TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Diaspora community celebrates Indonesia 'Down Under'
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
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.
