We boast our nation as the most varied archipelago. As the country with most diverse culture, language and ethnicity. As an exotic groups of islands with crystal-clear beaches and glorious fronts of mountains and volcanoes. As the home of sincere smile from an old farmer. And a getaway paradise from all the trifling sensations of the everydayness. As the emerald on the equator. But, are we that proud?
For at least three and half centuries, Indonesia has been colonized by at least three, no, four nations: the Dutch, the British, the Portuguese and the Japanese. And, as an Indonesian who is desperately in love with observing fascinating Indonesian-affiliated phenomena, I conclude that, to a certain extent, the impacts of 350 years of colonialization still exist even in nowadays contemporary era. One I would like to highlight the most is the presence of the mental of slaves within the Indonesian people.
The Locals
During my last journey across Java and lesser Sunda, I've encountered many alluring, and often pretty secluded, tourism spots that are worth visiting. And almost all of them are managed by the very hands of the local people. However, traveling as a local, I found myself pretty alienated even in my own country; two of my friends and I are the only locals on most of the places we visited, where the rest are mostly westerners or Japanese (I always think that Japanese is the 'Israel' of Asia. They just... have my respect).
Moreover, because we are locals, we are greeted and treated as a second-class citizens. And the local people on these places are just taking somewhat unusual high regard to the westerners, or as I can put it, worshiping them excessively. Unconsciously, the belief of westerners as a more superior being has been deeply ingrained, or inherited, to the minds of Indonesian inlanders. It is as if there is a certain stereotype of Indonesian tourists being very poor and unable to afford such goods and services they offer.
In extreme cases, these local people would be very hostile toward us, which are also locals, for sitting on the chairs provided at the beach. Yelling that "bule (westerners) will leave if they see local people hanging around". On events like this, we usually being the one who forfeits the battle.
Overseas Indonesian
For almost two years now, I had the opportunity to study abroad. Australia has been one of the most favored country for Indonesians to pursue tertiary qualifications. And lately, I have been active in several Indonesian affiliated groups, not only to seek networks, but also to observe how Indonesians behave when they leave their homeland.
It turns out that based on my remarks, Indonesians are smart. Sometimes are even smarter than students from any other nationalities. When talking about grades, especially considering that English is not our native tongue, many Indonesians circulate among the top 25% of the class. Also, taking into account that most of these Indonesians are enrolled in heavy quantitative subjects such as engineering, science and finance. Some of them are so hardcore they list bioengineering and actuarial as their major.
However, although Indonesians are smart, they don't usually realize their own potential. They rarely compares themselves to people from other countries, especially Australian students. And often, when involved in conversations or group works with westerners, Indonesian tend to stay quiet and, unconsciously, feel nervous when stating their opinion. Sometimes, they are just too scared whether or not their opinion is true.
And for some reasons, having a western friend is something that Indonesians could be proud of. Specially when you have a picture with a westerner from opposite gender that shows up on your Facebook gallery.
Again, the feelings of being someone that descends from a lower race degree, or nation, has been deeply rooted in our subconscious mind. But the puzzle is: is it a mere result of 350 years of colonialization or is it a common trait shared by the people who originates from the third world country?
