Dutch, RI poets show that the little issues mean a lot

By Kafil Yamin

BANDUNG (JP): Descending from the "gargantuan" issues -- democracy, structural reform, human rights, regeneration -- to nagging "pebbles in the shoe" in the long trek to change seemed to be the main message to Indonesian reformists from a joint performance of Dutch and Indonesian poets.

The Dutch were represented by Remco Campert and Gary van der Linden who, perhaps, did not really mean to give any "message" to their audience when they read their poems at the hall of IKIP Bandung last weekend. Indonesia was represented by famed poets W.S. "Peacock" Rendra and Darmanto Jatman.

In actuality, the audiences felt strongly that they learned something from their poems.

Listen to Campert's lines: Resistance does not begin with big terms, but with small acts/just like the whirlwind softly sweeps through a garden ...like small canals with small springs hidden in the jungle.

Campert is not only a poet, but a novelist, film scenarist and columnist. In 1995, he published a collection of his poems, Dichter (The poet). In 1997, his new collection, Odee an mijn jas (Ode to my suit) hit the market.

Indonesians prefer big things. Students and activists are obsessed with global and universal ideas -- total reform, people empowerment, structural change -- but they are not good enough in translating them into real action.

"They photocopy the reference books rather than buying them. They buy fake CDs. When they graduate from their colleges, they prefer to work in multinational corporations and big enterprises and refuse to work in villages," said a student critic in a discussion following the performance.

Thus, producing aircraft comes before developing agricultural technology. More and more rice fields are converted to industrial estates and the national car project is, or was, much more important than development of a "national fertilizer".

This line of thinking gives birth to "stage figures" rather than reliable and capable leaders. Their eligibility is measured by their capability to spout pompous ideals and organize huge rallies. Unfortunately, Indonesian history has been in favor of this kind of "leader".

Rendra portrayed this injustice in one of his poems: On the street, someone was struck by stray bullets/while there was a rally/He struggled in agony and then died/Another man worked hard like a buffalo/...he fell sick/He died yesterday/They were ignorant of politics. They watched TV. They are not written in history.

Rendra was responding in verse to Remco's message through He, Remco. The stage performance of the two evolved into a dialog between poems which touched common sense stronger than "academic" discourse can do.

Another part of his Politisi itu adalah (Politicians are) features the "stage figures": Politicians like sunny days/they like crowds/and flags/They would say: all opposition should unite/pooling their strength for the sake of struggle/And I am the one who will lead you all.

Rendra does not believe poets hold a special place in the Indonesian culture. He points at the violence that is rampant nationwide these days.

"Sometimes I feel ashamed of being called a poet. In fact, I cannot make people behave kindly and tenderly," he said after the performance.

Darmanto Jatman described the democratic fervor among developing word activists in ironic lines: You should be democratic! Do I make myself clear?/You should be democratic. Period!/If you don't take my suggestion, you will have problems!

Violence has become part of Indonesian culture, not only among the authorities but also among the public. The inclination to resort to violence in search of solutions should, Rendra hinted, have awakened national "leaders", who profess themselves to having a "real mass base" that, perhaps, they are not the figures to be reckoned with.

Their repeated appeals that all parties should exercise self- restraint have fallen on deaf ears of many.

One thing is for sure: literary works have always been, and will always be, the reflection of historical trends, and poets are their witnesses.