Indonesia meets Elmhurst and Beyond
One of the best parts of growing up in Elmhurst was I had tons of aunties and uncles. We didn’t have to go to a cabin for campfire stories. They were on tap and “did home deliveries.” Indonesians are stellar storytellers regardless of background and can go on for hours. Laughter and joy are the pastimes of my people.
By Fiel Sahir
I grew up with heavy burdens from the age of 10. I was the son of a community leader. My dad was a well respected figure of the community and spiritual leader at local Indonesian churches for 20 years before he retired.
However, a lot of perks come with the job of being your parents' representative.
One of the best parts of growing up in Elmhurst was I had tons of aunties and uncles. We didn’t have to go to a cabin for campfire stories. They were on tap and “did home deliveries.” Indonesians are stellar storytellers regardless of background and can go on for hours. Laughter and joy are the pastimes of my people.
After listening to hundreds of stories, one question always stood out to me: “How did we get here? What made people from over 10,000 miles away decide to land in Elmhurst, Queens of all places? Who decided Elmhurst should be the hub for Indonesian Americans in New York City?" I found it funny that we ended up following the footsteps of the Dutch who were our former colonizers. When the Dutch and Europeans came here, they displaced the native Matinecock/Lenape in the 1600s.
Elmhurst is one of the world’s most diverse neighborhoods according to National Geographic. The Languagemap.nyc created by the Endangered Language Alliance (ELA) allows you to explore an interactive digital map. By some counts, over 100 countries are represented here. But even within the countries represented in our neighborhoods, there is more wealth the deeper you look. In the Indonesian community of NYC, which comprises around 5,000 people, we have over one dozen ethnic groups that we call “suku,” meaning tribe. To name a few: we have Sundanese, Javanese, Batak, Bugis, Manado, Ambonese, Hakka, Peranakan, Bangka, Acehnese, Hokkien, Palembang, Minangkabau, Balinese, Mamuju, and these can be even divided further! Each group has their own language, food, dances, ways of thinking and make NYC and especially Elmhurst just that more beautiful.
As a nation, Indonesia has over 1000 languages spread across its 13,000 islands that span the length of the United States. Diversity is at the core of its being. Considering the national motto of Indonesia is “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” meaning “Unity in Diversity” it’s no wonder that we landed in a place as diverse as Elmhurst.
The sad story is that we did not all land here by choice. One of the sad realities of “how people land“ where they land is to escape financial hardship and violence.
Marco Polo shows us that global trade has been happening in Asia for centuries. Indians, Arabs, Chinese, Japanese, Armenians, and many other groups participated in commerce throughout the maritime silk road. Millions of people over the centuries, including my ancestors, migrated for better opportunities and have lived in Indonesia for centuries.
In the 1990s the economy of Asia took a steep plunge. In 1998, the people of Indonesia had enough. Due to government corruption leading to national instability, student groups led protests through Indonesia. Unfortunately, these protests devolved into riots that led to racially motivated violence towards thousands of Indonesians. I nearly became one of the many victims of those that experienced harm, but through a miracle, the town where my family lived was spared last minute. In particular, many Chinese descended women were harmed, murdered, and experienced sexual assault.
Although the riots ended in three days, the damage added insult to injury as racial violence had already been perpetrated in 1965 and multiple instances throughout history. For many, the Anti-Chinese Riots of 1998 were the last straw. Thousands of Indonesians with Chinese descent fled the country to places throughout the world. Although the riots weren’t a primary factor, it was one of the underlying causes for some Indonesians to settle in the United States, including Elmhurst. In particular, there was a wave from 2001-2005 of many moving to Queens.
I knew from community elders that the Indonesian community had been in Elmhurst since at least the 1960s. Thanks to speaking with someone in his 80s, I found out that the first Indonesians to come to New York City were sailors and many of them lived in lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. Since then, I have been unearthing evidence of Indonesian clubs in Manhattan thanks to the help of historians.
Even though the Indonesian community in comparison to many others is reasonably small and concentrated, the community is lively. At the invitation of Assemblyman Steven Raga, we were invited to Albany for the first ever “Indonesian Community Day” on March 23th, 2026. We even had the privilege of being presented to the State Assembly where we were recognized in front of the public.
Day to day, the Indonesians are part of the fabric of Elmhurst. We have multiple shops and restaurants in the neighborhood. Indonesian establishments have gone viral on social media multiple times (worldwide) because of our monthly food bazaar events, diversity, disaster relief efforts, or religious celebrations.
Bibliography:
Perlin, Ross, Daniel Kaufman, Jason Lampel, Maya Daurio, Mark Turin, and Sienna Craig, eds. Languages of New York City. Digital map. New York: Endangered Language Alliance, 2021. http://languagemap.nyc.
Salama, Jordan. "More Than 300 Languages Are Spoken Along This NYC Street." National Geographic, April 2022. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/more-than-300-languages-are-spoken-along-this-nyc-street.
