RI's catcher on the sly<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
If there is anybody that has made a name for herself from a
\nstring of tragedies - from the bloody 1998 anti-Chinese riots to
\nthe very recent forced repatriation of Indonesian workers from
\nMalaysia - it could be Sri Parlupi, a social researcher.<\/p>\n
Her findings have sent waves of shock through the public and
\nthe government, stirring controversy surrounding the high-profile
\nabuses.<\/p>\n
A researcher for a non-governmental organization, the Jakarta
\nSocial Institute (ISJ), Palupi found herself at odds with
\ndefensive state officials in 1998, when she came up with her
\nreport that a large number of Chinese Indonesians fell victim to
\nlooting, rape and murder during the tragic May mayhem.<\/p>\n
The then B.J. Habibie administration strongly rejected her
\nfindings on cases of rape, arguing that none had reported any
\nsuch cases to the police.<\/p>\n
The argument raised eyebrows because it is a public secret
\nthat the police had done nothing to stop the three-day orgy of
\nviolence that is a huge black mark in Indonesian history.
\nHundreds of people trapped in shopping centers were burned alive.<\/p>\n
When confronted by the media, Palupi said that all but two of
\nthe rape victims refused to be identified in public.<\/p>\n
Her latest investigation is the plight of the illegal
\nIndonesian workers shipped from Malaysia to the island of
\nNunukan, East Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Her report prompted the irate Minister of Social Affairs
\nBachtiar Chamsyah to sue her for "deceiving the public."<\/p>\n
Along with friends grouped in the Network of Volunteers for
\nHumanity, she was assigned to collect and analyze data while
\nothers procured and distributed humanitarian aid.<\/p>\n
They also helped local social workers care for the sick and
\nprovide medical service.<\/p>\n
In her report, Palupi insisted that the government should be
\nblamed for the poor condition leading to the deaths and ill
\nhealth among the stranded workers due to the lack of facilities
\nin the transit camp.<\/p>\n
Not only that, she also concluded that the government's
\nneglect had caused a host of social problems. A case in point was
\nparents selling their children to get passports, the document
\nneeded for migrant workers to return to their jobs in palm oil or
\ncocoa plantations in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
She claimed that she had found three such cases, and more
\ncases on children left stranded by their parents because the new
\nMalaysian immigration act forbids those without work permits to
\nenter the country.<\/p>\n
Outraged, Chamsyah demanded that she show clear evidence to
\nsupport her report. But the minister faced the music when he
\neventually visited Nunukan. Chamsyah insisted that the report was
\n"invalid" because Palupi had never been to Nunukan.<\/p>\n
She stands by her claims.<\/p>\n
She said, "I can bring the parents who sold their children to
\nmeet the minister on three conditions: First, he has to apologize
\nto the migrant workers for his terrorizing statement that
\nunderestimated their plight.<\/p>\n
"Second, he has to ask for forgiveness to mothers who did sell
\ntheir children because it is the government's incompetence which
\nforced them to do so. And third, the government has to pay
\ncompensation to the migrant workers who lost property and dignity
\nin Malaysia and after they reached Nunukan," she said, her small
\nphysique shaking with emotion.<\/p>\n
Born in Malang, East Java, on Jan. 26, 1965, Palupi got her
\nundergraduate degree from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture
\n(IPB) in 1989.<\/p>\n
Since then she has focused on research. She was in charge of a
\nresearch project held by IPB's Social Forestry Study Center in
\nBojonegoro, Central Java and became a lecturer at the Catholic
\nSugiopranoto University in Semarang, Central Java.<\/p>\n
Palupi was entrusted to chair the Women's Study Center there
\nfor three consecutive years and was elected as the secretary to
\nthe University's research center.<\/p>\n
To become a social worker was her dream. In 1996, on the
\nadvice of her husband, an employee of a private company, Palupi
\njoined ISJ. The institute was founded by noted rights activist
\nand Catholic priest, Romo Sandhyawan Sumardi.<\/p>\n
Doing the research for ISJ has been a bridge to build contact
\nwith other non-governmental organizations. Palupi has often been
\ninvolved in analyzing the results of investigations done by her
\nfriends.<\/p>\n
She wrote the investigation report on the communal conflict in
\nMaluku and organized training for the volunteers who investigated
\nthe killing of dozens of people believed to practice black magic
\n(dukun santet).<\/p>\n
Now a master's degree student at the Jakarta-based Driyarkara
\nUniversity of Philosophy, the mother of a seven-year-old boy said
\nshe was not bothered by all the controversies.<\/p>\n
"The public knows the truth. I just have to bring it to them."<\/p>\n
She dreams of establishing a research center focusing on the
\npeople's economic and social rights, issues which have yet to
\nreceive the government's attention although in fact most social
\nproblems stem from the government's neglect of those rights.<\/p>\n
And she is no longer afraid of controversy.<\/p>\n
"It is common for the government to downplay an issue just to
\nsuit its interest. But what about the victims? Although the truth
\nis too bitter to acknowledge, we have the obligation to reveal
\nthe truth."<\/p>\n
Although it's hard to accept a report done by a government
\ncritic, a remark by modern physicist Niels Bohr best illustrates
\nthe situation: "The opposite of a correct statement is a false
\nstatement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be
\nanother profound truth."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ris-catcher-on-the-sly-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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