'Indonesians are confused by global power shifts'

'Indonesians are confused by global power shifts'
or
The rationale for corruption and immorality in RI
or
West, int'l economists responsible for chaos, terror in RI
or
Indonesians are good, West is influencing bad behavior
or
None of the problems are a result of our own doing, West is at
fault
or
Western immorality is solely responsible for RI chaos
or
It is all the fault of Westerners
or
A psychologist with a serious case of denial

Tika Bisono

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.

Do you think the West encourages this cultural pollution?

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.

What is the psychology of terrorism?

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.

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?

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.

How can this be countered, from a psychological standpoint?

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?

So the government is removed from this?

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.

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

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.

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

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

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".

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.

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

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.

In Indonesia?

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.

So there is hope for our sanity after all?

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.

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

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.