'When freedom dies, it never dies alone'<\/p>\n
By Dewi Anggraeni<\/p>\n
MELBOURNE, Australia (JP): \"In the beginning there was the
\nword.\"<\/p>\n
The word, for Indonesian author Goenawan Mohamad, is about
\npower and he was explaining what he meant to a group of peers at
\na congress in Fremantle, Perth.<\/p>\n
The authors, members of PEN International -- an association of
\npoets, playwrights, essayists, editors and novelists -- invited
\nGoenawan to speak at their 62nd Congress, on Oct. 29, the first
\ntime they had made such an invitation.<\/p>\n
\"We wanted a distinguished figure of literature from this
\nregion of the world to be the keynote speaker,\" Ronald Harwood,
\npresident of PEN International, explained.<\/p>\n
Goenawan, author and the former editor of the now outlawed
\nTempo magazine, spoke to over 300 delegates from all over the
\nworld at the second PEN congress held in the southern hemisphere.
\n(The first was in Sydney in 1977.)<\/p>\n
It was an unassuming Goenawan Mohamad, wearing gray pants and
\nblue denim shirts, that took his stance behind the lectern,
\nspreading a sense of anticipation in the room.<\/p>\n
But the impact of his opening sentence -- \"I come from a
\ncountry where censorship has become almost like a ritual,\" --
\nwas ruined, the victim of a faulty microphone. The audience was
\nvisibly annoyed. Unflustered, Goenawan moved to the bench and
\nused the microphone there.<\/p>\n
From an early age, he began, he knew what it meant to be
\nafraid of words, or rather the impact of words. Superstition
\nmotivated animist fishermen to refrain from uttering the word
\nfish when they went out to sea, and village hunters would not
\nmention the word tiger when they entered the forest.<\/p>\n
\"Words, for those hunters and fishermen, do not simply exit
\nfrom the mouth, as a symbol of some concept,\" said Goenawan.
\n\"Words have their own physicality, as if they are part of a dim
\nworld where danger spreads like a germ.\"<\/p>\n
In the pre-technology era, words invoked awe in people, as if
\nthey were a keris, he said. At times, a keris was an emblem of
\nceremony, but it forever contained the specter of harm.<\/p>\n
\"Because words can so easily incite aggression and conflict,
\nthey, like the keris, are more often than not left unused,\"
\nGoenawan said.<\/p>\n
To Goenawan, the essence of freedom of expression is not about
\ncertain principles and values but, in common with other issues of
\nhuman rights, it is inexorably linked to violence and suffering.<\/p>\n
He told the story of when he had been invited to the remote
\nvillage of Madura, to take part in a public \"prayer of concern\",
\n30 days after Tempo was banned in June 1994.<\/p>\n
Two months before the banning, four peasants from the
\nneighboring village had been shot and killed when they staged a
\nprotest against the construction of a dam on their land.<\/p>\n
Tempo, together with other members of the media, sent
\nreporters to cover the incident and, when the story was
\npublished, it attracted nationwide interest. The government was
\nmoved to act, in order to appease the anger of the Madurese.<\/p>\n
The independent media coverage had provided these people with
\nsome kind of protection. They feared that if the media could no
\nlonger work freely, more people would become victims.<\/p>\n
\"Anyone who says that when freedom dies, it never dies alone,
\nis absolutely right,\" said Goenawan.<\/p>\n
\"Power, while seeming to fuse with words through the process
\nof their multiplication and distribution, eventually causes words
\nthemselves to become unfree,\"<\/p>\n
The 40-minute presentation took the audience into the confines
\nof Indonesian art and culture, then back out into world at
\nlarge.<\/p>\n
Goenawan compared the traditional way of conveying messages in
\nprint with the modern approach. He said that in the Serat
\nCentini, an 18th century Javanese poetic text, erotic passages
\ndescribe what is generally found in male sexual fantasies.<\/p>\n
These passages used to be read to an audience with whom the
\npoet or presenter shared values and metaphors. There was intimacy
\nthat burned through inhibitions.<\/p>\n
Yet, in the new technology era, where the writer's words can
\ntranscend cultural boundaries, they enter a world easily shocked;
\none that is suspicious, uncomprehending or angry about what they
\nhave to say.<\/p>\n
Goenawan's speech was specific, yet so relevant to other parts
\nof the world today.<\/p>\n
Goenawan concluded: \"Somehow, stories and poetry have become
\ntoo much a part of our lives. In its finest manifestations,
\nliterature once again shows us how words can do unexpected
\nthings, can explore uncharted territory, leaving only footprints
\nthat mock every kind of fettering.\"<\/p>\n
His words left a lasting impression on the audience of PEN
\nmembers. Officials say they hope to invite a literary figure as
\nprominent as Goenawan to every future congress.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/when-freedom-dies-it-never-dies-alone-1447893297",
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