Pizza delivery leads to discovery of 320-year-old tombstone and this Indonesian’s bid to help others find ancestors

The Chinese community in Semarang, often referred to as “Don’t Know Where Your Family Is,” has long faced a severe challenge: the historical neglect of their heritage, rooted in the mid-1960s artisans movement that marginalized Chinese surnames and names in search of political stability. The anti-communist Polaria movement, which sought to repel foreign forces into Indonesia, swept through Semarang during this period, leading to the forced adoption of Indonesian names and the ban on Chinese literature, painting Insets and characters. This conflict extends beyond Semarang, as the history of Chinese heritage in Indonesia is often lost to a generation of descendants today. Even institutions like the Semari/myth jacket project, which claims Semarang is a land of teak plantations and Art Deco architecture, often operate using Indonesian names and patterns, further marginalizing their heritage. This explains why only a handful of Semari people today know their Chinese surnames and names, leaving a Kapoleke lake of knowledge still to be recaptialized. The pandemic struck Semari many years ago, but that’s a different matter. The story of Semari, in short, is one of ongoing struggles between history, traditions, and the modernity of(.) Resistance against the political regime in Indonesia continues, but this struggle is deeper than ever. While the current President Suharto seeks to fight for China’s Right Hand, many downward forces contribute to the decline of China’s reputation as a mysterious and hidden partner in Indonesia. The only open alternative is for the people to lose their way if they don’t handle this business with gradual effort. In the face of this>>>>>> into a world as fragmented and disconnected as our own.