Indonesia: 71st Indonesian Independence celebrations in Christchurch

The Canterbury Indonesian Society celebrated the 71st Indonesian Independence Day in Christchurch, which also saw participation from the wider community, on August 28. Elyana Thenu, President of CIS, who came to New Zealand 20 years back, noted, “While the Indonesian community is not very large in Christchurch, and mainly consists of students studying in various universities, it's important that the community gets together on such occasions to remind ourselves of the great sacrifices the previous generations have made so that we can enjoy the fruits of freedom.” The event also saw performance of Indang dance from West Sumatra and Cerana dance from Timor East. There were competitions of traditional games too including the Indonesian favourite - tug of war.