Over the past several weeks, during Indonesia’s largest nationwide protests since 2019, a hashtag began trending on social media: #SEAblings. This hashtag has since been used by netizens across Southeast Asia to express solidarity with Indonesian protesters facing repression, amid a difficult economic situation and anger at what many see as the government’s indifference and even contempt for ordinary people. As the term suggests, it seeks to unite citizens from across the region, encouraging them to support each other in difficult times.
This may not be the first time the term has been used. It was reportedly also used by netizens in response to a picture of four Southeast Asian leaders meeting at the G-20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro last year. Since Indonesia’s latest round of protests began, sparked by the introduction of a controversial housing allowance and other benefits to lawmakers, it has taken on a new meaning. The hashtag first spread as part of a campaign to support ojol motorbike ride-share drivers in Indonesia following the death of Affan Kurniawan at the hands of the police on August 28.
This campaign, spearheaded by a Thai X user by the name of Yammi, began among netizens from other Southeast Asian countries, who found a way to order meals and other supplies for Indonesian drivers and protesters using apps such as Grab and Gojek, before drawing in netizens from around the world. Since then, the hashtag has been used to express political solidarity, draw attention to instances of repression, and mobilize support for new causes, and in memes and visuals expressing love and gratitude that have spread widely.
Other online solidarity movements like this have previously emerged among netizens from across Asia. A notable recent example is the Milk Tea Alliance, which emerged during the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019 and 2020. This campaign initially involved netizens in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Taiwan who opposed Chinese nationalism and authoritarianism, but was later taken up by activists in other countries, particularly Myanmar, following that country’s military coup in 2021. In another instance of online activists from across Southeast Asia learning from each other, the hashtags #WhatsHappeningInThailand and #IfThaiPoliticsWasGood, first used during pro-democracy protests in Thailand in 2020, inspired similar hashtags such as #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar and #IfLaosPoliticsWasGood.
The Milk Tea Alliance, though not dead – accounts under the banner have supported Indonesians during the recent protests – may have since hit its peak. Online use of the hashtag has declined, although regional chapters continue to organize offline activities, including protests and film screenings under the name. #SEAblings, on the other hand, may well surface again during other movements and evolve in interesting ways. Indonesians have already used the hashtag to reciprocate the support they have received from activists in other Southeast Asian countries who perceive that they face similar problems.
While participation in these transnational online movements is mostly limited to those in different countries that have the technological and linguistic means to communicate with their peers across borders, their impact goes beyond simple expressions of support or solidarity. Digital activism can facilitate more practical means of support, like the above-mentioned campaign to support ojol drivers, fundraising and the spread of information to assist those on the ground and different communities. Such campaigns can increase visibility for social movements in certain countries. Nationwide protests in Indonesia, which have episodically broken out since 2019, have until now received less attention than those in Thailand, Myanmar, and Hong Kong.
Moreover, these campaigns can give rise to new narratives and foster a new pan-Southeast Asian consciousness. In a region where political institutions such as ASEAN often set the terms for transnational engagement and cooperation, #SEAblings could connect citizens in novel ways and give rise to new initiatives that challenge dominant norms and ways to address common regional problems.