Acehnese woman writer launches novel

Acehnese writer Riati M.K. has launched on Wednesday her first novel, Seulanga Gelora Cinta di Tengah Perjuangan Aceh (Seulanga: Glory of love amid Aceh's struggle), which tells a tale of a woman named Seulanga as she searches for her parents' murderers during the armed conflict in Aceh.

Along her search, Seulanga meets and then enters into a romantic relationship with Salam, a youth leader of Aceh's separatist movement.

In the novel, the armed conflict is presented in the context of mixed business and political interests through its antagonists. National and foreign companies operating in natural resource-rich Aceh also provide a background to the novel.

While Seulanga -- published by Creative Media and Tea Time Inc. Jakarta -- is a work of fiction, the writer said it was inspired by her childhood experiences.

Born on Nov. 18, 1968, in Langsa Aceh, Riati is among the few Acehnese writers -- if not the only Acehnese woman author -- to have published in Jakarta who interweaves her novel with a colorful backdrop of Aceh and its cultural heritage, such as proverbs.

A graduate of the English Department of Syah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, and currently an editor of a production house in Jakarta, Riati hoped that Seulanga would raise awareness among readers as to the past conflict and its effects on the Acehnese.

Although the novel could be categorized as popular fiction, upon reading it, readers will be introduced to the prolonged suffering of the Acehnese people and the complexity of the issues there.

-- A. Junaidi