Riot victims

Riot victims

Reports that the ethnic Chinese community has become the
victim of rioting, looting and systematic rape will certainly
break everybody's heart. I cannot imagine how I would feel if
those things happened to me, my family, or my friends. We must
not only condemn these barbaric acts but also urge the
authorities to conduct a thorough investigation. Barbaric acts,
on whatever grounds, cannot be justified.

I am proud at the way in which some members of the community,
and in particular non-governmental organizations have responded
in the aftermath of this tragedy. Some are gathering facts while
others have set up 24-hour help-line services. Assistance,
material or spiritual, is available at all hours.

The local media has not only condemned these barbaric acts but
has shown a deep sympathy for the victims. It is true to say that
some elements in the media have exaggerated and dramatized the
incident and the information which has been provided is just like
the disgusting information that can be accessed on the Internet.
The foreign press and foreign non-governmental organizations are
also very concerned about the victimization of the Chinese-
Indonesian community. This humanitarian attitude is amazingly
admirable.

Occasionally I imagine how nice it would be if other
persecuted elements of Indonesian society received the same
attention. However, those groups are not as "fortunate" as our
Chinese-Indonesian brothers. Tragic incidents have often been
followed by condemnation and accusation of the victims from
various circles. No 24-hour hot-line services have ever been set
up, and no fact-finding teams ever dispatched to find the bodies
of the dead -- God alone knows where they have been buried.
International and local non-governmental organizations have paid
no attention to these matters either.

I feel like an alien in my own country. Government policy does
not allow me, and many others like me, to take part in political
activities. There is no opportunity for us to play a proportional
role in the economy of the country. I feel like I am less
indigenous than my Chinese-Indonesian brothers.

In cases like DI/TII, Jamaah Imran/Woyla, the Tanjung Priok
tragedy of 1984, and the Lampung tragedy of 1989, many people
lost their lives. Hundreds of women have been widowed and
thousands of children left without fathers.

So, my brothers of Chinese descent, in some respects it seems
that we are in the same boat. However, it seems that those who
are not of Chinese descent are less fortunate because we have
more frequently been made political scapegoats and massacred. We
can really feel your suffering, so don't take it to heart. We
must be patient and resolute in facing despotism and work hard to
find a solution.

UMAR ABDUH

Jakarta