Below is e-mail I sent to colleagues in July 1998 upon reading another e-mail (attached below) circulating around about a family’s account of the riots.
Hi my friend,
After reading the mail you forwarded, I felt compelled to share some of my thoughts on this.
In my discussions with some people, it seems to me that the conventional wisdom to some has it that the Indonesian Chinese should justifiably take part of the blame for the state of affairs in Indonesia because they could have done more in 'helping the native Indonesians improve their lives'. The reasoning behind this view is that the Chinese makes up around 5% of the population but owns a big chunk of its wealth. How else they could have done so without exploiting the natives? In addition, their country leadership must be quite capable for their 'national values' enshrined in Pancasila are very impressive sounding indeed. And how else can a nation with such diverse population (they probably have as many different ethnic groups as China and India!) hold together for so long? Well, at least 50 years so far.
That too used to be my view when I was younger, has seen less of the world & when I used to think that the Chinese are by disposition a very selfish people. After all these years (including about 4 years of work in Indonesia) I begin to see that the Chinese are no different from any other race and that was just a convenient excuse especially for the Indonesians themselves.
If the Chinese are the cause, how come Singaporean Malays end up being the single significant Malay population in any country on Earth (they constitute 15% of the total population of Singapore with the rest being mainly Chinese) with a standard of living & education level comparable to the UK? If the earlier reasoning holds water the Singaporean Malays should be the living example of the exploitative nature of the Chinese.
The fact that they are not exploited in Singapore has to do not only with the Chinese (the Chinese have not colonized another country in the 2,000 years since its formation) but also with Singapore's older generation from the 1950's and 60's who put into power the country's leadership of clean, honest and capable leaders that included some very capable Malays, Indians & people of other minorities.
The cause of Indonesia's problems lies with the country's leadership and the ethnic majority that holds the country's political & military power. The reason why they do not hold or appear not to hold economic power is less obvious but we can get to that later. Its politicians and leadership are not just utterly corrupt and are unwilling or may be incapable to face up to the shortcomings of their system and people and do something about them. But they are fundamentally evil in disposition and intent. What is really sad (at least to me) is that their politicians and leaders are able to quite successfully influence and manipulate a significant segment of the population into believing in all but the hard realities of their country. Instead of planning for the development of its people (and not just the nice infrastructure we got so impressed by), they seem to prefer to plot on how to loot the country's wealth and to find someone else to place the blame on when things don't go well.
We see the Indonesian Chinese being conveniently used as whipping dogs every time someone wants their people's attention diverted from the reality. Singaporeans know that that has its spill over in the form of racial tensions here back in the 60's. In Singapore's case, the Malaysian politicians are no different from the Indonesians (a coincidence?).
8 years ago when I first started my job assignment in Indonesia I was quite taken by surprise when an officer of the state-owned bank I was working in told me that smoking kretek (Indonesian clove cigarettes) is actually good for the country's economy. The logic goes that the more they smoke the more farmers get employed! Here he was, a graduate and state bank officer with the potential to influence the country's direction (believe me, with the way the country is run there, a state bank in Indonesia is very influential) actually believes that with great conviction. I'm not going to discuss about alternative uses of productive capacity & money but just suffice to mention that I soon understand why when I learnt that the national clove industry happens to involve a monopoly run by the President's son.
We read of the nation's education ministry toying with the idea of making it mandatory for school children 90% of whose parents earn less than USD50 per month at 1995 exchange rates (now worth less than USD10/month) to pay USD 10 to visit a theme park at least once in their schooling years supposedly because it has educational value. And another plan to make it mandatory to buy school shoes of a particular brand costing USD 5 or 7 dollars. All because the theme park and the shoe company were owned by someone with the right connections.
From this recent crisis we read in the media about people reporting seeing organised groups being transported to Chinatown in Jakarta to cause trouble and, as we read in the sad article below, to perpetrate the most dastardly acts you can imagine (the other significant record of similar perpetrations in Asia's recent history occurred during the Japanese occupation). Believe it or not , the authorities were not able to control these acts in Jakarta (their own capital & seat of power) but they can keep Irian Jaya quiet & peaceful (through the barrel of the gun of course). The answer to me is simple. There is neither the will nor intent to do so.
Now, back to the topic of economic power.
We do not need to get into the details on the work ethics & values of Chinese around the world. That is pretty well understood by the world. But, have we ever wondered why with all the political and military power of the ethnic Indonesians they cannot, at least apparently, achieve the economic well being they so desire and the under-achievement of which they blame so much on the Chinese? They could have the equivalent of Malaysia's New Economic Policy (which is really 30 years old now) to force everyone else to give up their hard earned money to the 'bumiputras' (which they actually mean the Malays) and hoped like Lee Kuan Yew once said that it will somehow lead all & sundry to a better life. They did not. They did not because even if they had taken all the money the Chinese had they will squander it and end up the same. They did not because the people that ends up having the money (which are the politically powerful ones and not the Indonesian man on the street) would not know how or bother to invest it for the country's future and build a better place. They did not because no self righteous and capable ethnic Indonesian who could have done so would want to have anything to do with such a corrupt and ridiculous government. They did not because the ones in power did not want to share it with their people. They would rather have the money to themselves somewhere outside the country. A limousine driver in Singapore told me about a family member of the Indonesian political leadership boasting about the hundreds of millions he has gotten out of the country in the recent crisis and how he is here to get them 'properly invested'. If you had corruptly gathered huge sums of money through all sorts of ways, would you really want to let your people know about it? No, but you can boast about it to someone else.
Unlike the wealth of the ethnic Indonesian political elites, the wealth of the Chinese are obvious to all because they really have to work for it. Against all the odds stacked against them, they have to reach out to every corner of the Indonesian archipelago to build the supply network etc. that they are renowned for. The fact that they manage to make money out of the locals is testimony to the real value they obviously deliver to their clientele, the locals included. Have any Chinese or Indian descendents ever wondered why almost all of our grandparents seem to speak Malay, broken Malay it may be? But it’s hard to find any Malay of any age who can speak Chinese or Indian? May be except some Malays in Penang & Singapore who also happens to be the better off Malays? I asked myself that question some years back. In their time which was during the Western colonial years prior to 1950, there would be no real need to speak Malay since the government is anything but Malay. Unless you saw the value of understanding and reaching out to the other person. And also, to do business with him. And exploit him? To the extent the western colonial masters and their own leaders did?
As to whether the Chinese should 'help the locals improve their lives', do we expect them to 'hand out the fish as oppose to teaching them how to fish'? Do we expect them to hand their hard earned money out in the form of charity when they live their own lives wondering what his neighbor is going to do to his wife & children the next moment? Would they not look to safekeep their savings somewhere else so that they can call upon them when events turn sour like they do now? They need the money to rebuild their lives somewhere else if they have to. Remember nothing comes free, not even freedom and human rights in the US. You'll need to have a certain amount of assets before you're allowed to even lay foot in the soil they took from someone else. But, how about the poor Chinese Indonesian? Oh, surely you don't believe there is no such thing.
That's my view on Indonesia and the Indonesian Chinese. The latter are definitely not in the same position as the whites of the age of American slavery or the Israelites of the 90's - in control of everything but it's just a matter of the will to do it.
I dream of the day when Indonesia sees the ascent of an ethnic man man enough to grab his country's harsh realities by the neck and lead the country forward. When that happens I will be one of the happiest Chinese in this part of the world.
Rgds
CCK
Subject: Shattered Lives
The Yellow Ribbon Campaign
Dear friends,
Please forward this "Yellow Ribbon" to all friends around the world to show our soladirity and sympathy for the victims of the riots and chaos in Indonesia last May 13-15. Many Chinese Indonesian citizens were abused, tortured and killed. Their houses and stores were looted and burnt.
Hundreds of Chinese Indonesian girls/women (aged 10-55) were sexually harassed and gang raped brutally. Some victims were even raped in front of their family members or in front of inhuman cheering crowd. Some of them were even thrown into the fire and burnt to death after being raped. Yet, not many actions seem to have been taken to investigate all this or to help the victims. And not very many people seem to know or care about what happened.
Please help to spread the news and let the world know. We need help to get more international attention to help Chinese Indonesians, who are now living in fear in Indonesia. Please pass this ribbon around as the symbol of campaign against human rights violations,injustice, and racism towards Chinese Indonesians. Show that we care and may God help us!
The following article was posted on 06/12/98 in the Huaren (Chinese People) Bulletin Board by Indra.
A Victim's Account of Rapes and Murders
Here I post a victim's account of the May tragedy. The original is in Indonesian, and I did the English translation (forgive some awkwardness in it). Spread the word around and let the world know what really happened.
English Translation
(beginning of the account)
Name: Vivian (not real) Age: 18 Sex: Female. Vivian has a little sister and a brother. She lives in an apartment with her family.
At 9.15 am, a huge crowd had gathered around the apartment. They screamed,"Let's butcher the Chinese!", "Let's eat pigs!", "Let's have a party!" We lived on the 7th floor, and we got a call from a family who lived in the 3rd floor that the crowd had reached the second floor. They even chased some occupants upstairs. We were all very frightened. In our fright, we prayed and left everything in God's hands.
Afterward, we left our room and went upstairs to the topmost floor, as it was impossible to go downstairs. We got to the 15th floor, and stayed there with one of our acquiantances. Not long afterward, we were surprised because there were some of the crowd coming out of the elevator right before we entered the room. We hurried into the room and locked the door tight.
At that time, we heard them knocked the other rooms' doors loudly, and there were screams from women and girls. The room was filled with fear. We realized that they would come to us. So we spread throughout the room and hid in corners. Inside, we could heard girls, whose age around 10-12, screaming, "Mommy... Mommy..." "Mom... Mom... it hurts.."
That time I didn't know what was happening. After about half an hour, the noise diminished, and we had some guts to go out and check. It was indescribable. A lot, some of them girls, young girls, lied on the floor.
"O my God, what has happened?" Seeing all of this, my little sister, Veny, screamed histerically and hugged her father. Tears started coming down from my eyes.
With our acquaintances, a newly-wed couple,we started going downstairs. Reaching the 10th floor, we heard a scream for help. The scream was very clear, and we decided to go down and see. But as we turned, we saw a lot of people. I saw a woman in her 20s being raped by four men. She tried to fight, but she was held tight. Realizing the danger, we ran with all our might. But unfortunately, the mob caught Veny. We tried to rescue her, but we had to give up.
There were around 60 of them. They tied us--I, my father, my mother, Veny, Dony, Uncle Dodi, Aunt Vera--with ripped sheet. They led us to a room. Uncle Dodi asked what they wanted, but they didn't answer. They cast an evil and savage look. One of them grabbed Veny rudely and dragged her to a sofa.
At that time, I knew that she was in danger. I screamed loudly, and one of the mob slapped me. My father who also screamed was hit by a wooden block, and he fainted. My mother had fainted when Veny was dragged to the sofa. I could only pray and pray that the disaster would not befall us...
Uncle Dodi kept trying to persuade them by offering money, but the effort was fruitless. And in the end they forcedly raped Veny. Not able to stand all of this anymore, I cried and closed my eyes. There were about 5 people who raped Veny, and before beginning, everyone always said, "Allahu akbar" (and Islamic phrase in Arabic, meaning "God is the greatest"). They were ferocious, brutal.
Not long afterward, around 9 men came to the room and dragged me. I also had a chance to see them forcing and dragging Aunt Veny. But, I instantly fainted and everything was blank. I became conscious at around 5 or 6 in the afternoon. My head was in pain, and then I realized that I had no clothes on my body. I cried.
I was very depressed. I realized that my family were still there, and obscurely I saw my father hugged my mother and Doni. I also saw that Uncle Dodi was lying on the floor, and Uncle Vera was crying over his body. I felt so weak, and fainted again.
The next day, I was in the Pluit Hospital. My mother and father were beside me. With all the pains on my body, I asked, "Mom, why Vinny, Mom?" I felt a stinging pain as I said those words. I felt my cheek swollen. My mother instantly cried and couldn't speak any words, while my father, holding his tears, managed to smile.
After 4 days in treatment, my condition started getting better. With a sad look, my father then told me what happened. After I fainted, 7 people raped me. At that time my father still couldn't see well after being hit with the block. They raped me by rolling my body and hit it against the wall. Then, my father said to me, "Vin, Venny has gone..." I was confused and instantly cried loudly. "Why, Dad???" My father didn't answer. He told me to rest and went out of the room. I cried over and over again, feeling that my life is worthless anymore.
A week ago, after I had been able to gone home, I was told everything that happened. When she was raped, Veny kept fighting, and so she was slapped repeatedly by her rapists. The last time she fought,Veny spitted on one of them. Offended, the man grabbed a knive and stabbed it to Veny's stomach. Brutally, he did it repeatedly until Veny drew her last breath with blood all over her.
After I heard the story, I was shocked. My father then said that Uncle Dodi had the same fate, watched by Aunt Vera who is also a victim of the rape. God... why should all of this happen? Now Aunt Vera stays in her parents' house,accompanied by her sister. According to what the sister said, she is still shocked. Her face is blank, and often she refuses to eat.
Almost every hour, my mother and I cry over this tragedy. I couldn't ever forget it. No matter what, they (the mob) are uncivilized people who have no sense of humanity.
(end of the account)
Indonesian Original:
Nama : Vivian (samaran) Umur : 18 tahun Kelamin : Perempuan
Dia memiliki seorang adik perempuan dan seorang adik laki-laki.Dia tinggal sekeluarga di apartemen ini. Sekitar pukul 9.15 pagi hari sekeliling apartemen sudah dikerumuni ratusan orang massa yang terlihat seram sekali. Mereka berteriak-teriak seperti kesetanan, "Bantai Cina", "Mari makan Babi", "Ayo Pesta". Kami sekeluarga tinggal di lantai 7. Saat itu, kami ditelepon oleh keluarga yang tinggal di lantai 3 bahwa massa sudah naik ke lantai 2, dan bahkan ada penghuni yang dikejar-kejar sampai ke atas. Saat itu kami langsung takut, tapi dalam ketakutan itu, kami sekeluarga berdoa dan pasrah kepada Tuhan.
Setelah itu, kami bersiap pergi meninggalkan kamar, dan kami terus naik melalui tangga ke lantai atas, karena ke bawah sudah tidak mungkin. Kami naik sampai lantai 15 dan di sana kami diam di kamar salah seorang kenalan kami. Tidak lama kemudian, kami kaget karena dari lift keluar sejumlah orang tepat saat kami akan masuk, lalu kami cepat-cepat masuk dan kemudian mengunci pintu. Saat itu kami mendengar pintu kamar lain diketuk dengan keras dan terdengar banyak teriakan dari ibu-ibu dan anak2 gadis. Sementara kami merasakan amat mencekam di dalam kamar,lalu sadar bahwa kamar kami nantinya akan mendapat giliran, maka kami langsung berpencar dan sembunyi di sudut2 kamar. Dari dalam kami mendengar sayup-sayup anak2 gadis sekitar umur 10 sampai 12 tahun yang berteriak, "mami....mami......", "mami.....sakit.....mami..........". Saat itu saya tidak tahu apa yang terjadi.
dorisng@ucla.edu
