Are we creating enemies that don't really exist?

Are we creating enemies that don't really exist?

M. Ali, MBA Graduate Student, Nottingham University, England

Haven't we suffered enough from victimization and conflict
already in Indonesia? Now it seems like we have had years of the
creation of conflicts on all levels of our society. Enmity has
either been allowed to grow or has been provoked between
religious denominations, ethnic groupings and political
designations. Now we have racism rearing its ugly head to
compound our problems.

People might claim that they are defenders of Islam and that
they are true believers and guardians of Muslims -- but some of
these people are entering into mindless prejudice and abuse of
human rights that has absolutely nothing to do with keeping the
faith.

Maintaining that they are getting rid of the "bad influence"
of the West and dealing with those responsible for the deaths of
Muslims in Afghanistan and Palestine, some people act in an
offensive and abusive way to our foreign guests in Indonesia. And
it has to be noted they specifically pick out the white
(Caucasian) people for their abuse.

There is no real thought in selection of people that might be
the targets of "sweeping" or other forms of offensive behavior
such as name-calling and insults. The single motivating factor is
that they are "white", bule, and so, they must be the enemy. This
is so wrong and so offensive that it must hurt and shame all
decent and respectable Indonesians.

An enemy is someone who strongly dislikes or even hates us and
so it simply goes against all logic to think that Westerners,
(white people) in Indonesia can or could be our enemies. The vast
majority of Westerners that are in Indonesia are working
expatriates who contribute directly to our economy and in many
cases are engaged in organizations and projects that are directly
linked to our development in these difficult times.

It is then deeply disturbing and damaging to set these people
up as being our enemies when all too clearly they are not.

It should also be hoped that Indonesians could see beyond the
color of skin and see and appreciate what may lie beneath. In
choosing to "sweep out white skinned Westerners" people claiming
that they are defending our Muslim brethren might in fact be
attacking and hurting them.

Two good friends of mine illustrate this point. One has been
living and working in Indonesia for more than 12 years. He works
tirelessly to help the most needy members of our society.

Apart from that he is also a devote Muslim. He reads the Holy
Koran with such depth and understanding that he can recite
relevant extracts to illustrate the point he is making. He never
fails to complete his daily prayers and he has taught many others
about the virtues of Islam. Therefore, great and deep are the
insults when he has had people tell him that he should not stay
in Indonesia. That he should leave simply and stupidly because of
the color of his skin.

How can he be considered an enemy of Indonesia? But his wisdom
and tolerance allow him to talk to the people that would wish him
ill and he tries to educate them so that they can see that he is
not their enemy.

A second friend, however, finds it more difficult to be
forgiving. He too has lived in Indonesia for perhaps more than 10
years. He has married an Indonesian and they have two children.
He actually gave up his American citizenship to become an
Indonesian citizen. But now he hears muttered words of abuse as
he passes people by. He has for a long time been used to people
looking at him and making him feel odd or alien just because he
is white -- but now those looks have changed.

Before the rumors of "sweeping" and the creation of the notion
that white people are no good, he like so many others, was able
to just laugh at those stares and looks of amazement at his white
face. But now those looks and stares have turned sinister and
they concern him. He is worried for the welfare of his children
and has even expressed doubts about being an Indonesian citizen.

These are terrible observations indeed. There are, of course,
many problems in our world today. And perhaps many of those
problems can be traced to Western influences. But creating
enemies here in Indonesia is not going to help solve our
problems.

In truth it will only create more problems. We have suffered
long enough under an economy that is in a terrible condition.
Making foreign investors fearful of coming here again is a
disaster that we can ill afford to bring upon ourselves. We need
to do business with the world -- that is our future.

Even if we set aside monetary and investment matters, we must
still think of human rights; what some people are willing to
think about doing now is completely contrary to human rights.

Racism and prejudging people cannot be allowed to exist in our
nation. We have already seen too much damage done to us
internally because of these things. If we allow outsiders to be
misjudged and misplaced as our enemies, we will only do greater
damage.