Provocateur<\/p>\n
By Maria Magdalena Bhoernomo<\/p>\n
A petty quarrel suddenly broke out at Terminal A. According to
\nwitnesses, it started from a squabble between a driver of a
\npublic vehicle and a mysterious passenger who was wearing
\nsunglasses and a cap and smoking a cigar.<\/p>\n
The passenger reportedly refused to pay his fare. The driver
\ncalled him names. He did the same in return. Then the mysterious
\npassenger landed a rapid series of punches on the driver. He fell
\nheadlong. Seeing him lying on the ground, other drivers ganged up
\non the mysterious passenger. But he was too agile for his
\nattackers. He ran away and disappeared into a crowd of onlookers.<\/p>\n
Sarju hurried to Terminal A as soon as he was told of the
\noutbreak of a quarrel there. As a reporter he naturally wanted to
\ntake a picture of the mysterious passenger. The man might be a
\nprovocateur, he thought. He might have been assigned to incite
\nthe anger of the masses.<\/p>\n
This anger, in turn, would set the city and then the state on
\nfire, literally and figuratively. Sarju, therefore, would like to
\nbe the first reporter to take a photograph of the provocateur.
\nThis would indeed be a source of pride to him. A provocateur, so
\nmany people have said, is half human and half devil.<\/p>\n
He was greatly disappointed, however, because when he arrived
\nat Terminal A everything was in a mess. Many used tires were
\nburning on the road. Several vehicles in the terminal were burned
\nblack. The masses were running helter-skelter, being pursued by
\nriot police.<\/p>\n
\"Damn! I am always too late!\" he swore. Then he went back
\nhome. He had lost all interest in covering a riot like this,
\nsomething considered common in this country. There is no use
\nmaking a report on a riot like this and publishing the report as
\nlong as the provocateurs remain mysterious.<\/p>\n
\"A riot has broken out at Terminal B!\" an ojek (motorcycle
\ntaxi) driver shouted when he passed Sarju's house.<\/p>\n
\"I must immediately go to Terminal C!\" Sarju said to himself,
\nhurrying out of the house. He theorized that the provocateur
\nmight be heading for Terminal C after successfully inciting the
\nanger of the masses at Terminal B.<\/p>\n
He left his car at home. He went to Terminal C by public
\ntransportation. Who knows, I might come face to face with the
\nprovocateur en route on public transportation, he said to
\nhimself. It was often said that provocateurs invariably get about
\nby public transportation and they always refuse to pay their fare
\nso as to provoke the driver.<\/p>\n
Sarju was happy. There were many public transportation
\nvehicles going toward Terminal C. When he got to the end of the
\nalley, he stopped one and boarded it. He sat beside a stout,
\nsolidly built man wearing sunglasses and a cap and smoking a
\ncigar.<\/p>\n
\"Where will you get off, Mas?\" the man inquired.<\/p>\n
\"At Terminal C!\" Sarju replied.<\/p>\n
\"You are a reporter, right?\"<\/p>\n
Sarju nodded.<\/p>\n
\"You're going to cover a riot, right?\"<\/p>\n
\"Is there a riot at Terminal C?\" he asked the man. He suddenly
\ngrew suspicious about this mysterious looking man. Could he be a
\nprovocateur?<\/p>\n
\"There may be one happening there right now!\" the man said,
\nhalf whispering.<\/p>\n
Sarju was taken aback but tried hard to remain composed. As a
\nreporter he had been trained to keep his composure despite great
\nshock.<\/p>\n
\"If you wish to take a picture of a provocateur, I believe we
\nare too late,\" the man said, smiling cynically this time.<\/p>\n
\"Stop, left,\" Sarju suddenly shouted. He strongly suspected
\nthat the man next to him was a provocateur. He wanted to alight
\nas soon as possible and take a picture of the man with his
\nautomatic camera. One push of auto button and the camera would
\ntake 10 pictures. He was sure that the face of the provocateur
\nwould be well recorded in one of the 10 pictures. If the man got
\nangry with him, he could run into an alley and shout for help.<\/p>\n
The vehicle pulled up. Sarju immediately got out and pushed
\nthe button on his camera, by then already aimed in the direction
\nof the man's face. All done well indeed. The man did not seem to
\nhave any suspicions. He could see, though, his fleeting cynical
\nsmile.<\/p>\n
After paying his fare, Sarju went home. He wanted to process
\nand print the film in his camera as soon as possible. He was sure
\nhe had taken pictures of the mysterious looking man, whom he
\nbelieved was a provocateur. He did not intend to published the
\npictures; he wanted to keep the pictures to himself. For my
\npersonal documentation, he said to himself.<\/p>\n
This man knew that a riot was going on at Terminal C while
\nthey were still on the way to this terminal. Obviously he had
\nknowledge of a riot even before it occurred.<\/p>\n
Sarju was about to process the film in his own darkroom when
\nhis cellular phone rang. It was a friend calling to tell him that
\na riot was in full swing at Terminal C. \"A riot has just broken
\nout!\" his friend said.<\/p>\n
Sarju put his cellular phone on the table, smiling.<\/p>\n
\"My hunch must be right. The man whose face is recorded in
\nthis film is a provocateur!\" he said to himself and then spared
\nno more time to process and print the film.<\/p>\n
\"Damn! Real devil indeed!\" he swore hard and fast as soon as
\nhe saw the pictures. None of the pictures had the face of the man
\nhe believed was a provocateur. The film seemed to have been
\nburned. He became to increasing believe that a provocateur was
\nindeed a weird creature -- half human and half devil. Such a
\ncreature could never be photographed. Really mysterious!<\/p>\n
It was as clear as day to him now why the law enforcing
\napparatuses had always failed to arrest even a single
\nprovocateur. Rumors even had it that every time a provocateur was
\nabout to be caught, the officer on duty would be frightened half
\nto death and wet his trousers so much so that the only thing he
\ncould do was to go to the nearest rest room, where he would take
\noff his underwear, soaked wet with his urine, and wring it out.<\/p>\n
All of a sudden a riot broke out at Terminal D. Sarju hurried
\nto Terminal E, again by public transportation. He expected to
\ncome across a mysterious looking man who could be suspected of
\nbeing a provocateur. One again he sat next to a firmly built man
\nwearing a cap and sunglasses and smoking a cigar. This man was
\nnot the one he photographed the day before, though their
\nappearance was similar.<\/p>\n
\"Where will you get off, Mas?\" the man inquired, smiling
\ncynically.<\/p>\n
\"Terminal E!\" Sarju answered curtly.<\/p>\n
\"You are a reporter, right?\"<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\"You're going to cover a riot at Terminal E, am I right?\"<\/p>\n
\"Is a riot going on there now?\"<\/p>\n
He only smiled, then shouted: \"Stop, left.\"<\/p>\n
The driver pulled over to one corner of an intersection.<\/p>\n
\"If you wish to take a picture of a provocateur of a riot, you
\nare too late!\" he said to Sarju just before alighting.<\/p>\n
Sarju became more and more anxious. He also alighted. He would
\nlike to have some words with the man. He also wanted to take a
\npicture of the man's face. He did not want to fail this time. He
\nwas impelled to take a photograph of the man, who he believed
\nfitted the description of a provocateur.<\/p>\n
Knowing that he was being tailed, the man walked in great
\nstrides and crossed the road. Sarju ran after him<\/p>\n
\"Wherever you go, I'll be right behind you! Sarju said to
\nhimself. He prepared his camera for automatic photography.<\/p>\n
Suddenly the man turned into a narrow alley. Sarju was some 20
\nmeters behind.<\/p>\n
\"Damn! Real devil! Sarju swore again. When he turned into the
\nnarrow alley, he lost sight of the man. He had simply
\ndisappeared. On both sides of the narrow alley were four-meter
\nhigh walls without any gates. This man would not have been able
\nto jump over such high walls.<\/p>\n
Heavy with disappointment, Sarju left the alley and stopped a
\npublic vehicle. He wanted to go home. He felt dizzy. He was about
\nto get into the vehicle when a lot of people carrying all sorts
\nof sharp weapons burst out of the alley. The public vehicle sped
\naway.<\/p>\n
The mob shouted: \"Get the provocateur!\"<\/p>\n
Sarju was nervous. The mob, carrying all sorts of weapons,
\napproached him.<\/p>\n
\"Get the provocateur!\" they kept shouting while brandishing
\ntheir weapons in Sarju's direction.<\/p>\n
\"I am a reporter!\" Sarju shouted, showing his press card. But
\nthe people's anger had gotten the better of them. They hit Sarju
\nblack and blue. Some stabbed him in the back. Beaten black and
\nblue, Sarju fell headlong.<\/p>\n
\"You're lucky you're still alive!\" some reporters said when
\nvisiting him at the hospital.<\/p>\n
Sarju felt like swearing but his mouth was painful and he
\ncould not open it. He also felt painful all over and he could not
\nmove. He felt as if he had become paralyzed and dumb.<\/p>\n
A team of doctors had done their best to help Sarju, but there
\nwas not much they could do. Sarju would remain paralyzed and dumb
\nfor the rest of his life.<\/p>\n
His fellow reporters were greatly saddened by Sarju's plight.
\nThey could only grumble, however.<\/p>\n
\"Really damn unlucky!\"<\/p>\n
\"Really damn tragic!\"<\/p>\n
Yes, right. It is sheer damn unlucky and tragic to reporters
\nif they are paralyzed and silenced!<\/p>\n
Kudus, 1999<\/p>\n
Note:<\/p>\n
Mas = (Javanese) sir or brother (used to address contemporary
\nmales)<\/p>\n
Translated by Lie Hua<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/provocateur-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }