Forced migration in Indonesia: Historical perspectives

Abstract

This paper argues that an historical perspective is important in the understanding of contemporary forced migration in Indonesia. It demonstrates this through an analysis of the major pre 1965 forced migrations in the country. It shows that many contemporary population flows both forced and unforced have their origins in historical forced migration. For example, urbanization in Indonesia in the immediate post independence decades was in a major way a function of forced migration. Forced migration also has created chain migration linkages between origin and destination along which later non-forced movements occur. It is also shown that historical forces are often responsible for the political, economic and social inequalities which are an important influence on contemporary patterns of migration.