A recent survey carried out by the Indonesian Psychocultural Consortium (KPI) reveals that almost all ethnic groups studied in the survey recognize that their Indonesian identity is “final”, except for one group: the Indonesians of Chinese descent.

This, according to the consortium, could be caused by various factors, including traumatic incidents that occurred in the past – particularly during the 1998 riots when mobs targeted people of Chinese descent – as well as the lingering discrimination and racist treatment against this group.   

Yessy Samalo, 26, a native of the West Sumatra city of Bukittinggi, said she was often scolded by strangers on the streets who told her that she was Chinese and that she should go back to her home country.

“That got me thinking, am I Chinese? I don’t even speak Mandarin. I was born here. My parents and grandparents were born here,” said Yessy, who currently works in Jakarta as a marketing communication professional.

Her experience in Jakarta was a little better, she said, probably because the capital’s residents were accustomed to living in a “salad bowl”. In West Sumatra, a region dominated by the homogeneous Minang ethnic group, even little children have the impudence to berate her because of her distinct physical appearance.  

“[The bitter experiences] have forced me to understand that not every single person can accept differences, and it turned out I was OK with it.”

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