The woman is called Aceh<\/p>\n
Oh God, since You have planted a womb inside me<\/p>\n
I am a woman<\/p>\n
Aceh, is my name<\/p>\n
And in the womb You also have channeled a spirit<\/p>\n
More than this I am also the people's paddy field<\/p>\n
Oh men and women, I'm your mother<\/p>\n
who cried at seeing your bodies pierced by bullets.<\/p>\n
who keeps crying although her tears<\/p>\n
are not meant to water the dry soil.<\/p>\n
In severe pain, your breath has become part<\/p>\n
of the sun and moon.<\/p>\n
I wished a neighbor's son to become my heir<\/p>\n
but who is he who has gunned him down?<\/p>\n
Who is he?<\/p>\n
Who?<\/p>\n
My door has asked the ravens to return to their nests<\/p>\n
because their shrieks have scared away the farmers from their land<\/p>\n
their wings also burned all the houses<\/p>\n
and the blood they spilled made the soil barren<\/p>\n
I'm your mother and your paddy field<\/p>\n
If you rape me, you assault your own mother,<\/p>\n
who has risked her life for your safety,<\/p>\n
who has divided her breath with you,<\/p>\n
who has pumped blood into your veins,<\/p>\n
whose marrow has fortified your bones.<\/p>\n
But why you have aimed your gun at my body,<\/p>\n
burned the house which I built for your old days?<\/p>\n
My son, come and lead the ravens to their nests<\/p>\n
so that I can have a rest before the dawn breaks<\/p>\n
Because tomorrow I'll go<\/p>\n
to harvest the paddy and coffee for you, dear<\/p>\n
so that no famine will hit this country<\/p>\n
I'm your mother, although Aceh is my name<\/p>\n
I beg you, please don't rape me<\/p>\n
and all your own sisters who also are called Aceh.<\/p>\n
Also stop killing your own brothers.<\/p>\n
My children,<\/p>\n
I have begotten you as men and women<\/p>\n
so let me, together with the sun, sow peace.<\/p>\n
\"Oh God, give me strength.<\/p>\n
I'm a woman who is soothing my own children<\/p>\n
and trying to bury the lust for power.<\/p>\n
Amen.\"<\/p>\n
(The poem was presented in a dialog on violence in Aceh,
\norganized by Women's Solidarity in Jakarta on June 16).<\/p>\n
- By Putu Oka Sukanta<\/p>\n
- Translated by TIS<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-woman-is-called-aceh-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }