Lederer works to polish RI image abroad<\/p>\n
T. Sima Gunawan, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
tabita@cbn.net.id<\/p>\n
If you happen to travel in Europe and tell the people there you
\nare Indonesian, it is likely they will take pity on you, be
\ncautious or be indifferent.<\/p>\n
The first group of people might take pity on you because they
\nthink Indonesia is an underdeveloped country, while the second
\ngroup of people believes Indonesia is a place with many
\nterrorists. The others are indifferent because they don't know
\nanything about Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The poor image of Indonesia disturbs Johanna Lederer, who was
\nborn in Malang, East Java, and has lived in Paris since 1968.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, along with several other people who share the
\nsame concerns, she set up Pasar Malam, a French-Indonesian
\nassociation aiming to promote friendship and understanding
\nbetween the two nations.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia has a very weak image in France, especially after
\nthe bombings in Bali and Jakarta. In France, it is viewed as a
\nMuslim state with many extremists,\" Johanna said during a visit
\nhere in November.<\/p>\n
\"We want to promote Indonesian culture in the widest sense,
\nincluding the social aspects, politics, culture, arts, science,
\ncommerce and tourism,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The association regularly holds special theme events, followed
\nby dance performances and a buffet dinner of Indonesian cuisine.
\nIt also issues a monthly publication on the association's
\nactivities and news about Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Once a year the association organizes a special exhibition to
\nshowcase Indonesia's rich cultural heritage.<\/p>\n
Pasar Malam has 70 active members who pay an annual fee of 25
\neuro each. Some of them have been to Indonesia, while others have
\nonly heard about the country, but they all have a great interest
\nin Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The events organized by the association attract an average of
\n500 people.<\/p>\n
\"They come with a great interest even though most have never
\nset foot in Indonesia. They are very eager to discover the many
\ndifferent aspects of Indonesia,\" said Johanna.<\/p>\n
Among the events held by the association were an art
\nexhibition by Taring Padi, a group of young artists from
\nYogyakarta, a talk by Tjiptaning, whose father was a communist,
\nand a presentation by a French archeologist on the ancient
\nJavanese kingdoms.<\/p>\n
\"The most successful event was the presentation on the
\nJavanese kingdoms. Even the children were fascinated. I think
\nbecause it is all about humanity,\" Johanna said.<\/p>\n
In an effort to boost the organization's activities, Johanna
\ncame to Indonesia last month to establish a better network of
\nIndonesian and French people here who are interested in promoting
\nIndonesia in France. They include sculptor Dolorosa Sinaga,
\nplaywright Ratna Sarumpaet, film director and artist Jajang C.
\nNoor, researcher Asvi Warman Adam and journalist Goenawan
\nMohamad.<\/p>\n
Johanna was quite happy with the positive response she
\nreceived from people and their enthusiasm to lend a hand with
\nfuture Pasar Malam programs.<\/p>\n
Before leaving, she bought numerous books about Indonesia as
\nwell as many items she could not find in France, like angklung
\n(bamboo musical instruments) and Indonesian brown sugar.<\/p>\n
\"We have brown sugar in Paris, but it is too refined, it
\ndoesn't have the deep sweet taste like what you have here ... ,\"
\nsaid Johanna.<\/p>\n
Johanna, whose great grandfather was Dutch, is so interested
\nin sugar because she grew up on a sugar plantation.<\/p>\n
Her father owned a sugar plantation and Johanna, now 53, still
\nremembers her childhood playing in the fields among the sugar
\ncane.<\/p>\n
At the age of 12, her parents sent her to the Netherlands to
\nstudy and five years later she went to Paris, where she studied
\nAmerican literature at Sorbonne University.<\/p>\n
Johanna works as a translator and also teaches ballet. She
\nbegan to study dance at the age of four, learning both
\ntraditional dances and ballet. When she was in Holland, she
\ncontinued to study Balinese dance and ballet, and passed the exam
\nto be a dance teacher at the age of 17.<\/p>\n
But she doesn't teach Indonesian dance.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesian dances are more difficult. They involve all parts
\nof the body. For example, you move your eyes in accordance with
\nthe movement of the shoulder. And you have to study it from the
\ntime you are very young,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She also likes writing poems and fiction.<\/p>\n
\"I am fascinated by the power of words,\" she confessed.<\/p>\n
She recalled as a child reading 1001 Nights and being
\nfascinated by the idea that a life could be saved by telling
\nstories.<\/p>\n
She has written two novels but has been unable to find a
\nFrench publishing house willing to publish them since they are
\nwritten in English.<\/p>\n
Johanna -- whose mother is from Manado, North Sulawesi -- is
\nfluent in English, French and Dutch, and speaks a little
\nIndonesian. This, however, does not make her happy because she
\nfeels she does not have a mother tongue, and although she is a
\nFrench citizen, she feels that she is not really French.<\/p>\n
\"My five children are French, but I am not,\" said Johanna,
\nwhose husband is a physicist.<\/p>\n
Such feelings inspired her to write a third novel about
\ndisplaced children, and also gave her the idea to establish the
\nFrench-Indonesian association.<\/p>\n
\"This association can create a link between the lost country
\nwhere I spent my first 12 years and France, my new country,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>",
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