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Diaspora community celebrates Indonesia 'Down Under'
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Cultural ambassadors: A photomontage shows Sastra Wijaya (left) and Tiur Ratu Munthe, who believe that members of the Indonesian diaspora in Australia should continue to contribute to the country, such as through local communities as well as social activities back home. (Courtesy of Sastra Wijaya/Tiur Ratu Munthe) (Courtesy of Sastra Wijaya and Tiur Ratu Munthe/Courtesy of Sastra Wijaya and Tiur Ratu Munthe)
"The motherland" still holds a special place in the hearts of its diaspora community, with some Indonesians maintaining a fierce sense of national and cultural pride, even after decades of living abroad.
It was 1981 when Tiur Ratu Munthe moved to Australia and settled there with her family. They made the move following racially motivated political upheaval that her husband, a Chinese-Indonesian, had experienced in 1974.
But even after years of living in the “Land Down Under” and despite the racism they experienced in Indonesia, Tiur is still proud of her Indonesian origin.
“Although I’ve lived in Australia for almost half a century, I still hold on to my Indonesian culture. It’s far, but it’s still in my heart,” said 70-year-old Tiur, who is of Batak ethnicity.
According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), around 9 million Indonesians were living abroad as of September 2021. Members of the Indonesian diaspora are sometimes thought of as having lost their sense of nationalism. However, some individuals prove that the opposite is true.
Homesickness
Indonesia’s diverse cultures are what Tiur misses the most. She found that the Indonesian diaspora community in Australia has grown over the last 15-20 years, and that this has helped her cope with homesickness.
