From Papua to Prosperity

Once upon a time, there lived a brilliant Papuan gentleman named Jamal

Julvri Sulaiman Anjai also known as Julvri. He’s the smartest in Papua.

He’s 17 years old and wants to find a job. Even though Julvri lived in a

lower class, his parents never let down his education. Julvri tried to

work in IT since he’s good at it. However, since he lives in Papua, there

aren’t many job demands for IT. So, he got a meager wage.

One day, he was strolling down his village when he met with Ilham, a
friend of his. They agreed to meet up somewhere in the streets the other
day. Julvri felt like he needed to get something off his chest, so he
figured that talking to Ilham would be best.

“Man, life is so tough… I just graduated high school and now need to
find a job, but there seem to be no high-paying jobs in Papua…”, Julvri
said to Ilham, sighing as he kicked some pebbles.

“Right? I can’t even find a job at all. You see, the problem is Indonesia
has a large working-age population, but not enough jobs to
accommodate everyone. That’s why there are still many unemployed,
especially here in rural places that aren’t familiar with technology”
replied Ilham as he leaned against a pole.
Julvri’s dad had a chronic disease that stopped him from working.
Making Julvri the backbone of their family. Thankfully, Ilham helps
Julvri’s problem. Ilham explained that settling abroad permanently will
help with income, increase the chance of employment, and improve the
quality of life. Ilham told Julvri that he knew a guy who could help him
go abroad.
“So, basically emigration?”, Julvri asked Ilham as his face brightened up.
Julvri is delighted that he has a chance to receive a better income and
support his family.

Julvri learned that in Indonesia wages are usually low in urban areas
like Papua or Sulawesi. Compared to the neighboring countries, wages
in Indonesia, especially outside major cities, can be significantly lower.
So then he thought by emigrating to another country, he could live a
better life. Julvri then went to meet with Ilham’s friend.

“Excuse me, sir. Are you Mr. Abdul? I’m Julvri and I believe my friend
Ilham recommended you to me.” asked Julvri politely as he shook hands
with Mr. Abdul.

“Oh yes, come here young man. I heard you graduated top in your class
and you got some experience working as a computer analyst in
Jayapura. If you’re interested in IT, there is a job I know available in
South Korea. It offers quite high pay that could economically help you
and your family”, Mr. Abdul took out some papers and explained to
Julvri in detail.

“Thank you so much, Sir! You don’t know how much this means to
me.”, Julvri thanked Mr. Abdul.

“Yeah of course. I’ve helped many young people like you. You know, the
reasons why these people emigrate are mostly because of the education
system. It might not always align perfectly with the job market's needs.
This can leave some skilled individuals struggling to find suitable
employment, prompting them to look abroad. Another reason is that
economic development is uneven across Indonesia. Urban areas like in
Papua tend to have fewer opportunities, leading people to seek better
prospects overseas.”, Mr. Abdul explained lengthily.

Julvri shortly thanked Mr. Abdul and left for work, going back to his
usual routine. After work, Julvri decided to talk to his family about his
possible settlement in Korea.
“Mace(mom), pace(dad)... I want to talk to you guys. As you know, I
graduated as a top student, and I have a passion for IT, but here the
wage is the bare minimum, but with my kind of skill, I can get a higher
wage by working somewhere more developed…”, Julvri explained to
his family, hoping to prepare them for the news

“What is your point, Julvri?!”, Mom exclaimed.

“Okay so… I got an offer to work abroad and their wage is very high, it
can pay off our debts and namek’s namik’s school tuition. Good right?”,
Julvri began tapping his foot, hoping to delay the news.

“So where is this place in? For how long will you be working in there?
Dad said.

“It’s far away… it’s in South Korea… And I think I will live there as in
becoming a resident.”, Julvri sighed, watching closely to his family’s
expressions.

Mace and Pace are shocked, “South Korea?!!!”, they said in unison. Julvri
gets up from the floor.

“Please…I need the money to support you guys”, Julvri stammers,

finding excuses so his parents will let him go.
Mace and Pace finally agree to Julvri to go to South Korea. Mace hugs
Julvri back, “Be careful, okay?”, Julvri slightly nods.

Long story short, after preparing his visa, passport, and working
contract, Julvri could finally start working in Korea. This whole process
took him 6 months, and during this time he started learning Hangeul,
which is the Korean language. There are strains of emotion that fill
Julvri’s heart. Fear, excitement, loneliness, and eagerness are mixed.
Julvri will miss his parents and siblings, who always supported him
throughout the whole process.
Julvri stepped out of the airport and he finally saw the view of South
Korea, “I’ll be alright, I’ll be okay”. Julvri calmed himself down.

As Julvri settles in his new apartment, he sets out to explore the city
where he lives, Seoul. Julvri learns that the use of technology is different
than Indonesia’s. He then experiences a lot of culture shock. How the
people acted, the infrastructure of the city, their work culture, and
others. However, people here view him differently. Julvri concluded that
people might view him differently because of his background.

Nonetheless, he remained positive and went to his new work. Julvri

knows some of the basics of the Hangeul language. He stepped foot at
his new office and right away he noticed the stares.
“Hello, my name is Julvri, the new worker. I will be under your care
now”, Julvri quietly sighed as he could hear the unpleasant whispers.

Julvri feels overwhelmed because of the massive language barrier and

that he can barely keep up with what they are saying. As the days go by,
he notices a pattern, that a lot of his seniors like to give him all the work
even though it’s not his job and Julvri begins to realize that it’s all
because of his race and background.
“Doesn’t Julli, whatever his name is, look so weird? Thank God he just
receives and works to death”, on and on all his co-workers would pick
on him and use complex word choices to confuse him.

“Good job, Juri, you don’t mind doing this for me right?”, his co-worker
giggled as he put piles of work on his table.
“No! I’m tired of you all toying me around! I’m not some black guy for
you to mess around with, I’m just as competent as all of you are!”, Julvri
angrily left his office to his apartment.

Later that night he felt homesick, he missed his family dearly and hoped
all was best for them. Thankfully, his wage was enough to repay their
doubts and keep up with the bills. However, Julvri realizes he stands no
chance against his co-workers. One wrong word from Julvri, he could
get kicked out. All Julvri could do is stay silent when they’re all mocking
him.
“Weirdo!”

“Why is your skin like that?!”

“Go back to your own country!”

“Hey, monkey IT guy! Why don’t you buy a ticket home? We can’t stand
seeing you around here!”, another co-worker said, laughing at Julvri.

“I don’t understand what they’re saying…”, Julvri mumbles to himself

as he continues with his work, still hearing the laughs coming from his
co-workers.
After he came back from his lunch break, he found a yellow sticky note
stuck on his table. They wrote, “Monkey’s desk”, Julvri felt heartbroken
and felt that he should just quit.

Those are all the mockery Julvri experiences, he cannot stand them
anymore. He feels like all the trouble that he went through isn’t worth it
anymore. Julvri feels like he has reached the lowest point of his life. In
an unfamiliar place, far away from home, with a foreign language. Tears
rolled down his cheeks, and the sweet sensation of home was gone. On
the verge of despair, he remembers his true goal.

“If I want to support my family, I have to do it right”, Julvri said, more

motivated than ever.

The next day, Julvri confronted his co-workers and stood his ground. He
became more confident and believed in himself. He showed off his skills
to his co-workers and they became amazed by him.
“Dang didn’t know he was THAT talented”, all his co-workers started to
praise him.

As time passes, his boss becomes more aware of his skills and
co-workers think highly of him. In the end, Julvri succeeded in
becoming the company's manager and continued settling in South Korea
permanently while also supporting his family.