Intergroup Relations and Ethnic Commitment

The upper-middle-class lifestyle and impressive residences of many Canadian Indonesians attest to their overall success in the new homeland. Discrimination is rarely a problem, and many feel that they are more industrious than people already living in Canada and hence deserve their success. Given that most of the ethnic Chinese from Indonesia have, at least superficially, adopted Indonesian cultural characteristics, including family names, their ethnic background is not always apparent to the outsider or even to Indonesians themselves, who may resort to subtle strategies to determine another’s identity. In Canada, however, some assimilated Chinese are taking advantage of the new freedom to their surnames back to the original and urging their children to study the ancestral language.

Indonesians sometimes seek out their ethnic counterparts from other places, but those who do so tend to be individuals who can speak a Chinese dialect. A few Indonesians are found in the congregations of Chinese churches in Toronto. There is also a Mandarin-speaking Indonesian pastor of a Presbyterian church in the city and a Cantonese-speaking Pentecostal minister, both of whose congregations are largely non-Indonesian Chinese. By and large, Indonesian Chinese feel more affinity with other southeast Asians than with those from Hong Kong or Taiwan, whom they consider to be too “fast” and “aggressive.” Some Indonesian Protestants even believe that to follow Chinese customs and rituals is “anti-Christian,” a view that may in part reflect the attitude of certain churches only.

A variety of shared interests, including churches and cultural associations, bring together Indonesians of all ethnic backgrounds at social gatherings, where indigenous music and dance are featured. Even between pribumi Muslims and others, relations are usually cordial, and some are willing to attend Christmas parties and social events at Christian churches. The Indonesian identity is further reinforced on those occasions when the consul general is invited to address the community and reminds its members of their heritage. Many Chinese from Indonesia have lost the distinctive elements of their own cultural heritage and now feel comfortable with the Indonesian culture and language. There remains, however, an unresolved ambivalence about their ultimate identity between their place of birth and that of their ancestral origins.