Unity and assimilation

Unity and assimilation

I am very concerned that children aged 5 and under have
witnessed the sad events in the world and in our own country.
However, when I read the last couple of lines of the poem From
Indonesia with Love, June 28, I took courage from it. How good it
is that sensitivity in thought and feeling can be taught in early
childhood, as with the grandson of Mrs. Djoeweriah P.S., the
author of the poem, who is immediately drawn in following the
prayers at a mosque after he has finished playing.

Budi Pekerti, the teaching of moral values and the like, is
indeed best taught to young children. They would spontaneously
adopt the moral values of responsibility, concern for others and
the environment, valor, ability to accept differences, etc., so
that the development of negative attitudes would be avoided.

Recently, I felt sad when I heard the complaint of a woman.
She was worried because her teenage daughter looked ethnic
Chinese. There was nobody of Chinese blood in her family. She
said she regretted the behavior of ethnic Chinese who staunchly
defend their ancestral traditions, which are considered by part
of the community to be pagan, causing characteristics marked by
little concern for others, difficulty in adaptation and
unpatriotic attitudes. This is believed to be one of the causes
of the riots.

I also deplore the existence of gaps, fortresses of prejudice
among our fellow countrymen, indigenous and nonindigenous (please
abolish this terminology). Let us have happy circumstances in
which we care for each other, do not hold prejudices against each
other, do not ascribe negative characteristics of individuals to
groups; the more so at these critical times when we very much
need to unite because if we are divided, we will collapse.

Because I was born and raised and have lived in a family and
the environment of a pluralistic society, I feel fortunate to
know the beauty of our multifaceted culture including the ethnic-
Chinese culture. The essence and the objective of cultural
pluralism are basically the same, they only differ in their ways
of expression, perhaps, because of differences in local climate,
conditions and custom. There are so many meeting points and
similar values contained among the cultures. Unity in diversity!

For the Chinese-Indonesians who choose to follow their
traditional beliefs, there is no fear of ambiguity for their
ancestors' country, for less nationalism, as long as the
interpretation of their religion/tradition follows the right
path, full of tolerance. According to previous generations of
ethnic Chinese, prayer rites, such as incense and offerings, are
used as symbols of moral values/life guidelines and not as
idolization offerings.

According to historical records, assimilation and
acculturation have been happening for hundreds and, perhaps,
thousands of years. This can be clearly seen from the various
types of food, clothing and art, in short, the various Indonesian
cultures which contain universal values. Therefore, it is not
surprising that some indigenous people resemble ethnic Chinese,
while some ethnic Chinese look like indigenous Indonesians.

Hartati A.

Jakarta