Balancing act of the Indonesian spirit

Robert S. Finnegan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Tika Bisono is a noted Indonesian psychologist and Editor in Chief of Parents Guide Magazine.

Question: In the aftermath of the Bali bombing we have seen media reports quoting noted academics who are saying that Indonesia is mentally ill. What do you think?

Answer: No more than the rest of the world at this point. International and domestic politics all play into this. So much has happened in the past few years, with the general population being pulled this way and that... And with the advent of "globalization", of course the people themselves are confused and are not getting the information they require to properly adjust to these changes swirling around them.

As a result of the global economic power shift, the fall of Russia and the emergence of other players with the propensity to translate economic power into political power, honor and fair play has gone out the window and people will do almost anything in their quest for wealth. This has an enormous psychological impact on the average person and Indonesians in particular are having a hard time coping with this balancing act between right, wrong and money. The lack of morals so prevalent in Western cultures that we are now being exposed to in our daily lives also impacts heavily on our society.

Q: Do you think the West encourages this cultural pollution?

A: The Western powers are warily eying Southeast Asia as our regional economies gain strength even in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis. They have a vested interest in not only the vast resources of Indonesia but also in keeping the people from being empowered and resourceful. The watering down of our ancient culture virtually guarantees chaos at some point, especially if it proceeds at a rapid pace and is not addressed in some way. Under an unnatural process such as this, people become spiritually uprooted and this does lead to a form of collective mental illness on a very basic level. The WTO, World Bank and IMF are concerned with nothing more than economic domination and to hell with the poor people of the world. By keeping people impoverished and in continual chaos they retain dominance. This is actually an old historical model that has been modified for our times.

Q: What is the psychology of terrorism?

A: Terrorism has its own political and social messages. Fear. Uncertainty. Domination. It makes people feel or perceive themselves to be helpless in combating a nameless, faceless threat in their daily lives. A disruption of thought and action where any semblance of control is completely lost. It is quite effective. Some people are willing to give up cherished ideals such as personal freedom for minimal assurances of safety from their governments.

Q: Indonesians have certainly reacted differently to this act of terrorism than the Americans, who have just surrendered for the first time in the history of the United States, freedoms guaranteed by their constitution (due to certain articles in the Homeland Security department) for the perceived safety offered by the government. Could you envision this happening here in Indonesia?

A: I really cannot imagine that after the long struggle to gain their freedom that the Indonesian people would for one second contemplate sacrificing any of their hard won liberties for perceived security, especially if the guarantor was the government. No way. I feel sorry for the Americans and wonder what they were thinking about when they allowed this.

Q: How can this be countered, from a psychological standpoint?

A: There are and always will be individuals or communities who will rise to the occasion to provide positive examples of humanity, allowing for the continuance of normalcy in these adverse situations.

Take for example the Balinese man, a Muslim, who led the rescue effort even as rumors were already circulating that Islamic extremists were responsible for the bombing. This man risked his life and the lives of his team to save these people and then once again stepped forward to lead the recovery effort. His example in the face of this incredible carnage was proof that humanity, regardless of race, religion or nationality simply refuses to crumble in the face of these horrific attacks.

This is the kind of example that individuals can cling to when confronted by the psychological assault of a terrorist attack. This gives us the will to resist and confront the trauma. The subliminal message is: Are we going to allow ourselves to be beaten up by the bad guys?

Q: So the government is removed from this?

A: The government actually had a hand in helping this situation. From the first day following the bombing they were saying "We are doomed," and I believe this actually aroused the basic survival instincts within the people of Bali.

Q: Pretty amazing how the Balinese people reacted - no violence at all...

A: It was. They looked inward trying to find a reason rather than lashing out as most of us would have, and instead were praying for the purification of their island. The potential for religious confrontation was enormous, and yet it was never even mentioned. From a psychological point of view the Balinese people as a whole transcended this act of terror with acts of love. This is incredible when you take into account that Bali was not a building, but an island. Paradise. What was bombed was an image. The terrorists attempted to destroy the collective psychology of an entire island and they failed miserably.

Q: Even though there appeared to be a very careful analysis made on their part of the psychological damage they hoped to inflict?

A: They were very sophisticated in their choice of targets and potential for maximum psychological damage.

Q: Then this goes way beyond an individual or group of people who say "I want to kill a bunch of Americans" or "We wanted to kill Westerners"...

A: Of course! Because killing an image requires incredible skill. Not only did they attempt to kill the image of Bali as a place untouched by the troubles of the real world, they also attempted to psychologically rape the people of Bali and Indonesians as a whole.

Q: What did you think of the international response to the bombing?

A: It was overwhelming and the majority was not reported. The Balinese people were able to witness people from all over the world praying with and for them, and this reinforced their response. It was tremendously uplifting and especially during this time of collective madness on the part of the rest of the world with regard to the "war on terror." This has reinforced our belief that at least a small part of the world is still peaceful. It is a starting point.

Q: In Indonesia?

A: Yes. I wish the people involved in the conflict in Aceh could look at this and gain some wisdom from it to create a situation of goodness by themselves and within themselves as yet another example that we are a peaceful people at heart. With examples such as this we could look at the rest of the world and challenge them to do the same. If we can do it in Bali, Aceh and Poso then you can do it in Los Angeles and New York.

Q: So there is hope for our sanity after all?

A: Conditional hope. We must continue to be proactive as we have been in Bali. The paranoia that terrorism spreads -- the fear of the unknown -- must be faced and understood. Through this understanding, our fears are manageable. Not vanquished, but manageable. Trying to ignore or running away from our problems will solve nothing. We have to face them. I have been amazed by what the people in Bali have been doing since the first day after the bombing. I felt, sensed and observed a very strong determination, not just from the Balinese people themselves but from people all over the world who were able to help the people affected by this tragedy, to fight this fear, this terror.

Q: What would you say to the armchair quarterbacks and "experts" who are now saying that Indonesians are "mentally ill?"

A: I would say that yes, we are ill, but not paranoid or schizophrenic. Just an emotional disorder and if you look at the stages of the progression of mental illness we are at the bottom of the list - in the first stages. There is still much more sanity in our society than illness. We are beginning to slowly realize -- especially after Bali -- that all people are not bad, all people are not evil. We are holding on to these newfound realities - in order to survive.