Smile works wonder<\/p>\n
With regard to Mr. Ross Gulliver's analysis (The Jakarta Post,
\nJuly 17, 1995) I would like to state my views. As an expatriate I
\nhave never as such encountered any such instances of racism in
\nIndonesia. Whenever we traveled to different parts of Indonesia
\nwe came back with a lovely feeling of having shared something
\ninvaluable. We have always admired Indonesians for their
\nimmeasurable patience, accepting nature and self-control. Look at
\nthe way they quietly tolerate the traffic jams and they hardly
\nend up in fist cuffs or rows! On my innumerable trips to shopping
\nplazas I have always encountered immaculately dressed, smiling
\nIndonesians who tell me how much they love watching the movies of
\nmy country and even ask me to translate a few words for them.<\/p>\n
And talking about Indonesian doctors, I must say that a
\ncertain Indonesian doctor has given me a new lease of life. Once
\nI happened to be totally incapacitated due to a major spinal
\ninjury for a couple of months. Life had come to a virtual
\nstandstill and I often thought it was meaningless to live on.
\nHope came to me in the form of an elderly Indonesian doctor who
\nis not only a great orthopedic surgeon but is generously endowed
\nwith a charming disposition and a magnetic personality. It was
\nthis divine doctor who guaranteed 100 percent success and
\nperformed a very risky operation. I was able to walk on the third
\nday after my operation.<\/p>\n
I would like to inform my fellow readers that if this
\noperation had not been a success and if any of the nerves had
\nbeen erroneously severed in the process I would have been
\nconfined to a bed for the rest of my life. The other doctors I
\nhave encountered on various occasions have always given me a
\npatient hearing and have been only too eager to help.<\/p>\n
I think we should try to overlook one or two solitary
\ninstances of racism (if anything of this ever exists here) and
\ntreat it in a different light. A smile to counterbalance an
\nabusive racial remark can even be tried out, because a tit for
\ntat is not always the best means of communicating. At times a
\nsmile does help to diffuse tension.<\/p>\n
AJANTA SARKAR<\/p>\n
Bekasi, West Java<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/smile-works-wonder-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }