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COVID-19 separates Chinese-Indonesians from relatives during Imlek
Many Chinese-Indonesians opted to miss this year's Chinese New Year as family gatherings would increase the risk of being infected by the coronavirus.
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A woman prays at the Hwie Ing Kiong Tri Dharma Temple in Madiun, East Java on Feb. 12, 2021. The temple has changed the prayer schedule from midnight to noon during the micro-scale public activity restrictions (PPKM Mikro) to curb COVID-19 transmission during the holiday period. (Antara/Siswowidodo)
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hinese-Indonesian families have been unable to celebrate together during this year’s Chinese New Year, locally known as Imlek, as health takes precedence over traditions amid the coronavirus outbreak in Indonesia.
The country saw a much quieter celebration of the Lunar New Year, as it is also known, than the festive celebrations in January last year, before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic in March.
For 25-year-old photographer Donny Fernando, this year’s Chinese New Year would be the first celebration that he spent alone since he moved to Jakarta.
In previous years, he usually gathered with relatives in Sunter, North Jakarta in a small family reunion, or flew back to his parents in Bangka Belitung Islands. He would spend the Lunar New Year praying for late ancestors at the altar and breaking bread with his relatives while sharing life stories.
This year, Donny decided to miss those traditions because he did not want to gamble with his or his family’s health.
“I’m unexpectedly sad. Prior to this, I was feeling very indifferent about the Lunar New Year, thinking that it would be nothing much. But somehow it means a lot,” he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
He added that he would miss going to the temple to pray with his extended family too.
