Coronavirus exposes hidden struggles of poor Indonesian-Chinese families | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3099986/coronavirus-exposes-hidden-struggles-poor-indonesian-chinese
As the coronavirus ravages Indonesia– which has recorded some 194,100 cases and Southeast Asia’s highest death toll of more than 8,000 – Lie’s monthly income has taken a hit, making it harder to reach the 4.5 million rupiah (US$300) needed to cover rent, food, necessities and school fees.
The struggling family also often endured stares from people, Lie said, because of a perception in the country that ethnic Chinese tended to be wealthy. Lie, whose children are 10, six and a year old, said it felt as if her family’s circumstances were “embarrassing the Chinese” in Indonesia. Others have judged her as being “crazy” for travelling with her husband, children and goods all on one motorbike.“In my heart, I think: ‘God, I do not want to be like this either’,” Lie said.The street vendor is not alone in feeling pressure from the wider society in Indonesia, which links ethnic Chinese with the upper class, a bias the government has long endorsed, according to one analyst.Since the coronavirus hit, various associations have been reaching out to support some struggling families across the country, a move that has thrown light on the diversity of backgrounds within the ethnic Chinese community. Indonesian-Chinese are thought to make up less than 2 per cent of the 270-million population, but control many conglomerates and a large portion of wealth, leading to a widespread belief that they are rich, or middle class, and live mainly in the urban provinces
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