Poverty breeds terrorism<\/p>\n
A perusal of the backgrounds of the suicide bombers who
\nwrecked havoc in Bali on Oct. 1 can serve to tell us a lot about
\nwhy there seems to be no shortage of terrorists. Mat Sukarto, a
\n57-year-old farmer and father of one of the bombers, said he did
\nnot fully understand why his less-than-religiously-inclined son,
\nMisno, had decided to take his own life in such a manner.<\/p>\n
Mat told this paper, as reported on Nov. 14, that his last
\nmeeting with his 23-year-old son was in August, when he bid
\nfarewell as Misno set off for Batam island, where he planned to
\nwork in a hotel. Mat said he gave his son Rp 1.5 million (about
\nUS$150) out of his meager savings.<\/p>\n
Terrorism is a complex issue that may be connected with one or
\nmore of the following elements: faith, patriotism, globalization,
\nideology, perception, alienation, belief and poverty. Mat's case
\nunderlines the vulnerability of the poor to becoming roped into
\nterrorism. Terrorist leaders like Osama bin Laden and Dr. Azahari
\nbin Husin may be rich, but not their foot soldiers. Tempo
\nmagazine reported this week that Azahari was guarded by his four
\naccomplices when he was killed in a police raid in Batu, near the
\nEast Java town of Malang, on Nov. 9. All four accomplices came
\nfrom the lower income brackets.<\/p>\n
The fight against terrorism is a multi-pronged battle. The
\ngovernment can draft in more police and troops, boost
\nintelligence capabilities, increase antiterrorism funding, set up
\nspecial antiterror units, purchase state-of-the-art weapons,
\nprovide specialist training, and even permit foreign donors to
\nassist Muslim religious schools (pesantren) , but these are all
\nonly part of the story.<\/p>\n
It is not enough for the government to be good at fighting
\nterrorism physically, it must also be good at fighting poverty,
\nperverted ideologies, exploitation of religion for short-term
\npolitical purposes, corruption, and attempts to divert Muslims
\nfrom the true teachings of Islam, among others things.<\/p>\n
This represents a tough challenge. With its vast coastline,
\nmost of which is unguarded, it is not hard to see that Indonesia
\nis looking at a long war before the terrorists are defeated.<\/p>\n
Among the various challenges, poverty is particularly
\nprominent as more than 135 million Indonesians live on less than
\nUS$2 a day, which means below the poverty line. Thus, more than
\nhalf Indonesia's total population of 230 million people are
\nvirtually destitute.<\/p>\n
So behind every small step on the road to victory against the
\nterrorists, poverty will always be lurking in the background,
\nlike a snake ready to strike at any time.<\/p>\n
After poverty, the next major challenges are corruption and
\nthe spreading of false Islamic teachings. Corruption is
\nindirectly responsible for rampant poverty. Unfortunately,
\nPresident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has a poor record in this area
\nduring his first year in government.<\/p>\n
Unlike terrorism, corruption is committed silently, far from
\nthe gaze of the public. Often, but not always, it is committed in
\nluxurious office buildings and in high places. It is a silent killer
\nresponsible for keeping millions of people poor. Its effects are no
\nless serious than terrorism. It is silent terrorism that is very
\ndifficult to eradicate. The fact is, no single government since
\nIndonesia gained its independence in 1945 has ever succeeded in
\nuprooting corruption.<\/p>\n
Eradicating the evil of corruption will entail stopping the
\ngravy train for those in positions of power and authority --
\nsomething that could well prove next to impossible. With
\ncorruption still commonplace, mass poverty will continue and the
\nterrorists will have no shortage of new recruits from the lower
\nrungs of society.<\/p>\n
Muslim leaders say that Islam has never taught its followers
\nto kill innocent people. Since most Indonesians are Muslim, it is
\ntime for the people and the government to work together to rid
\nthis country of the scourge of deviant Islam. The pledge given by
\nMuslim leaders last week to work to this end is a good start. The
\nwindow of opportunity that has now opened must not be allowed to
\nslam shut.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/poverty-breeds-terrorism-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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