Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity)
By Andrea Tamara, FIUTS Student Blogger
At most times, people mistook me as either Chinese or Japanese. That’s not entirely wrong. I was originally born in Indonesia, however I came from Chinese descendants. That explains why I looked like I came from China with Chinese-like face. On the other side, some people mistook me as Japanese because of my last name—Tamara (yep, that sounds Japanese). I had to explain to them that my original last name was actually taken out by the government because I was born in a period where Indonesian-Born-Chinese girls couldn’t bring the family’s name. It was historical, and sometimes hard to understand, but for sure I’m not Japanese.
I remembered there was this one time when a person asked me where I came from. When I said I came from Indonesia, he said, “Where’s that? Is that a mix or something?”
I thought to myself, is Indonesia that insignificant? Is it forgotten? But then, what makes a person the real Indonesian anyway?
I realized that even myself—who have been living in Indonesia for 17 years—still couldn’t find the difference whether a person is Indonesian or not. I tried to figure out what’s exactly the problem to this—like why can’t I categorize “Indonesian” in a box in my head where I can classify the things real Indonesians do?
Then it hit me. It wasn't a problem at all.
Indonesia has 33 provinces with hundreds (and hundreds) of different dialects. We are entirely diverse that we can’t really put ourselves inside “a box.” We have smaller sets of cultures in our islands that make us different from one another. It reminds me of Indonesia’s national motto, “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika,” which literally means unity in diversity. Our appearances might not be the same, we may have variation of skin colors, but we still have one language, and that’s Bahasa Indonesia. We might be separated in islands, but our entirely diverse country was so distinct from world that we stand together as one. Our language unites us, and our differences make us one. Interesting paradox isn’t it?
I’m proud to be Indonesian. I am not ashamed that someone might not know where that is, because it will be my chance to show the beauty of my home country. I want to let them know who Indonesians really are. To eat steamed rice with our hands, to say the word “galau” in any occasion, to always (and always) love Martabak—but most of all, to speak Bahasa Indonesia. I love all the little perks that we do. It might be slightly annoying sometimes—but that’s what makes us the people who we are.
Andrea Tamara is the FIUTS Spring Quarter student blogger. Click here to learn more about Andrea!
Interested in being a FIUTS student blogger? Contact Ellen Frierson at ellen@fiuts.org.