'United, victims are invincible'<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The events of Nov. 18, 1998 were sobering for Maria Catarina
\nSumarsih, as they were for the nation, yet they also sparked in
\nher the drive to fight for human rights.<\/p>\n
When she received last Friday the Yap Thiam Hien Award, the
\nfifty-two-year-old joined a list of lauded activists that
\nincludes the late Munir and Wiji Thukul. Although, she confessed,
\nearly on she had known little about rights issues.<\/p>\n
\"I was just a regular -- a common housewife -- who had worked
\nand raised her kids as normal. I didn't even know what an
\nactivist was. There was nothing extraordinary about me, and
\nthere's still nothing,\" she said after receiving the prestigious
\naward.<\/p>\n
Her days as an \"ordinary\" housewife, however, were numbered.
\nDuring a massive demonstration at the Semanggi cloverleaf in
\nJakarta on Nov. 18, 1988 her son, Bernardinus Realino Norma
\nIrawan, was killed along with 16 others in a shooting spree.<\/p>\n
\"It broke my heart,\" she said, though the words were barely
\naudible.<\/p>\n
\"My life virtually stopped, particularly knowing that my son
\nwas just on a voluntary mission to help the victims in the
\nincident,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Although she had vowed to seek justice for her son, Sumarsih
\ndid not pursue an inquiry into his death straightaway. Like most
\npeople -- and perhaps most families of the victims -- she sat
\nback with her husband and daughter, waiting for the government to
\nresolve the case and take the guilty ones to court for
\nprosecution.<\/p>\n
But justice never arrived. Not even when nine people,
\nincluding students, were shot to death during a demonstration in
\nthe same spot a year later.<\/p>\n
Feeling betrayed, Sumarsih began to take action, joining with
\nfamilies of the victims of both tragedies and non-governmental
\norganizations.<\/p>\n
\"We all came to government agencies that we thought had the
\nauthority to handle the cases, like the defense ministry and even
\nthe State Palace, demanding a resolution. Not once, not twice --
\nall the time,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The victims are also seeking assistance from political parties
\n(though not the Golkar Party), the House of Representatives, the
\nNational Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and United
\nNations representatives.<\/p>\n
Yet their attempts seemed to have come to no avail when a
\nHouse plenary session declared that no human rights violations
\nhad occurred in the killing tragedies.<\/p>\n
\"Even the Attorney General's Office (AGO), which was our last
\nhope, said the same thing. It felt like the world had turned
\nupside down. It even crossed my mind that what we were doing was
\nin vain. I almost gave up,\" she said.<\/p>\n
But the thought of her son, and the humanitarian work he had
\nbeen doing, became her strength. \"It motivated me,\" the woman
\nsaid as she wiped tears from her eyes.<\/p>\n
Once, in 2001, Sumarsih, who works at the House secretariat,
\nhurled rotten eggs from the balcony of the House building at
\nlegislators passing by while shouting, \"The House does not
\nrepresent us at all!\"<\/p>\n
\"I felt good about that. I really did,\" she said, although she
\nquickly added that she also felt fortunate she did not lose her
\njob.<\/p>\n
Despite the statements issued by the House and the AGO,
\nSumarsih never succumbed. Her focus, which was mainly on the
\nSemanggi tragedies, shifted to include other human rights abuse
\ncases.<\/p>\n
Staging rallies, standing in front of crowds and criticizing
\nthe government's apathy become a regular activity.<\/p>\n
It's tiring sometimes. But whenever I visit my son's grave,
\nthe spirit returns. I feel like there's no stopping us, and this
\nfight must continue, at least to honor my son and other sons who
\ndied in the name of truth,\" said Sumarsih, who visits her son's
\ngrave every day.<\/p>\n
They are used to coming up against resistance as they are
\noften forced to work against the system.<\/p>\n
\"It's the police. It's the military. It's they who are armed.
\nThey just keep getting in our way. Either they block us when
\nwe're demonstrating, or torment us. They're the ones who make
\nthis more difficult -- maybe because our struggle regards them
\nand their friends,\" she suggested.<\/p>\n
Aside from human rights cases, Sumarsih has also staged
\nrallies to protest laws, including the one that would fortify the
\nmilitary's grip on the legislature, and the truth and
\nreconciliation law, which would \"erase\" past rights abuses.<\/p>\n
Six years have gone by and four new presidents have been
\ninaugurated since the fall of Soeharto, but the truth remains
\nhidden, while political and economic issues take priority.<\/p>\n
\"But I won't give up. The truth must be heard. I understand
\nthat someone's death is in God's hands, but how they die must be
\nin a reasonable way. If they died because of the government's
\ngreed for power -- and violence -- someone must be responsible,\"
\nsaid Sumarsih.<\/p>\n
She said she would dedicate the Yap Thiam Hien Award to her
\nson's memory, though personally she does not crave recognition.
\nRegardless, it cannot be denied that she has inspired new
\nactivists, who the country badly needs, and continues to do so.<\/p>\n
\"She may have been self-centered in her reasoning at the start
\n-- in trying to find out who killed her son. But as time goes by,
\nshe has evolved into being an undaunted fighter, who embraces
\nmany victims whose rights have been abused and, most importantly,
\nshe speaks out for them,\" noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis
\ncommented.<\/p>\n
\"My knowledge may not be great, but I do know that, united,
\nvictims are invincible,\" Sumarsih said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/united-victims-are-invincible-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}