WAIKAPU » Maui resident Soen Liang Kwee was a university professor and manager at a conglomerate in Indonesia and had a chauffeur and four servants to wait on him and his family.

But the luxury of living in a Muslim-dominated country was not enough for him, because of the racial riots, violence and discrimination against Chinese in Indonesia in the 1960s, including an educational system that limited the number of Chinese youths entering universities.

“;I wanted to give my children a better opportunity for an education,”; said Kwee, 87.

He recalled people harassing and throwing stones at his children and his eldest son being robbed of his reading glasses at knifepoint.

The former Dutch-controlled country was going through a period in the 1960s when anti-Chinese sentiment ran so high that hundreds of Chinese merchants' shops were wrecked in one city alone.

With only $2,500, Kwee; his wife, Kiauw Nio; and four children fled the riots and killings and arrived as immigrants on Maui in 1969, eventually developing several businesses, including Maui CookKwees Cookies, an enterprise sold about 20 years ago.

The cookie in a variety of flavors remains a popular gift item in Hawaii retail stores.

Kwee said adjusting to life in the United States wasn't easy.

“;Physically, we had a hard time. But spiritually, you are free. You can tell what you want to tell,”; he said. “;You have freedom of religion, freedom of soul.”;

One night in the Indonesian city of Bandung, his family had barely survived being robbed and their home sacked by a roving band of rioters searching for Chinese.

Luckily, a neighbor who was Indonesian told the rioters that he owned the Kwees' home, and they moved on to other victims.

“;My neighbors were nice,”; he said.

He had never done much physical labor before arriving on Maui, and his first job was to paint the dormitories at Maunaolu College.

Luckily, the college supervisor was an understanding person.

“;He said not to worry and for us to paint the floor brown,”; recalled Kwee.

The job at Maunaolu paid $400 a month, and Kwee found additional work selling Singer sewing machines and being a part-time night manager at Liberty House.

He eventually secured a job as a county property tax appraiser in 1975.

Meanwhile, his son Nathan, the second oldest, began developing the cookie business with the help of his mother, who had a kasava chips business in Indonesia.

The family also operated a takeout restaurant in Kahului.

Nathan and John were elected president of their respective senior classes at Maui High School.

Nathan now operates his own real estate company, Realty 1st in Wailuku. John is a financial planner on the Big Island, the third son Sam owns a gift distribution business on Oahu, and Rosy owns a gift business on Maui.

The Kwees have 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Soen Kwee, now retired, said he doesn't regret leaving Indonesia, although conditions have improved enough that Christians are now allowed to celebrate Christmas and Easter.

Although he has taken trips back to Indonesia, his sons have no desire to visit the country because of their bad memories of it, he said.

The Kwees found that on Maui, many churches are able to work together.

Kwee, who is a Baptist, recalled that upon arriving on Maui with barely any possessions, members of a Congregationalist church left a collection of pots and pans on the family doorstep.

Kwee said he enjoys living on Maui, where there are memorials to Dr. Sun Yat-sen, father of the Republic of China, and to the late Maui Mayor Eddie Tam, who has a gym named after him.

“;Here, the Chinese are respected,”; Kwee said. “;Here, you are appreciated.”;