Have we lost our patriotic feeling?<\/p>\n
Indonesia turns 56 on Friday, a coming of age that has been
\nhampered by trouble. Is Independence Day still a reason for pride
\nfor our people, particularly the young? The Jakarta Post's
\nreporters Ivy Susanti and Hera Diani, as well as Ainur R.
\nSophiaan, Israr Ardiansyah and Yuli Tri Suwarni find out.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): In his last speech as president, on Aug. 17,
\n1966, Sukarno warned the country's youth never to forget the
\npast.<\/p>\n
"If you forget history, you will stand in a vacuum, and your
\nstruggle will merely turn out to be running amok, like a monkey
\ntrapped in the dark."<\/p>\n
Thirty-five years later, with the country now under Sukarno's
\noldest daughter Megawati Soekarnoputri, his words probably mean
\nlittle to many of the country's young people.<\/p>\n
The passage of time, combined with a traumatic and sometimes
\ndistorted history, has opened up a gap among the generations.
\nToday's young people only consider the current conflicts
\naffecting their lives, and have little realization of the
\nstruggle for independence and the values that the struggle
\nentailed.<\/p>\n
The feeling of detachment from what their forefathers lived
\nand fought for was compounded during the former president
\nSoeharto years, when young people were denied a role in the
\npolitical process.<\/p>\n
Historian Taufik Abdullah, 65, still remembers vividly when
\nSukarno proclaimed independence and all the events that preceded
\nthe day.<\/p>\n
He said those who lived through those tough times could still
\nfeel the sense of pride from making an independent country, and
\nit affects them deeply when they see what is happening to the
\ncountry today.<\/p>\n
"I was a third-year student in elementary school. I was too
\nyoung to get involved but I can remember the event. I easily
\nburst into tears when I hear about the killings in Ambon,
\nKalimantan and Aceh. I am easily touched because I remember when
\nmy school was fired on by Dutch soldiers, which forced me and my
\nclassmates to lie face down to avoid being shot. On the way home,
\nI saw a corpse."<\/p>\n
The chairman of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)
\nsaid he remembered how his father donated his shirt during a
\nmeeting to help the independence war effort.<\/p>\n
It's not the same for today's 20-somethings, many of whom feel
\ndisconnected from the past. The history taught in the classrooms
\nabout the fight of their forefathers has little relation to the
\nproblems -- unrest, violence, political struggles, poverty --
\nwhich are the realities of their lives.<\/p>\n
In separate interviews with The Jakarta Post, young people
\nassociated Independence Day with parades, ceremonies at schools
\nand the palace, a day to remember that Indonesia became a free
\ncountry on this date. And, of course, a day off.<\/p>\n
Some of them, mostly from Java, also stressed the importance
\nof being a united Indonesia, but their peers from other islands
\nvoiced different aspirations.<\/p>\n
"I don't feel any different every time Aug. 17 is celebrated.
\nIt's just a day to remind us that we still have a country," said
\nTimbul Sunoto, 28, a distributor of independent literary titles
\nin Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
"We still need to live side by side as a nation. Every region
\nor province has its own character and resources. Every province
\ncould be a partner and complement to others, and vice versa."<\/p>\n
Esti, 26, an employee at a private company here, showed her
\nindifference about the day. "Nothing. For me it's just a holiday
\nwith a lot of games. Nothing more."<\/p>\n
With the country's economic and political turmoil, Bandung-
\nbased student Rinny Dewi Safitri, 23, expressed doubts about the
\nfuture.<\/p>\n
"It's terrible to live here because we don't know where our
\nleaders are taking us. When Indonesia was founded, the former
\nleaders still felt free to decide where we would go, but now
\nthere are only a few (members of) the political elite who
\nstruggle in the name of the people to win their confidence and
\nauthority to lead the country."<\/p>\n
The issue of keeping the country together preyed on some of
\nthe people's minds.<\/p>\n
"We still remain united with some conditions: The citizens are
\naware of their rights and duties, there is law enforcement and
\nfair government," said Febriani Niva Damayanti, 22, a student of
\neconomics at state-run Airlangga University in Surabaya.<\/p>\n
For Cut Feroza, 23, who works at a bank here, the real meaning
\nof the day is lost. She said children enjoyed the day for its
\nparties and festivities, while busy adults were happy to have a
\nday off.<\/p>\n
The meaning of Independence Day is a sore point for Cut, who
\nwas born in Lhokseumawe in strife-torn Aceh and came to Jakarta
\nin 1996.<\/p>\n
"We are also not independent in our state of mind. If
\nIndonesia is an independent country, why do the Acehnese still
\ncry for independence? Why should they commemorate Aug. 17 but
\nthey don't feel like Indonesians?"<\/p>\n
Cut and Arnold Thenu, a Maluku youth activist, do not see the
\npoint of celebrating Aug. 17 when their own people's struggle is
\nstill going on.<\/p>\n
"Aug. 17 has no special meaning for me," said Arnold, 24.
\n"Since the unrest broke out in Ambon in 1999, I told my relatives
\nthere not to raise the red and white national flag on that day or
\njoin the festivities.<\/p>\n
"It's also a time for Indonesians to accept the fact that
\nthere is no unity and not to boast of a united Indonesia."<\/p>\n
History<\/p>\n
Taufik said that there was a vacuum of history that emerged
\nbetween the 1945 generation and its successors.<\/p>\n
"History should be regarded as a foreign country. Whether
\nhistory can impress someone depends on how it is taught to them.
\nRevolution in the United States is so real (to young Americans)
\nbecause each year, there are writing contests on the topic ...
\nThe topic is explored and taught in a proper way.<\/p>\n
"But here, the teaching of the revolution means remembering
\nthe years. It's very useless -- history must be considered an
\nacademic enterprise. When one becomes detached from history, he
\nor she will become ruthless."<\/p>\n
Taufik criticized the younger generation for failing to count
\ntheir blessings. He remembered how difficult life was during his
\nyouth, and how all he wanted as a university student was, above
\nall, a typewriter. He never got his typewriter, but his own son
\nhad a laptop when he was in university.<\/p>\n
For all their material gains, the young have also dealt with
\nstifling repression.<\/p>\n
"They are accustomed to living under oppression. They lack the
\nwillingness to find different perspectives," Taufik said.<\/p>\n
"Imagine what happened during the struggle for independence.
\nAll Indonesians had a dream for freedom which developed the
\ncourage to use sharpened bamboo to defy the Dutch who carried
\nrifles. They fought together for an uncertain future."<\/p>\n
Sociologist Imam Prasodjo said that youngsters could not be
\nblamed for being indifferent toward nationalism.<\/p>\n
"The generation of the 1940s has something that can bind them
\ntogether, that is the struggle for independence from colonialism.
\nToday's generation doesn't have that," said the 41-year-old
\nlecturer at the School of Social and Political Science at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
He agreed with Taufik that the importance of the historical
\nmoment could not be transferred to ensuing generations due to the
\npoor teaching of the subject. The indifference, Imam noted, was
\nalso the result of the "plundering of the generation".<\/p>\n
"We've been ruled by authoritarianism for too long. And young
\npeople have never been given space or roles to get involved in
\nthe government. That's what I call plundering," he said.<\/p>\n
"It's good that we now have several young politicians. But the
\nroles of young people are still being limited. Government still
\nconsists of people from the older generation."<\/p>\n
The young generation, Imam said, is in the first stage of
\ndefining the concept of this country after the repression of the
\nSoeharto years.<\/p>\n
"Young people in the regions are demanding their independence.
\nIf we want to reembrace them, we have to redefine the concept of
\nnationality, the Indonesian dream. And we need to give young
\npeople as much space, opportunities and as many roles as possible
\nin overcoming this country's problems."<\/p>",
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