Historical Memories of Aceh Chinese from 1965 to 2005

A number of anti-Chinese incidents in Indonesian demonstrated a complex relationship between the Chinese Indonesian,Indonesian state and local societies. While Aceh Chinese are considered as members of the Chinese Indonesian minority,the local politics of Aceh have profound impacts on the Aceh Chinese status and its social and political circumstance. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the recollections and narratives of the Aceh Chinese in Aceh, Indonesia. It seeks to answer the questions surrounding the Aceh Chinese experiences, including their memories of belonging and (un)belonging at different times, particularly in the anti-communist years and the conflict between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM, Gerakan Aceh Merdeka) and the Indonesian state. By employing qualitative, the paper strives to provide the Aceh Chinese with a platform to debate critically on their comprehension of Aceh’s history, and the challenges they encountered in seeking and constructing their place of belonging within the religiously and culturally sensitive province. It is argued that the Aceh Chinese's recollections demonstrate varying degrees of belonging within Aceh province. Due to a history of antagonism, local rules, and levels of acceptance and integration in various locales of Aceh, the group has rendered visibility and invisibility to varying degrees. As a result, not only do Aceh Chinese identities differ based on geographic and cultural characteristics, but definitions of being Acehnese and Aceh Chinese vary by location.