From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Indonesians/Judith Nagata
As a result of Indonesia’s colonial and recent history, some families in Canada are stratified by language: the senior members still speak Dutch, the first language of the middle generation is Indonesian, and the Canadian-born children use English. Of the ethnic Chinese, only a small minority speak any Chinese dialect. These families have little awareness of Confucian ethics or rituals, but there is a burgeoning interest in rediscovering their Chinese roots, language, and culture. Most of the Canadian-born children, however, are reluctant to study any heritage language, whether Indonesian or Chinese, despite the activities designed for them in the churches.
Some Indonesians live in extended families, but the dominant trend is in the direction of nuclear families, despite the fact that most women are employed outside the home and few have domestic help. Where three-generational families live together, tensions are often reported. To overcome one of the resultant problems, an Indonesian custom known as rantangan has evolved in a new form in Canada, whereby home-bound older women prepare multi-course Indonesian meals, packed in a traditional layered container, or “tiffin-carrier,” to be picked up by working women on their way home. Some seniors are active in the group Ummat Katholik, Wisma Santa Maria (Home for the Aged), while others are involved in the Indonesian Christian Fellowship (ICF). Nevertheless, many older immigrants feel marginalized and neglected by their younger relatives, and there are now plans in the community for the financing of a seniors’ home.
The prominence of family counselling services in Indonesian churches is evidence of considerable intra-family tension, especially between spouses. Its presence is underscored by frequent references to husband-wife relationships and by testimony during church services regarding such problems and their resolution. Clearly, many working wives are experiencing the same double workload of home and employment as other Canadians, in addition to the stress of adapting to a new country, and they are often socially isolated in their suburban homes. A small minority of Indonesian women are married to Canadian men who frequently have had personal or business connections with Indonesia. But the overall intermarriage rate is low.
