{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1409251,
        "msgid": "riot-victims-1447899208",
        "date": "1998-07-08 00:00:00",
        "title": "Riot victims",
        "author": null,
        "source": "JP",
        "tags": null,
        "topic": null,
        "summary": "Riot victims Reports that the ethnic Chinese community has become the victim of rioting, looting and systematic rape will certainly break everybody's heart. I cannot imagine how I would feel if those things happened to me, my family, or my friends. We must not only condemn these barbaric acts but also urge the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation. Barbaric acts, on whatever grounds, cannot be justified.",
        "content": "<p>Riot victims<\/p>\n<p>Reports that the ethnic Chinese community has become the<br>\nvictim of rioting, looting and systematic rape will certainly<br>\nbreak everybody's heart. I cannot imagine how I would feel if<br>\nthose things happened to me, my family, or my friends. We must<br>\nnot only condemn these barbaric acts but also urge the<br>\nauthorities to conduct a thorough investigation. Barbaric acts,<br>\non whatever grounds, cannot be justified.<\/p>\n<p>I am proud at the way in which some members of the community,<br>\nand in particular non-governmental organizations have responded<br>\nin the aftermath of this tragedy. Some are gathering facts while<br>\nothers have set up 24-hour help-line services. Assistance,<br>\nmaterial or spiritual, is available at all hours.<\/p>\n<p>The local media has not only condemned these barbaric acts but<br>\nhas shown a deep sympathy for the victims. It is true to say that<br>\nsome elements in the media have exaggerated and dramatized the<br>\nincident and the information which has been provided is just like<br>\nthe disgusting information that can be accessed on the Internet.<br>\nThe foreign press and foreign non-governmental organizations are<br>\nalso very concerned about the victimization of the Chinese-<br>\nIndonesian community. This humanitarian attitude is amazingly<br>\nadmirable.<\/p>\n<p>Occasionally I imagine how nice it would be if other<br>\npersecuted elements of Indonesian society received the same<br>\nattention. However, those groups are not as \"fortunate\" as our<br>\nChinese-Indonesian brothers. Tragic incidents have often been<br>\nfollowed by condemnation and accusation of the victims from<br>\nvarious circles. No 24-hour hot-line services have ever been set<br>\nup, and no fact-finding teams ever dispatched to find the bodies<br>\nof the dead -- God alone knows where they have been buried.<br>\nInternational and local non-governmental organizations have paid<br>\nno attention to these matters either.<\/p>\n<p>I feel like an alien in my own country. Government policy does<br>\nnot allow me, and many others like me, to take part in political<br>\nactivities. There is no opportunity for us to play a proportional<br>\nrole in the economy of the country. I feel like I am less<br>\nindigenous than my Chinese-Indonesian brothers.<\/p>\n<p>In cases like DI\/TII, Jamaah Imran\/Woyla, the Tanjung Priok<br>\ntragedy of 1984, and the Lampung tragedy of 1989, many people<br>\nlost their lives. Hundreds of women have been widowed and<br>\nthousands of children left without fathers.<\/p>\n<p>So, my brothers of Chinese descent, in some respects it seems<br>\nthat we are in the same boat. However, it seems that those who<br>\nare not of Chinese descent are less fortunate because we have<br>\nmore frequently been made political scapegoats and massacred. We<br>\ncan really feel your suffering, so don't take it to heart. We<br>\nmust be patient and resolute in facing despotism and work hard to<br>\nfind a solution.<\/p>\n<p>UMAR ABDUH<\/p>\n<p>Jakarta<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/riot-victims-1447899208",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}