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