Indonesia House is more than just Bali<\/p>\n
Zora Rahman
\nContributor
\nAmsterdam<\/p>\n
Amsterdam on a sunny Sunday afternoon in May. The Indonesia Media
\nfoundation has just opened a bazaar with various attractions:
\nSundanese dance, Balinese gamelan traditional orchestra, Javanese
\nfood and batik. Indonesian and Dutch visitors revel in nostalgia
\nand enjoy themselves, watching all these nice shows while eating
\nrice cake. The hall is so crowded that some people must stand in
\nthe corridor. Everything is decorated with red-and-white flags,
\neven the cakes.<\/p>\n
"When somebody presents Balinese dance, people stream from
\neverywhere. But if you want to talk with them about the political
\nor social problems in Indonesia, they stay at home," sighs a
\nvisitor who gets to stand at the door. He is active in another
\nIndonesian organization based in Amsterdam -- Indonesia House --
\nwhich calls itself a center of solidarity, information and
\nculture, in exactly this order.<\/p>\n
Amsterdam on the same May Sunday, a little bit earlier in the
\nmorning. Around 40, mainly Indonesian, people try to squeeze
\nthemselves into one of those narrow brick houses one can find in
\nAmsterdam everywhere, along its uncountable canals. Due to the
\nposters hanging out in the windows, people passing by might think
\nit a cultural meeting point for compatriots, as you might find
\nfor almost all nationalities living in Amsterdam. But not quite:
\nIndonesia House is the heart of a European-wide network of
\nIndonesian non-governmental organizations or those that are
\ninterested in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Founded only two years ago, Indonesia House already has a
\ncentral role as a European solidarity and information center with
\na well-known reputation to insiders. It succeeded in broadening
\nthe Indonesian network as well as intensifying contacts with
\ninternational forums such as the UN High Commissioner for Human
\nRights, and the Dutch and European parliaments.<\/p>\n
At the beginning, Indonesia House was often just seen as a
\nsuccessor organization to the Indonesian committee, founded in
\nthe 70s by exiled Indonesians who advocated Soeharto's removal
\nfrom power. The committee dissolved itself in 2000, because the
\ntarget had been achieved.<\/p>\n
The students and mothers, civil servants, doctors and
\njournalists working as volunteers for Indonesia House, however,
\nsee themselves rather as a mixed solidarity group supporting
\nIndonesian citizens during the long transition toward
\ndemocratization through their international network and
\ncooperation.<\/p>\n
The core group of around five people aims to become an
\nindependent organization by next year, since it is still
\nsupported by three other NGOs: Humanitarian Action for Indonesia
\n(AKUI), Indonesian Forum for Human Dignity (INFOHD) and Committee
\nfor a Democratic Indonesia (KODEMO).<\/p>\n
"We now have partners, not only all over Indonesia, but have
\nalso broadened our international network," says coordinator of
\nIndonesia House Reza Muharam, proudly. "For international
\nadvocacy and campaigns these Indonesian partners can rely on our
\ncontacts to international forums such as the UN High Commissioner
\nfor Human Rights and the Dutch and European parliaments."<\/p>\n
On that Sunday, the partners, coming not only from Indonesia,
\nbut also from the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands, wanted
\nto rely on them. Among them were members of Amnesty
\nInternational, Komnas Perempuan, Kontras, Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa
\nand Indonesia Watch.<\/p>\n
It might have been the largest Indonesian network meeting in
\nEurope since the foundation of Indonesia House. It was at least
\nthe final meeting after a whole series of public discussions,
\nworkshops, seminars and cultural events. Indonesian students
\ntalked in front of Dutch students, Indonesian activists met with
\nEuropean representatives. The main topics were the progress of
\ndemocratization, human rights and justice five years after
\nSoeharto's resignation -- of course, at that time, with a special
\nfocus on the possible war in Aceh.<\/p>\n
"Our greatest problem is that we have too many issues on hand
\n-- and all are important," Reza Muharam says. "To be effective,
\nwe need to focus on a few points. Impunity and opposition to all
\nforms of violence and discrimination top the charts."<\/p>\n
At the end of the meeting, the participants agreed to build a
\ncommon platform and to organize more joint activities over the
\ncoming year. Besides, the current campaigns "Against Impunity",
\n"No Violence Against Women" and "Against Discriminatory Laws"
\nwill be continued.<\/p>\n
Besides all these issues, one problem became very crucial:
\nSometimes it is very difficult to discuss Indonesia's internal
\nproblems with Europeans who think all Asians look like Chinese
\nand Bali is the largest country in Southeast Asia. Although
\nhundreds of thousands of Indonesian people are living all over
\nEurope, they hold very little interest for the European public.
\nIf they are covered in the media, it is mainly in the form of
\nstereotypes.<\/p>\n
"Sometimes I am so tired of explaining that our country not
\nonly consists of Islamic fundamentalism or international
\nterrorism," Reza says. "We definitely need to be better
\nintegrated into Europe -- and to develop a mutual understanding
\nby Dutch and other Europeans with the Indonesian people."<\/p>\n
Consequently, one of the important tasks of Indonesia House is
\nto provide the Dutch public with critical views on current
\ndevelopments in Indonesia. The media used so far -- Internet
\nhomepages, public meetings, seminars, workshops and small
\npublications -- have not been sufficient yet.<\/p>\n
"If we want to reach a broader public, we need to develop new
\nmedia for campaigning -- maybe documentary films, photo
\nexhibitions and even theater or other performances," Reza says.<\/p>\n
"We would like to organize more cultural activities to present
\ncontemporary, progressive cultural initiatives to the Dutch
\npublic."<\/p>\n
As of now, cultural programs remain an exception among the
\nother activities of Indonesia House. But maybe the addition of
\ndance performances might help to attract more people from outside
\nto come and stay later on for more serious events.<\/p>\n
Of course, this is also a question of money. However, the
\ncenter already provides some cultural programs -- as far as
\npossible, small exhibitions or concerts by Indonesian artists.
\nThey also participated in events like an Indonesia Media bazaar
\non that Sunday in May. A group from the Indonesia House meeting
\neven sang spontaneously some folk songs in between a gamelan and
\ndance performance. Despite the rather complex texts, some
\nspectators clapped their hands for the first time that afternoon.
\nAt about the same time, the military operation in Aceh was just
\nstarting.<\/p>\n
i-box:<\/p>\n
Indonesia House: indonesia-house.org<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bindonesia-house-is-more-than-just-balib-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }