Getting the other side of the story about Indonesia today<\/p>\n
News of anti-American sentiment in Indonesia has reached the
\noutside world, causing foreign investors to reexamine their
\npositions and keeping tourists away in droves.<\/p>\n
Universally, foreign readers are being besieged with reports
\nof Muslim student demonstrations demanding that the Indonesian
\ngovernment break all ties with the United States because of its
\nattacks on Afghanistan. They also read of the fanatic groups that
\nhave attempted to shut down American icons McDonald's, Kentucky
\nFried Chicken and Pizza Hut and who have \"swept\" hotels looking
\nfor Americans.<\/p>\n
As the media is not differentiating between the demonstrations
\nand the \"sweeps\", nor are they reporting about the millions of
\nIndonesians who are not involved in either, as an American who
\nfirst came to Indonesia in 1989, I feel compelled to offer a
\ndifferent perspective.<\/p>\n
Indonesians have been unable to speak freely for practically
\ntheir entire existence. For centuries they were oppressed by
\ntheir own sultans and rajas; then for almost 350 years of Dutch
\ndomination they were suppressed.<\/p>\n
The dictators who ruled all the years since the country
\ndeclared independence in 1945 also kept them silent. Only when
\nex-president Soeharto fell four years ago did they at last gain
\nthe right to voice their opinions and grievances.<\/p>\n
Many Indonesians have plenty to say, and there's a growing,
\neducated middle class that's ready to say it. As a sage taxi
\ndriver in Jakarta told me recently, \"America has had freedom of
\nspeech for over 200 years. We've only had it four years, so we're
\nstill learning.\" How true.<\/p>\n
Yogyakarta is the cultural and educational heart of Java. As I
\nsat in the street-side patio of the Santika Hotel sipping a Diet
\nCoke while watching thousands of students march by waving flags
\nand shouting protests, I understood why my Indonesian friend had
\ninvited me there. The point was to show me that the student
\ndemonstrations in Yogya are intellectual and peaceful, and that I
\nhave nothing to fear from them.<\/p>\n
The fanatic groups that are \"sweeping\" hotels, however, are
\ntigers with different stripes. Even though their numbers are
\nsmall, their voices are the ones being heard most loudly by the
\nforeign press.<\/p>\n
After a week of being \"shut in\" because of the potential
\ntrouble, a friend, Thomas, the sales manager of a hotel,, invited
\nme to visit him on a Friday afternoon after prayers, a typical
\ntime for demonstrations to begin. He had assured me it was safe,
\nwhich is how I happened to be sitting on the patio at his hotel
\nwatching the current demonstration unfold.<\/p>\n
After a pleasant chat, Thomas asked if I would like to go with
\nhim to join his family in a nearby village for a traditional
\nJavanese wedding. I jumped at the opportunity to get out of the
\ncity and to see more of Central Java. It wasn't until we were on
\nthe highway that I realized how cooped up I'd been feeling since
\nthe Sept. 11 events changed all our lives.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, we arrived at the home of his parents in Magelang,
\nwhere many of Thomas' six brothers and sisters, their husbands,
\nwives and children had already begun to assemble.<\/p>\n
The wedding was in a small village nearby, and the bride, Ary,
\nwas radiant in her beautifully beaded sarong. Miniature nephew-
\nand niece-attendants were dressed in traditional costumes, the
\nlittle boys acting like little boys when the cameras weren't on
\nthem and the young girls excited to be wearing makeup and
\ntediously coiffed hairstyles.<\/p>\n
The following day, Monday, was a very important Muslim
\nholiday, so trouble in the cities was anticipated. There were
\nadditional embassy warnings for Americans to stay on high alert.
\nIn the afternoon, two carloads of Thomas' family -- 14 people in
\nall -- came back to Yogya to pick me up to take me to a festive
\nholiday gathering in Wonosari. As I sat listening to them speak
\nto each other in Javanese, I thought what a typical family
\nreunion this was.<\/p>\n
No one is writing about families like this in the press
\nreports that reach foreign shores. Nobody is talking about the
\nmillions of lives here that are going on normally, about the
\nchildren who are still going to school and giggling while they
\nplay, about the brothers going back home on the weekends to
\nrebuild old cars with their father and about mothers and sisters
\nwho are cooking for the family and their friends.<\/p>\n
Nor are they writing about the vast majority of Indonesians,
\nthe ones who want all this to be over as badly as the rest of us
\ndo. What the world is reading about is demonstrations, which are
\npeaceful and are a natural form of self-expression, and a few
\ntroublemakers.<\/p>\n
There is another side to the story, and it's representative of
\nthe majority of Indonesians.<\/p>\n
-- Linda Hoffman<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/getting-the-other-side-of-the-story-about-indonesia-today-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }