Acehnese woman writer launches novel

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