Off.the.Record

Ethnic Minority, Identity, and Chinese Indonesian
28.3.07

May I ask you a question? Which ethnic are you belong to? :)

Don't be upset with the question above, I'm not such a racist moron, asking around this question. I don't know why, but I've been interested in this matter since my last summer holiday. On top of all that, this is one of the topics in my Asian Studies class.

Just a brief summary, I might define ethnicity as a group of people who shares same culture, same language, and it may have a similar way of living. Ethnic groups may fall into different categories, depending on how you define it. Let's say, you see people based on the race, you might be thinking that Chinese from mainland China and those who live outside the country are just the same, one ethnic. However you might ignore the fact that they speak different languages.

Anyways, I'm Indonesian Chinese. I'm from the most crowded island in Indonesia, which is Java. And I won't address myself as a Javanese, cos I'm in no way look like them. And if you ask me, where my ancestors come from. I know my parent told me, my dad family spoke Hakka dialect(which I don't know where it's from), and mom side is from Fujian.

Ok. So the point is.. I am studying this ethnicity issue in Asia. How one ethnic is different to others, and also about the minority ethnics, are they being disadvantaged or not, etc.

I just find this interesting, especially when I look at my own country^^.

Indonesia has the biggest number of ethnic groups in the world. It's more than 1,000 ethnic groups, accounting for 1/6 of the total ethnics in the world.　With Javanese as the first major ethnic, the number of minorites in Indonesia still exceeds the number of Javanese people. I don't know it should be a pride or not, because actually when you look into the living society, we have huge problems regarding ethnicity issue.

I'll give you an example, one out of hundreds of problems. Chinese Indonesian! It's probably a cliche, but, anyway.. If you ask this question to them, "你是哪国人?" Ask them in Chinese. They can say "I'm Indonesian", or may be "Saya orang Indonesia". But it's just difficult for them to say "我是印尼人"。

Well, I believe it's just the matter of losing an identity. It results from past experiences. The Chinese Indonesians have been treated unfairly in education, government policy, and many others. The Government made everything difficult for them. For example, in terms of work, they generally had no choice other than opening up their own business.

Wondering the reason, there is no surprise they can't admit they are 'Indonesian'. They would say "I am Indonesian" WITH an extra information "ethnic Chinese" in the end. It's a bit strange, I reckon. Here in Australia I found that they didn't say "Indonesian Chinese" (in English), however, in indonesia they indeed said that 印尼华人 (in Chinese), 'cos they definitely can't say they are Chinese (中国人). They neither live nor were born in China.

I realized Indonesian Chinese want to be seen as 'different', since they were treated differently. In one way, they were forced to accept the idea of unity. On the other hand, they didn't get the basic need to be admitted as the way they were.

Nevertheless, the good news is... the situation is slightly different now. It's getting better. Since the Government no longer banned Chinese characters, and decided Chinese new year become a national holiday, Chinese Indonesians feel being 'more accepted' as an ethnic minority.

A good indication, I suppose. Even though it's still a long way to go to 'heal the pain' from the past, slowly but surely, they will proudly say,"我们是印尼人".

Okay, so that's just one of many examples. I can't write anymore since I might use lots of space. And also, sorry for such a heavy topic. Gomen ne minnasan. Got to go now^^!!

Labels: Heavy Topic, Random Thoughts

Annice @ 10:34 am
God loves you always
------------

because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God - Romans 8:14