Do-it-yourself therapy to deal with a shocking crisis

Regina Schrambling, in an article that appeared in The New York Times recently, told readers how cooking could be a soothing experience in times of trouble, such as we're facing right now following the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington D.C.

Cooking, as Regina put it, is a mood altering experience, or a do-it-yourself therapy.

I didn't think much of it until I found Mr. Basa, a successful businessman, arguing with a city-bus conductor over the roughly Rp 200 extra he was supposed to pay. He insisted on paying less because he didn't get a seat on the bus, and thus had to endure the bumpy ride standing up.

Mr. Basa won the argument after a final verbal salvo: "I can't afford to pay full. You young people should respect a poor senior citizen like me!"

A poor senior citizen, for Pete's sake! He owns a Rolls Royce and three German cars of the latest model.

"I always do something crazy every time I am fed up with business problems," he said as we sat in a coffee shop, where he vented his anger over his company's management that had just lost a big project to a Japanese firm.

"Now I feel better. Taking a ride in a city bus and arguing with the conductor, for me, is an exciting process that takes my mind off the big problems. Winning an argument, even an unimportant one, is a consoling and healing experience. A do-it- yourself therapy, if you like."

He must have taken a page from Regina's book. With this kind of worldwide emergency situation, in which America and the Taliban are squaring off in an action that could endanger the whole world, the thought is worth considering. Everybody needs to engage in some consoling activities to ease his or her mind.

Now, it is the whole world that is caught up in worry, insecurity, anger and frustration.

Indonesia is no exception. We are genuinely angry with those who have caused unbearable pain to humankind. But then anger is also developing in response to America's deployment of resources to attack a tiny country to punish a single culprit who has not even been proven to be guilty.

A good deed, apparently, is one way of consoling oneself. As a psychologist put it, the process of doing a good deed and the satisfaction derived from the accomplishment are a natural healing experience.

So, instead of mobilizing resources to do what is called jihad, I think we could help our own people, especially refugees from Aceh, Ambon and Sampit who desperately need help. I think, (please forgive me if I am wrong) this is also some kind of jihad.

Or, if you still want to be acknowledged internationally, you could lend a helping hand to those Afghan refugees stranded in the middle of nowhere confronting a shortage of food and the threat of disease, collecting funds for them to face the difficult situation, especially in the upcoming winter. This is a sensible thing to do without intending to take sides and judging who's right and who's wrong.

As for the Americans (oh, who am I to tell them what to do?), I sometimes have a wild imagination: The country eventually realizes that retaliation would not bring them anything but more trouble. So, instead of spending billions of dollars to launch an attack on a tiny country just to punish one man, the government spends a billion or two to restore the places and facilities that have so far been hit by bombing sprees. The people then pitch in to help refugees all over the world by sending food and medicine.

America finally wins the sympathy of the world, including from those who opposed them in the past. And, to their surprise, somebody shows his gratitude by handing over the person(s) responsible for the Sept. 11 attack for a fair trial. And the world then rejoices in peace.

But then, it is only my wild imagination.

-- Carl Chairul