Red and White School<\/p>\n
By A.D. Donggo<\/p>\n
The scouts' flag in our school, an emergency junior high
\nschool in a small town in Nusa Tenggara, was red and white with a
\ntriangle in the upper left corner.<\/p>\n
Our junior high school was considered an emergency school
\nbecause the facilities were limited, including the number of
\nteachers and lessons. It existed in the territory occupied by
\nDutch colonial troops in the post-World War II era.<\/p>\n
In Indonesian, junior high schools are known by their
\nabbreviation S.M.P., or Sekolah Menengah Pertama. At the time the
\nacronym had a double meaning for us, that is, Sekolah Merah
\nPutih, or the Red and White School.<\/p>\n
In November 1947 -- one year after Nica, the Dutch occupation
\narmy, and its government apparatus recaptured our town -- the
\nlocal fighters, if they could be called that since most were
\nteachers who did not want to cooperate with the Dutch,
\nestablished a junior high school to accommodate elementary school
\ngraduates from the time of the Japanese occupation. In general
\nthey were idle or had returned to their villages to work in
\nrice fields because they could not continue their studies. It was
\ntherefore not strange that the students were young men averaging
\n16 years in age.<\/p>\n
There was an understanding that the school should have two
\nobjectives. First, the school should be a normal place for study
\nalthough the lessons given were not adequate at all. We were
\ntaught more about the history of the struggle for independence
\nthan the other subjects usually taught at junior high schools
\nlike algebra and geometry. I still remember how difficult it was
\nto hire teachers for certain subjects. It was very hard to get
\nsomeone to teach English. There were several people who had
\ngraduated from a Dutch middle school who knew English. They were
\nexpected to contribute their knowledge and teach full-time at our
\nhigh school, but it was not possible because they worked with the
\nDutch government in the morning. Some of them were willing to
\nteach in the afternoon, but that would bring other problems.<\/p>\n
However, those difficulties about the English lessons did not
\ndiscourage the board of the school or the students. Everybody was
\naware of the limitations and the emergency situation.
\nNevertheless, the school continued to exist with general
\nknowledge dominating the subjects taught.<\/p>\n
We students knew from conversations that the teachers and the
\nmembers of the board were people who did not want to cooperate
\nwith the Dutch.<\/p>\n
Imagine how hard it was to set up on Dutch territory a high
\nschool that did not want to be subjected to the Dutch government.
\nAnd that junior high school was the only one established at the
\ntime. The Dutch, immediately after their landing, re-established
\nthe colonial administration and set up a teachers' school, which
\nwas called Normal School. The adroitness with which the Dutch
\nrebuilt an educational system was, according to the founders of
\nour school, solely aimed at winning the sympathy of the people.
\nThey wanted people to regard them as the best. They were going to
\nlead the Indonesian nation again.<\/p>\n
But it did not work at all with the local fighters. They
\nresisted and refused to bow to the colonial power. To emphasize
\ntheir rejection they set up a junior high school and took pride
\nin their Sekolah Merah Putih name instead of Sekolah Menengah
\nPertama.<\/p>\n
Red and white? The two colors haunted the colonial forces.
\nThey became apprehensive and were easily enraged when they saw
\nthe colors in a flag. The scouts' flag had a white base and some
\nred lines, but when you mentioned the colors, you got red and
\nwhite, red and white, and so on, which haunted the Dutch
\nobsessively. That was the flag of our scouts. And so the school
\nwas continuously supervised by the colonial authorities.<\/p>\n
I said that the school had two focuses. One was the activities
\nof the scouts with their flag. Our teachers and board members
\nalways said it was not possible to fight the Dutch physically. We
\ndid not have any firearms. The Dutch had reinforced their
\nmilitary equipment. Their soldiers, most of them our countrymen,
\nwere well trained in warfare. We were not capable physically of
\nconfronting the Dutch power. We could only mount occasional
\nsurprises. The scouts and their flag would serve as an
\ninstrument. We could annoy and taunt them a little, said our
\nteachers.<\/p>\n
Some day the colonialists might feel they were being ridiculed
\nby the colors of the scouts' flag. Why were the colors red and
\nwhite, and not green and yellow or red and black, etc. There
\nshould not have been red and white as long as the Dutch were in
\npower. There was only red, white and blue, the Dutch flag. All
\nother colors were the enemy, especially red and white.<\/p>\n
Angered by the derision, a number of Dutch soldiers came to
\nour school one day. They asked justification from the school
\nprincipal why the scouts' flag was red and white. It was not
\ncommon. A scouts' flag normally had one color, green or yellow
\nonly, with a picture of an animal as a symbol. This was taunting
\nthe Dutch authority!<\/p>\n
The principal avoided the issue and explained that there was
\nnot the slightest intention to oppose the Dutch power because
\nwith that flag it was not possible to conquer the Dutch. The
\nDutch could only be conquered with arms. Our school had no
\nfirearms.<\/p>\n
Second, there was no law against making and flying a red and
\nwhite flag. What was banned was the hoisting of the red and white
\nflag to the top of a mast. And we did not do that, he said.<\/p>\n
Maybe influenced by the reasonable argument of our courageous
\nprincipal, the soldiers who came to seize the flag went away
\nempty-handed. They looked disappointed. There was dissatisfaction
\nand outspoken resentment in their eyes. They looked as if they
\nwould get even with the principal the next time. The flag had to
\ndisappear from the colonial sky!<\/p>\n
Encouraged by the small victory, the scouts increased their
\nactivities. Nearly every occasion was seized, mornings and
\nevenings, to do marching exercises through the small town. Those
\nwere not ordinary exercises, but a statement of our existence in
\nDutch territory by carrying red and white flags.<\/p>\n
We usually marched in rows of four. One of us used to carry
\nthe flag in front. He led us, and those who walked behind were
\nvery happy because our friend with the flag walked with his head
\nheld high and his steps were in harmony with the whistle blown by
\nour leader. We listened to his steps because we had no drum. We
\nhardly had uniforms. There were some given as a gift from a
\nperson who did not want his name mentioned. He was a strong
\nRepublican, meaning a staunch fighter for the Republic of
\nIndonesia. By the way, our handkerchiefs were red and white too.
\nSo, everything was red and white. The derision was complete.<\/p>\n
When we were marching, all people, old, young, teenagers,
\nchildren, men and women, came out of their houses to see the
\nscouts with their red and white flag. Admiration radiated from
\nevery face because they saw their children march valiantly. They
\nadmired us because we were the only ones who dared to use red and
\nwhite flags.<\/p>\n
On the contrary, the faces of the colonial authorities who
\nwere passing or conducting patrol trips showed anger and hatred.
\nHowever, they did not dare forbid the marching exercises or
\nconfiscate the flags.<\/p>\n
One day our school joined a torch parade, I do not remember
\nwhat occasion it was, perhaps Maulud (the birthday of Prophet
\nMuhammad). Dutch-owned schools and community groups also
\nparticipated in the parade. Our school carrying the scouts' flag
\nwas the third group in front. They were to be up front with the
\nflag to give the command, but it was not allowed. Too
\nconspicuous, some people said, especially because of the flag.<\/p>\n
The flag could lead to different interpretations. It was still
\npossible for the soldiers supervising the parade to get annoyed
\nand take action. They could disperse the parade if we acted
\nunpredictably, another said. I remember that at the time there
\nwas some dispute about where we should be in the parade. The
\nprincipal remained quiet, we did the same. We knew that we had
\nthe sympathy of the community. It made no difference to us where
\nwe were in the ranks. Finally it was decided that we should march
\nin the third row from the front.<\/p>\n
The torch parade was lively and received a warm welcome from
\nthe community. The applause grew in volume wherever we passed.
\nSome groups of youths who could not restrain themselves shouted,
\n\"Long live the red and white, long live the red and white!\" while
\nclose to them armed soldiers with raised bayonets were standing
\non guard.<\/p>\n
The cries changed into taunting, not directed at us but the
\nsoldiers. The soldiers were enraged and went into action. Not
\nagainst the youths but against the flag. One of the soldiers got
\nhold of the flag, but our flag carrier strongly held his own. A
\ntug of war followed for some time. The soldier was bigger and
\nstronger than our friend but he did not succeed in taking the
\nflag. The red and white flag remained firmly in our friend's
\nhands.<\/p>\n
What force assisted him in holding on to the flag? We were
\nastounded to see our friend's strength. He was slightly built. It
\nwas strange that we did not come to his rescue and just looked on
\nopen-mouthed. There was disorder in the parade. People did not
\nknow what to do except look on.<\/p>\n
Finally, sensing that he would not be able to seize the flag,
\nthe soldier became desperate. \"Attention!\" he cried out.<\/p>\n
Hearing the command, his colleagues simultaneously raised
\ntheir arms as if prepared to shoot. Sizing up the situation, our
\nprincipal moved to the front and cried out, \"Give them the
\nflag ...\" Hearing the principal's order, our friend, the flag
\nstill in his hands, suddenly weakened. The inexplicable strength
\nvanished as if wiped out by a storm. Listlessly he handed over
\nthe flag to the soldier. The soldier seized the flag, seething
\nwith anger. With the flag in its possession, the group of
\nsoldiers left. The torch parade also dispersed.<\/p>\n
The flag incident became a memorable story in the small town.
\nAll praised the fortitude of our friend in defending the flag
\nalthough it had finally been relinquished on the principal's
\norders. It was done solely to avoid irrational steps that might
\nhave been taken by the Dutch soldiers. If they hadn't succeeded
\nin seizing the flag, they might have shot in our direction and we
\nall knew the consequences. You are still young, it is not yet
\ntime to become victims, said the principal.<\/p>\n
When we asked our friend the flag carrier where he got the
\nstrength, he only smiled and raised his hands like somebody
\ntestifying that the strength had come from heaven.<\/p>\n
Translated by S.H.<\/p>\n
A.D. Donggo was born in Bima, Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, on
\nDec. 21, 1931. He has been writing short stories, essays and
\nnovels since 1953. He has worked as a journalist and editor at
\nseveral newspapers and magazines. He is now a freelance writer
\nand novelist.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/red-and-white-school-1447893297",
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