Unity in Diversity

By: Jonathan David

18/422958/EK/21636

Since the dawn of civilization in Indonesia, the vast archipelago has been inhabited by
people with various cultures. These differing cultures slowly became into tradition that would
define certain ethnicities. People with various different cultures and traditions would gather in
Indonesia, and it shaped the country to be the culture pot it is today. Now, Indonesia is inhabited
by over 270 million people; all of them coexist with fellow Indonesians with differing customs
and traditions. At the current moment, there are over 300 recognized ethnicities in Indonesia,
with the Javanese people occupying the biggest percentage of the total ethnicities at 40% of the
total population.

In most places, the difference in cultures and ethnicities would not pose too much of a
problem; some areas coexist harmoniously and respect each other’s traditions. In the years
following Indonesia’s independence especially, the citizens were heavily intertwined and they
could live harmoniously as Indonesians; this could be associated with the factor of joy that was
present in the society due to finally being able to be united as a nation. However, this is not
always the case; with ethnic diversity, it would be expected that there would be some disputes
that would arise. In recent years, racial disputes would come forth and threaten the Indonesian
society’s peace. These aforementioned disputes can manifest in small forms, like minor racial
discrimination, or bigger forms, like the massacre of Chinese-Indonesians in the 1998 riots.
Nevertheless, racial and ethnic diversity disputes remain as an issue that still needs to be tackled
in Indonesia.

In the past few years, we have witnessed countless acts of racial or ethnic discrimination
in Indonesia. One of the most prevalent acts of racial discrimination is with the citizens from
Papua. Papua is well known to be the most cut-off area in Indonesia, compared to the 4 other big
islands; this is mainly because of the rather harsh environments and the sheer distance from the
capital, which is Jakarta. The fact that they are cut-off makes people from other parts of
Indonesia assume that they are troublesome and less-educated, which is sometimes not the case.
However, people’s assumptions are difficult to change, hence presenting a problem for the
society.

One of the recent acts that have caused mass distraught is the act of police raiding a dorm
for Papuan students in Surabaya; this raid was executed on August 16th, 2019. This raid involved
the forced entry of the dormitory, use of tear gas and other weapons, and the forced capture of 43
Papuan students. The raid was initiated because of the destruction and disposal of an Indonesian
flag that was supposedly done by the students. Once the police got word of this speculation, they
proceeded to enforce the law by raiding the dorm and forcing the Papuan students to get out.
Initially, the Papuan students refused the police’s initial warning since they felt like they did
nothing wrong. The police only acted on assumptions and suspicions; they did not have any solid
evidence about the crime other than it was disposed near the dormitory. In the end, the Papuan
students submitted and was brought away by the police and some soldiers.

Not only the raid, but on the following day, broadcast messages on WhatsApp started
circulating stating that the Papuan students will be trying to fight back with weapons. The
message stated that people needed help in resisting the Papuan students. However, that was not
the case. In reality, the Papuan students understood the police acts and did not plan any form of
retaliation; it was stated in an interview that the Papuan students understood that the police were
just trying to enforce the law. Although it was definitely a hoax, it caused an outrage in Papua;
they were enraged because of the falsity of the information and felt offended because they were
associated with violence.

This case in particular sparked a mass outrage in Papua, causing mass demonstrations and
riots demanding for equality and justice for the Papuan students. On 19th August, Papuan citizens
and students blocked roads in Manokwari, protesting the persecutions of the Papuan students in
Surabaya. Then, citizens in Jayapura also protested and demanded equality in human rights for
the Papuan students.

This case exemplifies how prevalent issues regarding racism have become in Indonesia.
Racism, now especially, is an issue that must be solved in order to maintain peace and move
forward as a nation. If we disregard racism, it might turn into further cases of separatism, civil
disputes or wars, and even the disintegration of Indonesia itself. We must keep Indonesia in tact
and form strong cross-cultural bonds in order for us to live in harmony.
 This might be easier said than done, hence I have an idea I could propose to enhance
unity in diversity. One idea would be to create mixed ethnicity group initiatives in schools and
universities; I feel like one of the best ways to tackle racism is to abolish it from the newer
generations, so this approach would be most effective in this given situation. Schools or
universities could host events that put emphasis on bringing together various ethnic groups into
one place whilst interacting as fellow Indonesians; this would be plausible since usually ethnic
groups in universities or other establishments usually make their groups explicit via social media,
so sending invitations to those targeted ethnic groups would be relatively easy. These events
could consist of bonding activities, forums regarding ethnicity cases in Indonesia, etc. People
would have fun, make connections with a lot of others, and have a sense of belonging. This has
not been done recently since there is no impending need to, but given the circumstances, I feel
like there is a need for change. Doing this would heavily promote the integration of the people as
Indonesians, without any regard of cultures and ethnicity. By doing this, we could address the
issues head on and work towards a newer generation of a racist-free Indonesia.
 REFERENCES

https://tirto.id/rusuh-di-papua-barat-karena-rasisme-bukan-yang-lain-egAf

https://www.tribunnews.com/regional/2019/08/29/terbaru-kasus-rasisme-mahasiswa-papua-di-
surabaya-peran-tri-susanti-yang-membuatnya-jadi-tersangka?page=3

https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20190819060430-20-422545/penyerangan-asrama-
papua-di-surabaya-dinilai-langgar-ham

http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/indonesia-population/