Immigrants Like Me

Immigrants Like Me

Historical Background... All Americans have immigrated at one point during their family line. And one of the immigrant groups are Indonesians. But even though it has one of the most substantial amount of people living there, not a great amount of Indonesians have actually immigrated to America. Although ever since the 1980s, that amount has grown. But first a little background about Indonesia.  Indonesia is made up of about 18, 307 islands and has the largest population in South East Asia. It has many linguistic groups, one popular one being Javanese. Indonesia was a dutch colony for 350 years and was then ruled by Japan from 1942 to 1945. And they finally received full independence on August 17, 1945. Due to the fact that they were a Dutch colony for a long time, their economic, political, and cultural relationship with the US isn't as strong as other Asian nations.  Early Indonesian Immigrants... Most of the early Indonesian immigrants were mixed European and Indonesian. They moved during the 1940s, when Indonesia was struggling to gain their independence. But before going to the US, a lot of the immigrants went to the Netherlands first. During the mid-1950s, the US government enabled Indonesian students to earn a scholarship and study in the US. And in 1953, the United States Agency for International Development, started to provide scholarships to students in the University of Indonesia majoring in the medical department. With that scholarship, they were able to go and study abroad at the University of Berkeley. In 1956, the USAID provided scholarships to another Indonesian school called the Bandung Institute of Technology. They were given the chance to study at the University of Kentucky.  During the 1960s, a large amount of Chinese Indonesians moved to the US due to the chaos that was going on in Indonesia. But that wave of immigration didn't last long because of the increase in peace in Indonesia and also due to the limited amount of Indonesians that could immigrate to the US. But nowadays, most Indonesians move to the US for educational and economic reasons. By the 1980s, there were 26,700 immigrants of Indonesian origin and by 1990, that number almost doubled with 53,600+ Indonesian immigrants. In 2007, there was an estimated 86,000. But even with the rapid increase, those numbers still didn't compare to the estimated 60,000 Chinese and 54,000 Filipino s that immigrated per year, with Indonesia only having 3,000 per year. And when it came to Indonesian immigrants about half of the amount that immigrated live in the California region. Employment... One of the most famous employments for Indonesians in America is restaurants. About one in every eight Indonesian that has immigrated to America, has worked as a cook or waiter/waitress. Many own restaurants that practice Indonesian style food. And most of the restaurants reside in the Los Angeles area. And if they don't have an occupation in those areas, they tend to be in the professional and technical occupation. But a great amount of Indonesians also work in the importing and exporting business. And because of that, trade between Indonesia and the US is very strong. Some imports from Indonesia include oil, rubber, tin, coffee, spices, tea, plywood, and textiles. In total, that amounts to four billion dollars. Indonesian Culture... Indonesian Americans tend to stick close to their roots. For example for clothes. A lot of Indonesian men and women wear sarongs and traditional garments. A lot of their clothes include the batik design. For formal occasions, women wear a kebaya, a long sleeved blouse, and sarong. Men will wear batik shirts along with trousers. A lot of men will also wear a peci, which is a black felt cap.  Another example is traditional holidays. Idul Fitri is a popular holiday that they will celebrate to honour the 30 day fast. Most will celebrate with a big feast with family. Indonesian Americans will also celebrate Christmas and Easter since it's celebrated in Indonesia as well. They also celebrate Indonesia's independence day on August 17. On that day, Indonesians alongside officials, come together for the flag raising ceremony and reception.  And lastly, food. Rice is key in the Indonesian diet. And during special occasions, food such as sate and krupuk are served. Food is eaten with their hands or spoons and forks. For Indonesian Americans, on a daily basis, some grown accustom to the American food and diet that surround them, but others will stick to their Indonesian food. My Reflection Video