“Why do you want to be an Indonesian? The Indonesians won’t treat you as one of them” said a friend I met in Singapore (I’m a bit reluctant to say the name due to all the dramas we had because of a photo) “It doesn’t matter whether they think I’m one of them or not, what matters is that I am an Indonesian, my ancestors help fought for the country’s independence and I intent to be remembered as an Indonesian than an Arab” I answered, sorry for getting a bit emotional when answering it as we drove past JL Rasuna Said in Jakarta.
Before leaving to Indonesia, Joko and I had similar conversation regarding our identities. I always consider myself an Indonesian so is Joko with different background. We devised a hypothetical scenario to test our identity.Joko: “Ri, kalo Arab ama Indo perang loe ada dipihak mana?”
Ari : “Indo lah, lagipula loe ga specific arabnya mana, bangsa arab khan banyak negaranya”
Joko: “Yaaah tempat nenek moyang loe lah, Yaman gimana? Khan tampangnya mirip2 tuch, apa ga susah kalo loe ada difrontline harus membunuh atau dibunuh orang yang mirip ama elu”
Ari : “Ga lah, bukannya udah kewajiban gw untuk ngebela Negara? Mungkin malahan gw bisa jadi mata2 karena mukanya mirip bener ga?”
Joko: “Ntar kalo tentara Indonesia malah nganggap loe bukan bagian dari mereka gimana?”
Ari : “Ya itu sich urusan belakangan, apa yang ngebuat loe mikir kalo kita join pihak lawan kita bakalan diterima? Sekarang kalo loe taro diri loe di posisi yang sama dan loe balik ke Cina apakah mereka bakalan nerima elo? Terus kalo udah begitu apa loe mau pasif dan lari khan itu malah ga nyelesain masalah”
Joko: “Ngga sich, tapi susah yach jadi warga keturunan hehehehe”
Ari : “hehehehehehe”
However for some reason, when my Singaporean-born friend declared that she is an Arab just for the record, for some reason I don’t really feel the same sadness as I do when an Indonesian-born person say that they are Arabs not Indos. I just get a bit emotional when someone else dictates who I am, once again I am sorry. I guess it’s the same for every race in Indonesia. I say these people are all backward, clinging to the past. Retaining your old tradition and heritage is all good but starting to bring them out into real life by abandoning what you are for something in the past, that’s another matter.
Just a point to ponder for warga keturunan in Indonesia, Don’t live in the past – exist in the present and embrace the future, keep your traditions and norms alive but blend in don’t keep exclusive groups, you will be surprised with the amount of similarities we have to each other. And for the so-called pribumi – stop using that term to differentiate yourself. Anyone who calls Indonesia their home is an Indonesian regardless of race or skin colour. Have we all forgotten the beauty of Bhineka Tunggal Ika?
