The Exodus and The Shame of Our World

It was as if our heartsrings pulled in most gruesome ways to see the image of the tiny, lifeless body of a drowned Syrian toddler refugee washed up ashore. This humanity crisis did not stop here. Our heart ached to watch on screen as thousands of refugees have been soaked in open torrential rain across the border, hugry and cold with extreme fatigue. It was the children that captured us the most. Their eyes innocent, their faces tired, confused and scared, clutching at the arms of their parent. Crying and drenched in rain, they tugged along their  mothers or fathers who continued to stride ever forward.  They kept on marching only  to find their fellow refugees piled into European train stations and prevented to go further. A video published on Twitter shows how journalists were filming the scene as police officers were chasing refugees and trying to contain them. 

The plight of these refugees keep flooding our Twitter and Facebook feeds. We have the update on daily basis from our news channel day and night. And these images will keep on coming. This is an exodus! People torn by civil wars to find a safe haven for their families despite the uncertainty of their fate in the new land. We watch in horror and despair. Our heads bow down in shame to witness their suffering without being able to lend our hands.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has been overwhelmed with the biggest refugee influx in decades. It said the world is facing the biggest refugee crisis since World Ward II, as a staggering 60 million people displaced from their homes, four million from Syria alone. This crisis is a worldwide problem since refugees are fleeing countries from Afghanistan to Nigeria to Myanmar, to reach countries wealthy and poor alike they find safe from US and Europe to Turkey and Lebanon. On June 2015, UNHCR reported that the top 5 nationallities arriving by sea in Europe comprises of Syria (34%), Afghanistan (12%), Eritrea  (12%), Somalia (5%) and Nigeria (5%).

Ironically, the world  has been constantly failed to tackle this increasing humanity crisis. Our world are mired in a set of myopic, stingy and cruel politics that give birth to malicious policies towards refugees.  World leaders have been busy debating whether it's more proper to label them as migrants or refugees, playing human ping pong policies, reluctant to accept moral responsibilty to help these displaced people, around half of whom are children.

Certainly in the midst of prolonged global economic recession, insecurity gives rise to anti imigration sentiment. People feel economocially insecure as in many do in Western countries now that might bring a sense of zero-sum competition. More mouth to feed means a slice reduction from their ratio. Not to mention that people tend to get suspicious with others who have different color, language, culture and creed. They find their customs and values alien that might threaten theirs. It’s easy to love your neighbor but in practise it’s hard to love strangers. There is thus enormous political demand within these countries for keeping out migrants and refugees for the sake of the argument that they neither culturally nor financially are capable to take refugees. Fear is the sole reason to treat these refugees inhumanely. Fear drives hostile policies towards the unknown.

However, despite this bleak reality, we are heartened to see individuals build a solidarity movement, offering shelters for refugees, providing food, clothes, and temporary health aid. Regardless of their government’s stance, they volunteer to help people in dire needs because humanity does not know color, race, language or creed. Love and compassion is the only universal language they communicate with these unfortunate refugees. No-one with even an ordinary measure of compassion can fail to be moved by the plight of these poor Syrians. If you were in their position you’d try anything to get out too.

The sporadic acts of these myriad of volunteers offer a beacon of hope for the refugees. Their kindness generate warmth and chance for the world to live, setting an example for others to follow suit. This small movement has grown bigger and together they could put pressures on government to change their hostile policies.

In the end, Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, in a plea for European generosity towards the 500,000 who had entered the EU this year, said: “Europe is the baker in Kos who gives away his bread to hungry and weary souls. Europe is the students in Munich and in Passau who bring clothes for the new arrivals at the train station. Europe is the policeman in Austria who welcomes exhausted refugees upon crossing the border. This is the Europe I want to live in.”.

Holy Cow and Chicken Fright

Stopping at the local supermarket nearby, I held my breath to see the meat prices! After the unfinished business of the skyrocketing beef prices, the poultry especially chicken meat follows suit within a few days. One whole chicken had a price tag of Rp. 42,000 tonight. I rolled my eyes in disbelief. This was definitely the highest price I have ever experienced so far. I left the groceries with only tomatoes and carrots! Gee, I think I might considering switch my mode into a herbivore. Being an eternal Tempeh and tofu lover prove to be an advantage for this mode switch!

So here's the conclusion of tonight's ramble in the market: omnivores like myself may want to consider the financial advantages of becoming vegetarians, especially since meat prices are skyrocketing!

First, out of the blue, the issue of imported beef reduction measure, as part of import curbs for food self-sufficiency plan, pushed up the price of beef. Combined with the allegedly insufficient domestic cattle supplies, the policy seemed always result in lower supply and surging prices. Related to this brouhaha, the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) is still investigating the possibility of a cartel being involved in the drop in beef supplies and the increase in its price.

Immediately, the beef scarcity compelled chicken lovers to pay higher prices to get their meat as well. As always some people are just love to fish in trouble waters! Taking the chaotic cattle and poultry management to accumulate profits with any means necessary. Increasing demand (combined with decreasing supplies) soon resulted in much higher prices for your favorite fowl. There’s companies perfectly poised to profit from the situation, to recoup the extra money!

What’s especially alarming for us is inflation rate is tame, but meat lovers see a different picture – prices for steaks and chops are soaring, just in time after the peak season for their demand, the Idul Fitri,  has just been over. Beef prices have continued on their upward trajectory through the early part of the year, a period that is traditionally a lull in the market in between two peak demand times, the Idul Fitri  and Idul Adha season. Analysts expect that it will be several years before Indonesia's cattle herds and poultry increase substantially in size provided there's a consistent and synchronized mixed of policies in related departments responsible to manage this issue for food self-sufficiency ideal: Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Trade, etc. Until then, we should get used to the idea that meat prices will keep soaring.  

Prices of volatile food apparently make ordinary living of housewives a hellish battle. They have to juggle in getting their kitchen works with the same amount of money they receive from their husband. Super mothers juggling with ingredients in the kitchen to make economic decisions similarly to men.

For housewife like myself, this moment is perfect timing to serve local dishes on my platter to save money. Indonesia has abundance of local food that are affordable and rich of nutrients. My favorites are Tempeh and Tofu which are right away replace meat in my household. Tempeh and Tofu are readily accessible in any market. What’s more, I was surprised to learn that tempeh has almost as much protein as fish, chicken, or beef. It’s healthier also because unlike animal-based proteins, tempeh does not have any cholesterol. If you have ever tried tempeh, you have probably noticed that it has a firm, almost mushroomy texture and a slightly earthy taste that sends immediately your taste buds to scream for more.

Campaigning to love Indonesia food perhaps might be one of the feasible ways to outsmart the soaring prices for meat. They are affordable and contains of natural proteins provided Indonesia does not rely on imported soya beans (the main ingredient of tempeh and Tahu) from overseas.

A grand plan for the world's fourth most populous nation to become self-sufficient in key food commodities is indeed vital. However, strategy to achieve this long term goal should be carefully formulated especially in regards on the import curbs which should be aligned with consistent and thorough trade regulations. In the meantime, I should switch to become a herbivore!

Independence Day: The Fate of Indonesian Farmers

As the band struck the National anthem, we saluted our red and white flag which was graciously hoisted by our Paskibra (flag hoisting squad). The patriotic atmosphere was thick in the air. We followed the procession solemnly in honor of our fallen heroes who sacrificed their life for a free Indonesia with full sovereignty. It was 70 years ago, our founding fathers, Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta, proclaimed the independence of Indonesia, politically and economically. One question however remains: are we as one nation truly free?

When the flag hoisting ceremony concluded, I rushed to the Ministry of Trade parking lot which was only a few kilometers away from my office. A blasting message on my social media invited netizens to participate in the movement to buy tomatoes from farmers which would be held in several places right after the flag hoisting ceremony, including the parking lot at this ministry. The campaign stole the spotlight in this independence day as micro tool to help tomato growers who were facing severe crisis in the district due to lack of good prices for their produce since there was drastic fall in price for tomatoes in these last three months.

For instance, on normal harvest year, 1 kg tomato was sold for Rp. 2,000 to 2,200 in market, but these few months it is priced as low as Rp. 200, indicating a 80% drop in rates, this season.  Excessive supplies combined with poor distribution and a surge of cheap imported produce in the domestic market are believed to be the cause for this huge price drop that affects the livelihood of farmers.

Setting my foot in the parking lot, I saw civil servants wearing Korpri (Indonesian Civil Service Corps) uniform have full bags of tomatoes and other produces such as dragon fruit, oranges, mangosteen (manggis), snake skin fruit (salak), and sour sop (sirsak). The place was not as crowded as I imagined. Less people from outside of the corps roamed around the area. To my disappointment, the three tons of tomatoes have been sold out a few hours earlier.

Out of curiosity, I asked one of the sellers when the exact time this unusual market was opened. He said right before the ceremony was held most civil servants have flooded the area to hunt the produce. I was lucky I still could grab some snake fruit and oranges as the side fruits to bring home. They tasted more juicy and delicious than the usual fruit I bought from my local supermarket. Their fresh quality was on par with imported fruits. One kilogram of snake fruit was priced at Rp. 15,000,-, orange at Rp. 30,000, mangosteen at Rp. 30,000, dragon fruit at Rp. 40,000 while tomatoes were sold at Rp. 20,000 for three kilograms. We did not haggle the price because this fair was intended to help farmers get good prices.

One of the staffs responsible to manage this fair said that this event was initiated by the Trade Ministry as one of quick responses in addressing the plunging price of tomatoes which have tomato growers suffered a great loss. She said the tomatoes sold in this fair were purchased directly from farmers at Tasikmalaya and Ciamis with price at Rp. 3,000/kg. They will continue to buy the produce from districts of tomatoes in West Java above the buying market price for farmers which are at Rp 2,000 – 2,200/kg. This price is expected to help farmers coped up with their production cost. This measure is a short term only. While the long term measures, she added, would include the restructuring of distribution chain, and building cooperation with local industries having tomatoes as their main ingredients as well as supermarkets.

This crisis as usual faced by most farmers in Indonesia becomes a recurring problem without any viable solution. Growing up in families where farming used to be our main source of income, I experienced such similar story. My grandparents were both farmers who used to have moderate income from their fertile soil. However, as time went by, their life became continuing daily struggle. It became worse when Indonesia has established a clove trading monopoly, the Clove Support and Trading Board (BPPC), controlled by then President Suharto's youngest son during 1990’s.
Under this monopoly, farmers were forced to sell their cloves at vastly reduced prices. Many farmers became bankrupt or destroyed their plantations in protest. My grandparent and uncles had their cloves unattended as the price did not cover the operational cost. From then on, they had difficulties to make ends meet.

Combined with their obsolete farming techniques and less diversification in crops as well as the lure of modern industries have made the work in the field harsh and less attractive. Their descendants turned their back from farming and opted to other profession which offered more stability. This trend has an increasing pattern as many youngsters are now reluctant to become farmers.

It’s off course disconcerting considering that farming has been part of life in Indonesia where Agricultural products played quite a big contribution to the gross domestic income. It came second after the manufacturing sector.  It’s kind of ironic when we hear the condition of agriculture in Indonesia now. The place that used to be an area of surplus agricultural products has became a hunger area. We have to import basic products to feed the nation. The facts indicate that the rise and fall of agriculture is closely linked to macro-economic policy.

It’s been 70 years, Indonesia gains its freedom, sadly its farmers whose blood flow through the veins of this nation are still marginalized as if second class citizen.

Having said so, I think it will be better for the government to focus on the young farmers, to have them trained on how to process the food and also taught on how to market the products. Farmers should not just be thinking about selling the product but marketing it. The government should educate farmers on the overall industry, ranging from fertilizers to techniques to make farming profitable. Agriculture is a dynamic field of knowledge where expertise needs to keep incessantly abreast.

In the end it's about who is more efficient. If we want to be free from those imports, the government needs to make agriculture a national priority.

“Now has come the moment when truly we take the fate of our actions and the fate of our country into our own hands. Only a nation bold enough to take its fate into its own hands will be able to stand in strength.” (Soekarno, Indonesian founding Father)

Does Polygamy Benefit Women or Men

Another incident, if not outright scandal, has arisen in the latest arrest of North Sumatra Governor Gatot Pujo Nugroho, a prosperous justice party politician along with his second wife, Evi Susanti, in relation to his alleged role as financial backer in a scheme to bribe three judges in Medan. The case has implicated one of the prominent senior lawyers, OC Kaligis as well whom to our utter disbelief an avid practitioner of polygamous marriage. This case highlights again the sensitive issue of polygamy that incessantly sparks fiery debate.

Instantly, my memory flashed an imagine of the ragged figure of a poor widow who happened to be one of my neighbors experiencing the horror of Polygamy. Drown in tears; she regretted her decision to be second wife when her husband died. Out of grief and uncertainty, she confided that being a second wife of a retired low rank officer in the armed forces, she did not entitled to any inheritance of his late husband, let alone financial support for her two young sons. She found herself not in good terms with the official wife as she was married in 'nikah siri' fashion or unregistered marriage. As a result, she lost her sole breadwinner and started from scratch to finance her shattered family.

On the other side of a coin, my close neighbor back at my hometown experienced similar nightmare. From scratch, she built a family with her husband. Coming from low income families, they both had to work nail to toe for their four children. As their household prospered, she had to face a bitter cold reality to find her husband having nikah siri with a much younger woman just because their religion allows men to have polygamous marriage. A fresh flesh with attractive appearance!

Truthfully, she felt betrayed and conflicted. She knew it was her husband's rights to have another wife at their bed. Yet, in return for the privilege, is it justified to rob her rights and peace? Her heart broke which resulted in her having miscarriage. She was forced to accept this situation due to her economic dependence to her husband. She succumbed in defeat while her husband kept flirting around with younger flesh.

Left to me if I was put in such situation, I would boil with rage as well!

Being a second wife without the consent of the official wife means you ruin one good family, hurting other's woman feeling and her children. Worse, you put yourself in dire situation legally and socially.

A good marriage is meant to guarantee security for the woman. Polygamy as practiced by our men simply does not offer this anymore because often time the first woman is abandoned or get lesser attention. No woman wants this. We are not sex toys men can replace with the new ones when they get tired of us! We are not merchandise for trade either!

Having said so, demanding a monogamous relationship does not make us, women, less pious or becoming ignorant! It does not make us evil either as claimed by the polygamous practitioners for shutting the doors close for women who have not yet found a suitable husband because the number of women exceeds men. There's not yet a legit statistics for such a claim! It is just a justification used by men who are too weak to keep their pants on! Why should their Achilles heel get women responsible to bear their pain? It does not make any sense at all!

Islam is beautiful and does not condone to justify an act that brings misery to any human being. Instead, Islam brings protection for women and put them in lofty place.

History has showed us that many pious Muslim leaders and clerics were able to stay in monogamous marriage and not swayed with their carnal desires. Respected Buya Hamka, Haji Agus Salim, HOS Tjokroaminoto, Mohammad Natsir, Abdurrahman Wahid, and  BJ Habibie are Muslim leaders and clerics as well as politicians who regarded women in their lofty place.

They know that it is almost impossible and there is hardly a case where a man can balance all the duties required in a polygamous situation, let alone distributing fairness which is prerequisite in Polygamy. It is permitted in Islam in the context of war to offer protection to war orphans and widows. Polygamy thus is a social provision for specific purpose and not just for the sake of lustful satisfaction. The Prophet did not practice polygamy while his beloved Khadijah (the first wife) was still alive. Then, many of the Prophet’s 11 wives were widows because he used polygamy as a social provision to protects widows due to wars.

Sadly, many rich Muslim businessmen and politicians advocate polygamy for the sake of satiating their primal instinct. Truth is that many of them are simply driven by lust and not any desire to fulfill any religious obligations.

Beautiful women at tender age become their prey. They do not register the union with the civil authorities, especially since polygamy in Indonesia is frown upon by the state. They treated women as objects of exploitation, sexual objects to take women through religion economics and status bargaining. As a result, these women become vulnerable to be victims of abuses and marginalisation. Because of the lack of legislation in the matter, the legal system cannot do much.

This phony reason to get more than one wife is what make polygamy stamped as oppressive and is ridiculed. While Islam liberates and highly regards women in high place, it is the actions of its followers that twist the initial noble goal of Polygamy. These men, instead of respecting women, they treat women as merchandise, a gift they can dispose of whenever they have new ones! Worse, they make their numerous wives as partners in crimes for money laundering and messengers of crimes to bribe judges. This is just outrageous!

If these men are truly champion of polygamy the way exactly practiced by the Prophet to protect the helpless widows, then I want to see them marry women who are really in great needs of help without the benefit of looks and tender age. If these men who claim to pious and respectable, only marry beautiful young women, then what would be the fate of women with plain face and poor financial background? Where's the noble goal in such phony polygamy? They are then no different with kings and tyrants in the old days when they take concubines and mistresses just because they have power and wealth!

Alas, the irony of men!

"The way to be at peace and free from the anxieties of unjust behavior is to have only one wife…. I have had plenty children with both of them. Day and night, I feel unrest since there is one thing I always think of: fairness. …. Never experiment with polygamy since we are dealing with humans. I myself am weak in this case, Abdulmalik.” 
— Hamka, Tafsir al-Azhar

OSPEK AND THE CULTURE OF SENIORITY

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/08/04/your-letters-the-culture-seniority.html

My nine year old nephew beamed with joy to return to school after such a long holiday. He was enthusiastic to get reunited with his classmates in their new fourth grade. I was happy for him, relief not to suffer worrisome like my senior colleagues who have their children enrolled in school as freshers.

This is understandable as July marks the repeated nightmarish new student orientation, often encapsulated into an Orientation week, Welcome Week or Freshers' Week. It is a period of time at the beginning of the academic year at a university or other tertiary institution during which a variety of events are held to orient and welcome new students.

The name of the period varies by country. In Indonesia it is called Ospek in college or MOS in high school. The orientation initially is aimed to help new students to organize their classes, acclimate to student life, and introduce themselves to other new student. It consists of programs and activities such as outbound, leadership training, organizational management, and other positive activities.

Unfortunately, this noble goal has lost its significance, replaced by primitive tradition of abuse of power, bullying and violence. The common main aspect in OSPEK and MOS is hazing. It may consist of verbal harassment as well as initiation leading to humiliation.

The event organizer of Ospek consists of seniors, instead of an educational board run event. With the absence of the board, seniors tend to turn this activity into a carnival of horror and terror. They often seek for revenge of similar past abuse they have endured from their seniors. Ospek thus transforms into dreadful activities for freshers. Many parents also criticized the orientation for being economically inconvenient.

How can not they be scared? The gruesome images displayed on the news on the Ospek negativity are enough to get us skeptical of its benefit. Mass media continues to report inhumane activities during those orientations that led to a few cases of death.

New students are required to go through rites of initiation including marching, dressing up in stupid costumes, and even push-ups or suffering physical reprimands that sometimes leads to violence and dead. It always sparks a controversy and long debate on how misguided Ospek benefits the students and school.

Annual tragedies resulted from such initiation rituals have led to a clamping down on school and university initiations in recent years. Sadly, the measure is not effective enough to promote more positive activities for freshers.

Therefore, It is commonplace to see initiation rituals or ‘hazings’ at schools. This practices have been around as long as schools and universities themselves. Upon entry into a school or university, freshers undergo a series of tasks or challenges designed to foster group camaraderie. These are often unpleasant and occasionally degrading in the extreme. New students are forced to accept degradation and embarrassment to show their allegiance or as proof of their fervor. As a rule, seniors can shock, excite and intimidate the new and innocent in equal measure.

Students who do not stand out as being too loud to too beautiful, or just attracting too much attention, they might escape being targeted. While those who demonstrate otherwise might suffer constant bullying, often leading to brutal punishment by older students. Reprimands can involve extreme forms of hazing, sometimes down-right cruel, such as being forced to eat mud to receive physical blows.

This is without a doubt a big irony! Orientation should aim as a bridge for character building. It is not an activity filled with non sense craps and degrading treatment. 

Worse, the concept of seniority is very much reinforced. The military style like Ospek is adopted to instill discipline so they argue albeit its transgression of basic human rights.  Several cases of dead IPDN (School for civil servants) freshers due to brutal initiation rite is not surprising. In Indonesia, seniority is very much embedded into local education culture. This perpetuates itself into the working environment in Indonesia. It is common that seniors in the office have more authority in making decision, just because they're older.

Having said that I personally agree with the action taken by the Education Minister and some regional heads to stop degrading OSPEK or MOS. School and college are supposed the place to build good character. These are places where knowledge thrives and common sense prevails. Schools are the beacon of the enlightened minds that nurture character. 

If school authorities failed to stop Ospek negativity, then their integrity should be questioned! 

Ramadan Rush

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/06/20/your-letters-ramadhan-rush.html

It’s a bright afternoon. Taking a motorcycle taxi, I could still smell the after taste of the sun baking the earth. The notorious orange Bajaj and Metromini belched, coughing thick black smokes that choked me. I cringed. The skies were cheesy, hugged closely by the polluted air. A ray on crimson appeared in the far horizon, a signal for the sun to disrobe and got ready for a slumber. As with the past few days, I waited in the train platform amongst a throng of shoppers laden with one, two or even more shopping bags full of all sorts of goodies, from clothes to shoes. Yes, it's a frenzy shopping spree approaching the Ramadan. Consumerism is thick in the air.

I look to my right, there’s a giant billboard seductively displaying artist advertising mobile phones, on my left another billboard is blaring about Jakarta Great Sale offering price reduction up to 70%. Another ads lures consumers to experience the annual midnight great sale. Get dress and show off your best apparel for Eid al-Fitr, so these ads say beguilingly! Shop till you drop!

Getting off the train, at another corner of the city, the supermarket at the mall nearby was packed with shoppers. People rush to pile up on all types of food stuffs and beverages, leaving shop shelves empty by the early afternoon, to prepare for Ramadan. Everything becomes too much while we are supposed to consume less by fasting. I sighed as I was part of this shopping feast.

It’s a graphic head-on collision between Ramadan and the consumerism and materialism that have unfortunately engulfed our societies. While the holy month of Ramadan is a period for self-restraint and spiritual reflection, the dawn-to-dusk fasting month is also a time for a lucrative business and making money.

Ramadan is coming within a few hours to Muslims all over the world, with their varied customs and lifestyles. This holy month is the month of patience, waiting, restraining one's appetites from eating, drinking or pursuing worldly pleasures. In its simple form: it is an abstinence from food, drink and sexual activities from dawn until dusk. 

In its greater essence, Ramadan is a divinely ordained antidote to the lax, free, pleasure seeking way of life. In fasting, we are trained to sharpen our social solidarity, be compassionate with the less fortunate, endure trials and tribulations with patience as well as promote humble lifestyle.

Unfortunately, as with any other religious events, this sacred moment has been turned into a commodity for consumerism. An abstinence from food and drink during the day is replaced with lavish family dinner and extravagant buffet companies' iftars, featuring restaurant specialties and culinary delights created especially for the Holy month. Instead of turning our attention to Allah, we turn to the exquisite setting and culinary delights to gain a status or symbol.

A solidarity for the poor is vulgarly drowned by the appetite to buy new clothes, bags, shoes, smart phones and any other items that is believed to supposedly upgrade our social standing during Eid celebration. This is how the agents of rampant consumerism counter Ramadan’s message of simplicity, sacrifice and self-discipline.

Unsurprisingly, the capitalist industries are keen to make the most of the opportunities. They see this religious festival as a lucrative business. What's more effective than flooding the media with ads and lifestyle in an integrated pop culture that worship consumerism? These ads have spurred and goaded us with their subtle and seductive ways into self-indulgence. Our subliminal recesses of the brain is gradually infected with the blaring message that says “eat, drink and be happy, for tomorrow we die“, the hallmark of a liberal consumer society. 

As a result, bazaars, games and gossip sessions go on during Ramadan nights live on TV— festive social gatherings featuring artists, politicians and any other public figures as well as other activities that work not to reinforce but counter the purpose and spirit of Ramadan.

Alas, we are but mere mortals with fickle hearts! We are more than happy to follow up the trend!

Ours is truly a consumer society! We have become preoccupied with consumer goods and their acquisition. Notwithstanding during Ramadan, we become more and more absorbed in acquiring goods and merchandises to satiate our needs for a status or symbol.

We are indeed a flesh and blood with many weaknesses!

We still have anger to conquer, envy to vanquish, hatred to quell, gluttony to quench and lust to restraint. We keep saying words that we do not mean out of anger. We keep harboring disgruntles and discontents at heart. We keep throwing jibes and taking pleasure in gossips.

Good Gracious! What a waste. Too many excuses for our follies. Too many justification for our errors! 

Taking this moment, let’s resolve to spend the remaining days of Ramadan in as much devotion, study and service to Allah as possible. Let not consumerism cast its net and get us trapped inside.

Original Sin: Should Women Always Take The Blame?

 http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/05/25/your-letters-should-women-always-take-blame.html

Jakarta rocks to celebrity sex scandal. An illegal prostitution that was selling sex with celebrities has been all the Indonesians media seems to talk about after the Police lifts the veil of such scandal. The recent arrest of Robbie Abbas a.k.a Obbie or R.A., the ringleader of a prostitution ring involving several celebrities, have confirmed the public secret that some celebrities participate in illegal prostitution service as side job. The so-called high class prostitution racket reportedly offered clients models, soap stars and other celebrities. The news spread like wild fire, it becomes trending topic in social media.

Many of us aware of the secretive world of high-class celebrity prostitutes when the work of Sinar Harapan journalist, Yuyu AN Krisna, uncovered the in-depth research into prostitution in Jakarta throughout the 1970s. Such illegal business is nothing new, yet it always gets the fuel from such coverage.

As always, the butt of the jokes always center on the actresses, instead of the regular clients. Circulated initials of the allegedly actresses taking part in the business have turned into a commodity for prank and insensitive humors. My colleague knit her eyebrows, a little annoyed that this humors although directed at the supposed actresses participating in the high class prostitution network, bring along the silent stamp that women always take the blame for the ancient trade.

I have to agree with her on this point. We do not take pleasures in such banal jokes. It's offending! It’s time to shift the focus on the clients instead of the supplier!

Starting in the garden, Eve is deemed responsible for the original sin and since that time women have been blamed for many of men's shortcomings and as a source of men's downfall. The cultural root of male dominance and supremacy is a universal occurrence, including Indonesia. It's irritating that the men (regular clients) always escape the mockery and targeted jest, not liable to become the laughingstock. They could just hide behind their anonymity, like a Godfather, fearless of the degraded public stamp on their infidelity!

C'mon, it takes two to tango! There's demand before there's a supply. Where demand exists, supply will emerge – and it is a fact that men’s demand for sex fuels prostitution. And yet again, the blame game centers on the sex workers. The law rarely touches the clients, especially those with power and wealth. What an irony!

Prostitution is the oldest profession in the world. It has existed thousands of years ago and perhaps it would never cease so long men glorify their libido. It is an ancient trade of profitable business. The victims of such cartel in prostitution network are helpless children and women who are forced intodepravity mostly due to economic reason.It cast an eerie and bleak reality.

With advanced development in technology, the industry has a “liberating” power for cash and sex work is “more and more like a normal service industry”. The two recent cases of sex service commercialized through social media, the first is the murder of sex worker in Tebet area, South Jakarta and now the rigged high class prostitution among our celebrities, have sent us a cardiac arrest symptom like. The private affairs of love which should be sanctified by the bond of marriage has now become a raw financial transaction. The carnal desire holds men above the bounds of morality and thus animal instinct takes over.

The crucial question is: can it be stopped? Well...reality has proved that thousands of years efforts to eradicate prostitution is in fact in futile. So long the demand exists, supply will remain staple.

Therefore, extreme approach in tackling the problem should be introduced instead of using the traditional ways of combating prostitution by involving criminal punishment that leads to cycle of sustained vulnerability for sex workers. Different actions to reduce demand and help women who are exploited should be taken into consideration. It’s about following the money and reducing the demand. It’s time to target MEN who buy sex instead of punishing the women who provide it. It’s time to criminalizing the customers.It is a criminal offense to buy sex!

These so called clients (men) are usually more affluent, have jobs, careers, and families and they’re definitely risking by being involved and fueling this primal industry. They help to make the industry flourish. Without them, this industry will diminish. Logically speaking, it’s much more effective to get them accountable for their role in this industry. It’s time to cut off the rope. The focus should be on the male. It’s time to take prostitution as a male violence against women and children, officially acknowledging it as a form of exploitation that is a barrier to gender equality.

Cut the demand! Expose the clients! Get them punished. They too should bear the consequences. They too should know how it feels to be a laughingstock! They should also be liable to be shamed but their illegal acts.

Still Waters Despite Stormy Weather

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/05/18/your-letters-the-media-isn-t-always-mirror-society.html

My phone rang. I was too busy preparing my course material that I ignored the noisy sound. It beeped with text message. Finishing packing, I read the still glowing text from my brother "Hey, are you OK? They just executed the duo Bali Nine this morning. Just be careful, Ok!"

My heart raced. I immediately switched on the local news channel. Australia's response to the executions of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran has been swift and unprecedented. It caught me off guard that I just realized the state I was in, being in the country where the two drug offenders came from. I had mixed feelings that made me jittery and clammy. It gave me goose bumps.

The way the local Medias framed their articles and coverage on the case days and nights seemed way too emotional and reactionary. They disproportionately paraded the agonizing and excruciating wait of the two families’ to touch the heart strings of their viewers. With due respect, it’s too much to see such raw exploitation.

Then, politicians jumped in to offer sympathy, commentary or just condemnation in an apparent move to win the hearts of the potential future voters. There’s even a hint to immortalize the drama by naming a certain scholarship under the two convicts’ names. It made me think whether the case has been turned into political commodity which distorted the basic issue of the abolishment of the so called inhuman capital punishment. Some colleagues of mine who have been studying in Australia even labeled them as "lebay" (adj. has the quality of being excessive).

What’s more, It's rather odd to think that the Australian Government is considering cutting its aid to Indonesia this year. It's like a déjàvu all over again. Remembering the statement fumed by Minister Abbot related to the Australia's previous humanitarian aid to Aceh which drew ire of Indonesian citizens. It’s a shared universal value that any humanitarian assistance should be without any strings attached.

Surprisingly, in spite of this stormy weather, I saw still waters in the Melbourne’s urban community at large.

As I joined my class, it’s quite unexpected to see this ‘unaffected’ classroom. The brouhaha failed to infect respectful Australian citizens neither in my class nor people on the streets. No one actually raised this issue. No staged protests and public outrage displayed on the streets. Everything seemed to run normal as business as usual.

Being the only Indonesians in the class, we felt vulnerable yet we met no significant intrusion due to the case. Nor we suffered any growing sentiments among our fellow Australian classmates. Instead, when we went to Sydney afterwards, we met a group of students who held fund raising for victims of the devastating earthquake in Nepal on our way back to the hotel.

What's on the news seemed did not mirror the factual atmosphere in the society at large. In fact, we encountered people who were so helpful despite our nationality. Yet, we kept our guard on and extra cautious just in case.

As for the death penalty, I have conflicting opinions. For grim brutal and heinous crimes such as sadistic mass murder or serial killers, I would say I support capital punishment. I would feel so unsafe knowing that such sadistic killers would only be locked somewhere without the presence of capital punishment. What about the feelings of families of the victims who pursue justice for their loved ones? And I've never heard of sadistic serial killers could reform themselves as the sickness is innate, plaguing the souls.

As for drug dealers, I should take into consideration the feelings of the families of the victims of the addictive substances as well. Drug traffickers bring misery and harms to society. They import deaths and ceaseless social problems. It just seems inappropriate to portray them as martyrs and heroes.

However, I believe in second chances as well. When former convicts expressed repents and reformed themselves for the greater good of the people by helping others and serving community services with good will and faith while they are waiting for the death penalty, it seems a waste of good asset to kill them. A lifetime sentence without any parole might be suit better so that these reformed convicts might continue their services.

In dealing with drug problem, first and foremost the government should focus on education and treatment. Drug users/addicts (victims) can be sentenced to community work or send to a rehabilitation program rather than prison. While, the drug traffickers should be given harsher sanction depending on the scale of their crimes that mirror the weight of their destruction toward the community including capital punishment if the offenders keep repeating their same illegal activities and bring massive harms to the society at large.

Last not least, it is imperative to enforce the law and apply equality before it. Whoever breaks the law, including engaging in drug trafficking, should be punished regardless of their status, creed, or wealth.

When The Law Becomes Impotent

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/26/your-letters-when-law-becomes-impotent.html

Our hearts mourned with deep anguish to see the 63-year-old Asyani, an elderly woman from Situbondo, East Java wailed in tears at the courtroom, begging for  mercy not to be put in jail. The idea of the fragile hunched elderly could even lift a teak wood she was accused of stealing from the state forestry company PT Perhutani, looked ludicrous. Even walking straight seemed a struggle for her, let alone carrying a piece of log on hear arched back. Yet, if anything being accused of proved true, we still find the vulgar spectacle irksome for our sense of justice.

Onanother public display, graft suspects from the law enforcers corp and politicians get away from trial. They can easily bend the rule. Smiling venomously, they defy the court order and make justice as a game of power. They manipulate the system and use any loopholes the judicial system for their advantage. They walk free with their privileges still intact.

This two contrasting dramashave our heart boiled with rage. There’s no such thing of equality before the law. We bitterly come to realize that the basic principle that no man is above the law and no man is below it, is nothing but eloquent words nailed on the wall. This rule of law does not apply to the poor and powerless. They screamed at the top of their lung to demand justice only to come on deaf ears. Our legal system is impotent in the face of grave injustice, leading to an unacceptable erosion of people's faith in the justice delivery system and the rule of law itself.

Too often we hear cases how the court and law enforcers treat the poor differently from the rich and the powerful. The court with its system profoundly discriminative, goes after the weak sooner and harder than the have and powerful, metes out harsher punishment to weak defendants and never, ever brings the same measure of mercy to them as to the strong and powerful.They pursue minor criminal charges committed by the elderly all out and indiscriminately and force them to stand on trial despite their failing health. Yet, the same law becomes impotent to bring criminal charges committed by high ranking profiles into court. Graft suspects with immense power walk free with big smile. Convicted corruptors who have emptied the state coffers for their own selfish interest will soon receive clemency.

It is suffice to say that money buys justice and power holds it as hostage. It follows the natural common law that the strong will have the inclination to prey on the weak, the rich on the poor, survival of the fittest.Only a few has courage to defy this 'new normal' and stand firm to uphold justice regardless of wealth, color, gender or creed.

The justice system becomes the prey of hostile powers to accumulate wealth and privilige. It is so frustrating to see this vicious circle.

We feel so exasperated as we become passive spectators of the injustice. We become numb to it since it’s so systematic.  When we think that something can be bought and sold, we end up treating it like a commodity.  Indeed, justice has become a profitable commodity for the rich and powerful. They are above the law in our country, because decisions on prosecuting them are made by politicians, or by prosecutors who have an eye on a political career, and do not want to piss off potential donors to their future campaigns. They enjoy near-absolute impunity. Corruption wasn’t just rampant, it was also almost never investigated or acted upon among these sharks.

Our hope is high when in recent years, a string of high-profile public prosecutions at KPK have targeted the elites, leaving us hopeful that the country’s finally getting serious about targeting graft in the higher echelons of society. Sadly, the flame dwindled away as these sharks are fighting back tooth and nail. One by one, the anti graft profiles are pursued and brought down.

Yet, no matter how bleak and cold the future of corruption fight might be, we must not lose hope. There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest. In the case of Asyani, mounting public outcries amplified by the media has been successful to wake up the government to follow up the case closely.

When injustice is displayed so obscenely, people will react. They can not change the law. But in the information and technology era like today, people take to social media to initiate change, to put pressures on the court and law enforcers to uphold justice. Not even seasoned politicians nor public figures want to deal with fiery netizens. Just take a look at the tragic fate of Abraham Lunggana, the city councilor, who is constantly bullied by the netizens! His reputation is ruined, razed to the ground by the fiery flame of the people who resort to the social media.

When our three pillars of democracy fail us, we still have the fourth pillar, the media, as our last resort. It is by far the most effective arsenal to fight injustice, inequality and corrupt practices in this country.

Now the trumpet summons the citizen again -- not as a call to bear arms to seize our freedom from colonialism-- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are -- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation, a struggle against our common enemies:  tyranny,injustice, and corruption.

The strong should protect the weak, the powerful should govern with sense of  justice and morality and the wealthy should help to empower the poor.The efficacy of the judicial system depends on its capacity to deliver justice to all irrespective of their social or economic standing in the society.