Burning Down

Burning Down

By Sunaryono Basuki Ks

The sky was clear but people of the whole village were
fearful. It was clear to them that the Dutch colonial soldiers
would soon arrive and the villagers did not know what would
become of them. Nurdin, who was in charge of circulating news of
the present situation of the country to the villagers, had
already told the village head that the Dutch air force had
bombarded Yogyakarta, the capital city of the republic, and that
president Sukarno had been captured by the Dutch. They said it
was only a police action, but Indonesians called it Dutch
aggression. Nurdin told people that the Dutch troops would soon
arrive in the village and the local people should burn down
strategic buildings such as the school and the railway station.

The villagers were ready with firewood. They put it in a high
heap inside the classrooms of the village's only elementary
school building. They also put firewood in the small railway
station.

The sky did not remain clear for long. Soon black smoke rose
into the sky.

"The school building is on fire. There will be no school from
today," one young boy told a friend.

"There's no need to go to school. We're at war."

"It's good to be at school," the boy whispered as if speaking
to himself.

"And it's better to have freedom."

The Dutch troops arrive a little after noon. Instead of
arriving in tanks they walked. Each of them carried a heavy
backpack and looked tired. Their dark faces were sweating.

The villagers stayed inside their houses, peeping out at the
soldiers through a half-open curtains. No one dared to go out
until they heard one of the soldiers shout in Indonesian: "Out!
Out! Everyone out!"

Everyone was frightened as they moved slowly outside their
houses into their yards. Nurdin was among them, dressed in a
sarong and scruffy shirt. A spy, that was Nurdin. He looked at
the soldiers one by one. Most of them had dark skin, only the
commander and his assistant were Dutch. The rest were Indonesian.

The commander, through one of the soldiers, told the
villagers: "Don't be afraid. We're here not to kill you but to
protect you against extremist movements. They could attack the
village and kill the villagers. We're here to protect you and get
rid of those barbarians."

Not one of the villagers commented. Nurdin cursed them in his
mind: "Bulls**t! You always tell lies to people. We are fed up
with all the lies!"

No one could hear what Nurdin said to himself. He recognized
some of the soldiers as people from town. The Dutch were
successful in campaigning for the military movement, and some
young people from town had agreed to join the troops.

Suddenly Nurdin saw a face that he had long hated among the
tired soldiers. He would never be able to forget this face,
although the man probably did not know quite as much about him.
It was Irawan among the local soldiers.

The handsome man with good posture was the son of the wedana
(district chief). As a son of a wedana, it was not surprising
that Irawan had received a good education, ate well and grew up
in luxury. Nurdin could not be compared to Irawan. He was only a
trader, a seller of dried cloves to cigarette makers. He could
earn money, but socially he was far inferior to Irawan. He
realized this and understood it quite well when Ningsih's parents
told him that he had better not visit Ningsih anymore.

In a clandestine meeting, Nurdin found out that Ningsih still
loved him but could not disobey her parents.

"I will never give my love to another person, Mas Nurdin."
Ningsih whispered in the dark shade of a banyan tree.

"Promise me nothing, Ning," Nurdin replied with bitterness.
"You should listen to your parents."

"I'm serious, Mas. Although that creep may one day possess my
body, he will never have my heart."

Ningsih's words were a relief and Nurdin's steps ahead in life
felt light. He could see positive things in life.

Nurdin's blood was boiling and his face turned red. He tried
to hide his feelings by hiding among the villagers. If only
Ningsih were to marry one of his fellow freedom fighters, he
would have never objected. But to marry a traitor like Irawan, he
would never let his beloved do this.

Nurdin could not sleep the whole night, but he could not do
anything. Should he attack Irawan when he was on duty, the
villagers would be blamed. He could not report this to his
commander, either, because he did not want to mix duty with
personal problems. Nurdin had a very difficult choice to make.
That was the reason he could not sleep.

Nurdin thought very hard to find the best solution to his
problem. No, it was not only his problem, but also Ningsih's. He
did not think that Ningsih would feel happy to find her future
husband was a traitor. Ningsih was proud that Nurdin had joined
the guerrillas to fight the colonialists. She would be
disappointed and possibly disgusted at knowing that Irawan was a
traitor. But Ningsih's father always talked about the future.

"Think about your future, and also the future of your
children. Irawan is a guarantee for a better and secure future."

But who really knows about the future? Would Indonesia
maintain her independence, or would the Dutch return and colonize
the country? They were here already, making the republic's
territory smaller and smaller. In no time they would be
everywhere in Indonesia, and the guerrillas would not be able to
do anything but accept the reality. Irawan, as the son of a
wedana, was a guarantee for a better future. That was what
Ningsih's father thought about: the future life of his daughter
and the future of this country, which would again become a Dutch
colony.

Nurdin slipped out of the village and joined his guerrilla
group. He reported to his commander the present situation in the
village, the size of Dutch troops and the feelings of the
villagers.

"Although they keep silent, they believe in independence and
they hope we continue the struggle."

Capt. Adi nodded and called a staff meeting to discuss the
possibility of attacking the Dutch unit.

"We have to ambush them during their routine patrol. I know
its route. There is a strategic place from which to attack,"
Nurdin proposed.

They planned to ambush the patrol far outside the village so
that the villagers would not be accused of harboring the
guerrillas.

D day arrived. Nurdin could see the path clearly from his
hiding place. Each of his friends were camouflaged with leaves.
The seconds of waiting seemed ages. At last Nurdin heard a sound
of a bird. It was a signal by Eko who guarded the other end of
the path.

"They are coming," Nurdin whispered to a friend next to him.
He did not really need to tell him, everyone in the small unit
heard the signal and understood it well.

When the well-armed unit came into Nurdin's view walking in a
single file, he tried hard to find Irawan among its members. He
was there, leading the unit. Nurdin could see clearly now that it
was Irawan.

Nurdin reached for a grenade hanging on his belt. When the
unit came close enough, Nurdin could not control his emotions. He
threw the grenade and shouted: "Bulls**t!"

Nurdin trembled as the earth trembled when the grenade
exploded. His hate, his emotion, his spirit for freedom, all
trembled. He now was not sure whether he threw the grenade for
his country's independence, or for his love for Ningsih.

Singaraja, Sept. 29, 1999