Matraman residents try to overcome feud<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's statement that pluralism
\nhas proven to be a blessing for Indonesia rather than a threat to
\nnational unity, apparently is not understood by many. An example
\nof that is the terror threats ahead of Christmas celebrations.
\nSome Indonesians do not understand the meaning or spirit of
\npluralism, and are thus easily provoked to participate in ethnic
\nor religious conflicts -- often sparked by trivial incidents. The
\nJakarta Post's Abdul Khalik has delved into these sensitive
\nissues and this is the first of four articles dealing with
\nsociety's understanding of pluralism.<\/p>\n
An abandoned, severely damaged building stands on Jl. Matraman
\nRaya, East Jakarta, as a memory of the seemingly never-ending and
\ndeadly brawls that blight the neighborhood, with residents
\nstruggling to live side-by-side in peace.<\/p>\n
It was not easy for Nasrun, 52, a resident of Tegalan
\nsubdistrict, to forget what happened during the conflicts between
\nhis own neighborhood and the residents of the Berlan housing
\ncomplex across the road, until a peace pact was made in late
\n2000.<\/p>\n
"Several people died in a series of clashes that happened
\nduring 1998 and 2000. We lived in fear, as Berlan residents could
\nkidnap my children at any time. We were afraid to go out of our
\nhomes," he said.<\/p>\n
According to First Sgt. Suyanto of Matraman Police, no clashes
\nhave taken place during his three years of duty in the area.<\/p>\n
"There were a couple of clashes between several residents of
\nBerlan with other groups, including with residents of Jl. Tambak,
\nbut they were settled," he said.<\/p>\n
The clashes on Matraman began in the 1950s as a form of
\nrejection of other ethnic groups living in the area; an area
\noriginally occupied by ethnic Betawi, the native Jakartans.<\/p>\n
An influential figure in Berlan, Mande Darmani, said that the
\nlocal administration, the police and the military had established
\na forum involving community figures and clerics to find a way to
\nstop the clashes.<\/p>\n
"They had tried 18 or so different ways, an official told me,
\nbut the brawls continued. They all failed because they left out
\nthe young who were actually involved in the fights.<\/p>\n
"Why didn't they involve us? We respect those in the forum but
\nwe must fight back if we are attacked. As for the fence built to
\nseparate us, we could get through it easily," he said.<\/p>\n
The fights continued until the Bina Bangsa Foundation and the
\nMinistry of Social Affairs held an outbound program in November
\n2000 for 100 young people from the troubled neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
"We were trained in Cibodas and Ciloto, Bogor, for 10 days,
\nwhere we were taught to work as a team with our enemies," said
\nMande.<\/p>\n
During the outbound program they established the Matraman
\nPeace Cabinet, with Mande as the elected president.<\/p>\n
Each "minister" has a duty to detect sources of conflict among
\ntheir own people, and to find ways to revolve conflict as early
\nas possible.<\/p>\n
"We practice what we learnt during the outbound program ... We
\nwork together to make residents realize that fighting is
\nuseless," Mande said.<\/p>\n
A sociologist at the University of Indonesia, Ida Ruwaida
\nNoor, said that the peace process in the area was a success in
\nterms of quantitative indicators, such as decreasing number of
\nclashes and a lower rate of vandalism to buildings and
\ninfrastructure.<\/p>\n
"But the question is whether this peaceful condition can be
\npreserved, and whether residents have internalized the values of
\nthe importance of peace.<\/p>\n
"The root of the conflict is justice, both economic and
\nsocial. If the new generation can't find jobs, or be engaged in
\nactivities to spend their time on, then they will be tempted to
\nget involved in fighting again," she said.<\/p>\n
Indeed, according to a Berlan resident, Ade, 42, the young of
\nthe area have no soccer fields or social organizations to occupy
\ntheir time.<\/p>\n
"I see that many of our teenagers don't know what to do and
\nwhere to go. Instead, they hang around playing guitars, annoying
\npeople and maybe even using drugs," he said.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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