Admittedly, there are still those who sneer at someone who decides to give up their Indonesian citizenship and choose to become a citizen of a big country, such as America, for example. In fact, said Dewi Brewer, who has only been an American citizen for a year,
“It was not an easy decision, not (taken) overnight or in a year. For me it was more than a year, two years, even three years..”
Dewi, born in Padang, West Sumatra in 1970, lived in Indonesia until 1998. After that, she settled in Singapore for 20 years before moving to the US.
Three years of consideration were also needed by Anita Denais. The woman born in 1979 in Cilacap, Central Java, who has lived in the United States since 2009 finally decided to become a United States citizen in 2017. Meanwhile, Aryati Peach, who is familiarly called Ibu Ari, was only moved to become a US citizen after living in this country for about 20 years.
Ari initially thought that she did not need to match her husband's citizenship because as an Indonesian citizen at that time she could still work as an Indonesian language teacher at the United States Air Force Base in Florida. Not long before he died, her husband again asked Ari to become a United States citizen. Her husband was worried that the ever-changing regulations could separate Ari from her two American children. Because one of the great sacrifices her late husband made was deciding to convert to Islam when he married her and raise their two children as Muslims, Ari said,
“I think he on his death bedso I think this is wish-nya. I will do whatever he asks as long as I can.”
In 2010, shortly after she indicated that she was applying for American citizenship, her husband died. A few months later, the woman born in Semarang in 1959 was sworn in as an American citizen in Tallahassee, Florida.
Meanwhile, Anita said her decision to become a US citizen was due to her commitment to her husband to have a family and build a future in the US. So, said Anita who lives in Lafayette, Louisiana, “This is to prove that I will accompany him for the rest of his life with that citizenship.”
Her husband's request to have the same citizenship, so that Dewi would not leave him and return to Indonesia, was also a fundamental consideration for the Frederick, Maryland resident's decision. What made it easier for her to make the decision was that she no longer had any assets in Indonesia or Singapore.
Keep loving
Just as the three women felt heavy when they decided to become American citizens, their love for Indonesia is also heavy to this day.
On Indonesia's Independence Day on August 17, for example, Dewi attended the commemoration at Wisma Indonesia, the official residence of the Indonesian ambassador in Washington DC. She said, “I feel (as) an Indonesian citizen, even though I am no longer an Indonesian citizen because my roots are from there and because of the lessons (during) school that really stuck, love for the nation and country.”
Ari, who views Indonesia not just as a country but as a family that he always misses, said he always cries every time he hears the national anthem Indonesia Raya at the Indonesian Independence Day commemoration ceremony.
“Never fail, never once. I just listen, always with tears, that's because I am Indonesian. I only have an ID card in America. But I am truly, true and true Indonesian. From face to heart, from attitude, from speech, from thought. I am a true Indonesian.”
Anita felt the same way. Singing and listening to the song Indonesia Raya now actually makes her heart tremble even more and makes her cry. Anita emphasized that even though she has American citizen status, she still admits to being of Javanese blood, Indonesian blood and loves many things about Indonesia. Giving up Indonesian citizenship, she continued, “does not mean 'selling' everything, cutting off ties with Indonesia altogether.”
And when she no longer lives in Indonesia, Anita can now feel even greater pride in Indonesia when she hears good news from her homeland, both in terms of development progress and the various achievements of the nation's sons and daughters inside and outside Indonesia.
Contribution to the Indonesian community
Working as a manager of a Chinese restaurant, Anita is now the head of the Indonesian community organization in Louisiana, IACA (Indonesian American Community Association). In addition to being a forum for the Indonesian community there, the organization is also a source of information exchange and a source of quick fundraising for those in distress or misfortune.
IACA, he continued, “turns out to be able to help friends who are taking care of legalization to live here, whether asylum, or others. Many friends have been helped because they received a letter of recommendation from us.”
Meanwhile, Dewi admitted that she did not contribute directly to the people in Indonesia. However, she has connections with parties who can help the Indonesian community around her. In 2021, while working for the Asian American Center of Frederick, she accepted an offer to work on a project serving the Indonesian community in Maryland, especially those who are undocumented and have low annual incomes.
Dewi continues to provide this service even though at the beginning of this year she moved to work as a financial specialist at the federal government agency, the National Institute of Standards of Technology. He said, “Now I volunteer to serve Indonesians who do not have a residence permit in America to get free health insurance for one year and then renewal.”
Preserving the Indonesian language, by actively speaking and becoming an Indonesian language teacher or translator in various institutions, is one of Ari's contributions to Indonesia. Another contribution is actively developing and preserving Indonesian culture. Lately, he has been busy introducing the angklung. Ari, who is skilled at playing several musical instruments, has brought his angklung group consisting of elderly members, to perform around America. Throughout last year, for example, the group has performed 25 times in various cities.
His latest project was performing at the WOW Indonesia Festival, a major event in Washington DC to commemorate 75 years of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and the US. Through the angklung and the choice of songs played, he felt happy. Said Ari, who now lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, “As an Indonesian, I maintain, preserve, and develop Indonesian culture in a superpower country. Putting my feet down, planting the Indonesian flag.” (uh/ab)
