With so many Indonesians, Vietnamese and Filipinos inside Taiwan, where do Indians fit in?

At the cafe of a library in Taipei I met a bubbly Indonesian who introduced me to #kaburajadulu, a currently trending hashtag in Indonesia that means "just run away first". It was described to me as a cry in response to the socio-political turmoil taking over the country.

- VENUS UPADHAYAYA

The Indonesian and I had met to discuss our respective interests inside Taiwan—it so happened that migrant labour turned out to be the most important of all of them.

I walked through the bustling streets of Taipei with this Indonesian. Bubbling with energy and curiosity while talking about everything and anything under the earth, the Indonesian told me about what's facing the Indonesian youth and said, "We don't know what's happening."

I wondered if "not knowing" was a defence against some perceived threat. Or was it an actual state of confusion and an aspiration to comprehend what's happening? Maybe to some extent it's both.

But this isn't just about her description of Indonesia's political situation. Indonesians are the largest migrant group inside Taiwan, followed by Vietnamese and Filipinos. One in every 33 Taiwanese residents today is a Southeast Asian migrant worker in Taiwan, according to One-Forty, a Taiwanese charity working with migrant workers.

Strangely, in a geopolitical region with Taiwan in the centre, the migrating populations each represent the political and socioeconomic situations of their native countries. And each migrated with the aspiration for a better future to a more opportunity providing economy. That simple fact signifies a lot about what Taiwan represents to them—an opportunity to escape their country's reality and a better life in the region.

Apart from the economic strength of this South East Asian population inside Taiwan, their cultural significance rests on the fact that they constitute 2.5% of Taiwan's total population, equalling the population of the indigenous Austronesian tribes in the country.

CHANCING UPON INDONESIAN ORPHANS One evening in Taipei in early April, a Taiwanese American friend took me to an orphanage near Wanfang Hospital in Taipei. The orphanage run by Harmony Home Foundation founded by Nicole Yang had children from 5-day old to primary graders including many toddlers.