Celebrating Diversity

Dozens of vehicles, houses, and places of worship were burned. Several people being killed by
gunfire and hundreds of people injured in Ambon. Fights until a massive massacre that killed
tens of thousands of Maduranese. It was all caused by ethnic, race, or religion conflict. Is
primordialism that bad?
I am Salsa Putri Chaerani and I am representing SMAN 2 Tangerang. In this occasion, I will
deliver a speech entitled Celebrating Diversity.
Indonesia is a multicultural country. Diversity is the basic composition of the formation of
Indonesia because there are 17,000 islands, 1,128 ethnic groups, 1,158 languages, and six
religions that being recognized. There are also hundreds of other local beliefs in Indonesia.
Behind all the differences and diversity, we are united by our ideology, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika.
But, have you ever heard the news in Jogja that a man cannot change the land that he has bought
from his hard work into his proprietary for years because his wife is a Chinese? or a student
that is hard to rent a house because he is a Papuan? The owners think that Papuan are hard to
pay rent, often drunk, breaking rules and fighting. Can you imagine it? someone who intends
to seek knowledge in another region of his country is treated badly. He even becomes difficult
to find a place to live just because he is someone of a particular ethnic.
Those are the examples of a view that people who considers their own group as everything and
gives excessive loyalty to their own group. They do not want any elements from other groups,
they do not want to accept other groups in their environment. Those are called primordialism.
Then, there is a question in my head, why are there news of excessive primordialism in a
country with Bhinneka Tunggal Ika as it’s ideology? aren't we united? Intolerance, lack of deep
understanding of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, awareness of ethnic and racial diversity that is still
internal, makes a lot of people feel injustice in the treatment that given to them and feeling
uncomfortable about living as a particular race or ethnicity even though in their own country.
In fact, the diversity which exists in Indonesia is the potential of Indonesia as a nation. More
than that, this diversity is very valuable for the survival of the nation. Diversity is so that we
get to know and learn from each other, and manage those differences to bring goodness to our
life.
In the past, there are many regional organizations such as Jong Java, Jong Ambon, Jong
Celebes, Jong Sumatranen Bond, and Sekar Rukun. They all united and declared under the
Sumpah Pemuda on October 28th 1928. This decision affirmed the aspirations of Indonesia’s
existence.
We can implement the multicultural education. Multicultural education refers to any form of
education or teaching that incorporates the histories, texts, values, beliefs, and perspectives of
people from different cultural backgrounds. This education can be carried out in schools, such
as with group practices, extracurricular activities, etc.
In my experience, in my class, every students have different groups in each lesson. So, whether
you like it or not, you have to chat, exchange ideas and interact with each other without being
picky. These activities can empower the culture that the students brought from different groups.
Besides that, we can also do it in our home environment, for example with the karang taruna
activities, neighborhood association event or just having lunch together in one of our houses.
We can also eradicate primordialism by increasing nationalism in ourselves. The concept of
nationalism formed the awareness of its adherents that loyalty was no longer given to small
groups, such as religion, race, ethnicity, and culture, but aimed at communities that were
considered higher namely nation and state. We can increase our nationalism with enforcing the
law and truth, improving human resources, and commemorating national big days.
Moreover, we have to respect the history of our country. We can do it by visiting museum, or
other historical places. For example, in my home city, Tangerang, I can visit some historical
places, such as gedung juang 45, tugu palaga lengkong, and TMP Taruna museum. We have to
respect our history and make it a trigger to keep us united. In ancient times, fighters sacrificed
their lives and deaths for Indonesian independence. They fought for our independence. For all
of us, not just for one region, race, ethnicity, and religion. But, look at what people in this
country are doing now. They do not accept the other groups, they feel that they are the ones in
power in this country. They forget that unity is everything. They forget about how it creates
harmony, comfort, and happiness.
By celebrating diversity, embracing every difference, there will be harmony that sustains
survival in our country. There will be no primordialism anymore. Everyone will live happily
and comfortably in our beloved country.