former president Soeharto resigned.

"That hasn't been a problem," said Dani Sjilenotra, an Indonesian teaching English at the facility for 13 years. "We were able to provide extra rooms, and keep the class size at our usual number.

The language of instruction from kindergarten through high school is Indonesian, and the 17 instructors are currently enough to teach the influx.

"Continuity in a system they have been familiar with is very important," Dani said, not just for the students but in bolstering their parents hopes for their futures.

"We discuss the election in terms of a turning point that will likely be good for the country, but we haven't made it a separate subject or scheduled special activities" to mark the event, Dani said. "For the students, the priority is normalcy, security and safety. That is what they yearn for."

Since the city-state does not require a visa for mothers of youngsters enrolled in schools, the women acknowledge the morning get-togethers have helped forge a sense of community, even though it is likely to be temporary. The common theme that pervades their conversations is the welfare of their children, more important than the emotional strains imposed by separations from spouses.

The bombardment of media coverage focusing on unruly street rallies endangering lives and predictions of more demonstrations if the ruling Golkar Party wins have not infiltrated the confines of the school, but parents fret over the uncertainty hovering over a decision to return.

Singapore, only a 90-minute flight from Jakarta, is an expensive choice for relocation. The rich own private residences here. Others opt for service apartments or are staying with relatives and friends. Visits by husbands economically tied to Jakarta but anxious to see their families is often only for two weekends a month.

Middle class Indonesians contend the cost for anything more than a few months stay is steep enough to rule Singapore out as a permanent choice. Hotels report bookings are at significantly lower levels than when the unrest started.

Malaysia, also with a large influx from Indonesia, offers a less expensive alternative.

During April, 78,633 visitors arrived in Singapore from Indonesia, a 45 percent increase from the corresponding month in 1998. No official figures were available for May but service apartments noted demand has not slackened.

The arrival figure reached 121,341 during the riots of May 1988.

Political observers note the ethnic Chinese are "voting with their feet" by getting out. The Indonesian Embassy, however, has been inundated with eligible voters registering since early May with the intention of making their choice from Singapore.

"I will certainly vote," said a well-dressed woman escorting her two daughters in their blue and white uniforms to their classrooms in the sprawling, Spanish-style facility. Shying away from specific candidates, she added, "It will be for change".