Prejudice and Discrimination

Prejudice and Discrimination Article
Upon my six-month expedition to a foreign country, my primary focus turned out to be about the Chinese of Indonesia. I learned a lot about the history of the Chinese and the diversity among them and those who live in Indonesia. I was also pleasantly surprised to learn about all of the various cultures, races, and ethnicities there in that country. My primary focus was not only on the cultures and ethnicities, but also on the discrimination as well.
“Indonesia’s long stability of over three decades came to an end after the regional economic crisis of 1997-1998” (Sitorus and Budhwar, 2003, para. 1). This also led to political turmoil in Indonesia. National leadership has changed three times over five years (Sitorus and Budhwar, 2003). The government in Indonesia has tried to restore economic recovery and stability, but the diversity and prejudice in this country makes it difficult. Indonesia has five main islands: Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, and Jaya. These islands are surrounded by South China, the North Sea, Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean. The ethnic groups that live in this country are as follows: Javanese 40.6%, Sundanese 15%, Madurese 3.3%, Minangkabau 2.7%, Betawi 2.4%, Bugis 2.4%, Banten 2%, Banjar 1.7%, and other unspecified ethnicities 29.9% (The World Factbook, 2013). Races that live in Indonesia include Chinese, Arabs, Indian, Indos, Japanese, and Korean. The culture in Indonesia is rich and versatile and is a result of the various countries surrounding it. This is also because there are several religions, which has an impact on Indonesian culture. Muslims make up a great percentage of the religion with 86.1%, but there are also Protestants, Roman Catholics, Hinduism, and Buddhism (The World Factbook, 2013). There are many prominent cultural sites to visit in Indonesia including one of the Seven Wonders of the World sites, the Hindu-Buddhist Temple. Not only are there cultural sites to visit, but music and dance is also a part of this culture. Both are a form of art in Indonesia and they are well known for their architecture. Once of the fascinating things about this culture is the food. The food has been derived from influences of the Chinese and other groups that live there. They serve rice with every meal along with vegetables and meat. Spice is very important and so is coconut milk. There food is part of their rich culture as well as their arts.
Before I discuss the discrimination and prejudice in this country, I think it is important to differentiate between race and ethnicity. Many people think that there is no difference, but there is. Race refers to a person’s physical appearance. This can be their eye color, hair color, skin color, or bone structure (Ethnicity vs. Race, n.d.). Ethnicity is defined as a person has shared cultural heritage (Macionis, 2011). This could be their language, beliefs, ancestry, or nationality (Ethnicity vs. Race, n.d.). Ethnicity refers to shared cultural traits as well as a shared group history and race is shared biological or genetic traits. Ethnicity can also be defined as shared genealogy traits. These can be actual or even presumed traits. If a person believes they descend from a particular group, and they want to be associated with that group, then they can be a part of the ethnicity of that particular group (Ethnicity vs. Race, n.d.). Racial groups are not that easy. They were more isolated until the groups were broken down and mixed. Distinguishing factors of ethnic groups change from one period to another, but are also defined as stereotypes of dominant groups. Races are distinguished by skin color or facial structure. Conflicts with ethnic groups have been reported through history. Usually this is due to a certain religion or belief this group has. Racial conflicts are still reported today and have throughout history. However, there are fewer conflicts with race now then there was in the past.
Chinese Indonesians make up a very small portion of the total population in Indonesia. At only roughly seven million or 3%, they are still discriminated against. They are not considered as Indonesians, but as a separate minority group due to their ethnicity (Hurghits Osaka, 2006). This started during The New Order period in Indonesia in the years of 1966-1998(Muzakki, 2010). This is when the discrimination became the most obvious against the ethnic Chinese in this country. One of the main reasons for this discrimination was that the Chinese that live in Indonesia were Muslims. They were unable to express their own political views or cultures and were discriminated against on a daily basis. One may ask why specifically the Chinese Muslims were discriminated against when most of the country was Muslim, but the answer is because the Chinese brought forth their own cultures and that was not allowed. They were also discriminated against because under the rule of Soekarno, the Chinese were trying to gain their independence in Indonesia. Soekarno and other leaders who were Chinese were attempting to win their rights for independence and make Indonesia a new country. When Soekarno was overthrown, Suharto came into power. This is what started The New Order period and the discrimination became worse. Suharto adopted a policy, which narrowed the space for social and political activism by the Chinese (Muzakki, 2010). Many Chinese were banned including their political parties. Chinese cultural schools and the Chinese language were banned and so were their traditions. At that time, the Chinese religion was Confucianism, and when Suharto came into power, he made the Chinese covert to Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Catholic, or Protestantism (Muzakki, 2010). This is how many became Muslims.
In Indonesia, you have to have an ID card to have a business, buy or sell goods, for marriage, and for identity. There are three separate cards each citizen has to have. The Chinese were discriminated in trying to obtain these ID cards. You have to pay for these cards and with the reign of Suharto that became impossible for the Chinese, Muslim or not. Let us say the price of an identification card would be $20. To those who were ethnic Chinese those identification cards would cost $3,000. This made it almost impossible for the Chinese to obtain a business or even feed their families. Many lived in poverty and were peasants. As of 2006, this system was still in effect. Not only were the Chinese Indonesians discriminated against because of religion, but they were also discriminated against because many thought the Chinese in general were wealthy people born into power and money. It is sad to see the discrimination against one ethnic group because of religion or social status, but taking away ones traditions and language is going a bit far.
Discrimination of the Chinese Indonesians left them in poverty. They were not even allowed to buy rice and cooking oils at a normal price, which left them starving as well. Riots and protestors began to emerge in 1998, but that led to more violence and inflation (Jones, 1998). Many civil rights advocacies emerged to aid the Chinese with help. New Bills and Laws were passed after the fall of Suharto’s regime. People began to stand up and fight back and publicly speak out against the atrocities against the Chinese Indonesians. Unfortunately, there is still more work that is needed to be done. People are still not uniting and racism and discrimination against the Chinese still exists today.
Upon my 6-month journey, I will say that I learned a lot. Learning about one ethnic group and culture that has been discriminated against and still is has opened my eyes. It is hard to see a country that has so many ethnicities and races and see them torn apart by discrimination and prejudices. The only thing that we can do is stand up and help fight the battle against discrimination so that one day this will not exist. Until then, the battle will continue and we will still live in a world of discrimination and prejudice when it should not exist.
References

Agency, C. I. (2013, October 31). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved December 8, 2013, from The World Factbook: https://classroom.phoenix.edu/afm218/secure/view-thread.jspa?threadID=60992711
Ethnicity vs. Race. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2013, from Diffen: http://www.diffen.com/difference/Ethnicity_vs_Race
Hurghts Osaka. (2006, March). Retrieved December 8, 2013, from Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center: http://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section2/2006/03/discrimination-against-ethnic-chinese-in-indonesia.html
Jones, S. (1998, February 12). Indonesian Crisis. Retrieved December 8, 2013, from Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/news/1998/02/10/indonesia-alert-economic-crisis-leads-scapegoating-ethnic-chinese
Macionis, J. J. (2011). Society: The basics (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Muzakki, A. (2010). Ethnic Chinese Muslims in Indonesia: An Unfinished Anti-Discrimination Project. Journal Of Muslim Minority Affairs, 30(1), 81-96. doi:10.1080/13602001003650630

Sitorus, S., & Budhwar, P. S. (2003, September 23). Indonesia. Thunderbird International Business Review, 45 (5), p. 587.

References: Agency, C. I. (2013, October 31). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved December 8, 2013, from The World Factbook: https://classroom.phoenix.edu/afm218/secure/view-thread.jspa?threadID=60992711 Ethnicity vs. Race. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2013, from Diffen: http://www.diffen.com/difference/Ethnicity_vs_Race Hurghts Osaka. (2006, March). Retrieved December 8, 2013, from Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center: http://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section2/2006/03/discrimination-against-ethnic-chinese-in-indonesia.html Jones, S. (1998, February 12). Indonesian Crisis. Retrieved December 8, 2013, from Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/news/1998/02/10/indonesia-alert-economic-crisis-leads-scapegoating-ethnic-chinese Macionis, J. J. (2011). Society: The basics (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.   Muzakki, A. (2010). Ethnic Chinese Muslims in Indonesia: An Unfinished Anti-Discrimination Project. Journal Of Muslim Minority Affairs, 30(1), 81-96. doi:10.1080/13602001003650630 Sitorus, S., & Budhwar, P. S. (2003, September 23). Indonesia. Thunderbird International Business Review, 45 (5), p. 587.