Jaksa Defenders Front
Simon Pitchforth's article on Jl. Jaksa did little more than perpetuate the stereotypical perceptions of this celebrated and notorious street. His whimsical portrayals of Jaksa inhabitants indicate that he has spent little time talking to them and much time judging them. Since his idea of fun is to bring his own friends and completely take over a small restaurant, I can only assume he prefers judging people to meeting them.
Not all the visitors to Jaksa are tie-dyed hippies. Not all the expats are "on the slide". The ladies are definitely not all "dentally challenged". Their smiles are wide and bright, despite their often tragic histories.
The "overly-optimistic blowpipe salesman" also happens to be a kind, gentle, intelligent, well-respected man who is always ready to help a friend or a stranger. If it weren't for draconian customs laws, he would sell dozens of his well-crafted blowpipes at the reasonable price he asks.
There is also a man on Jl. Jaksa who is some kind of parking attendant. He is quirky, possibly autistic, and can speak just about any language you can throw at him. I have met a former professor who now dedicates his life to picking up litter, a former hit-man who now teaches at a primary school, a foreign millionaire who lives in squalor alongside the railway tracks, and many other characters who are drawn to Jl. Jaksa for one reason: it is the only place in Jakarta where individuality is truly celebrated.
Unity in diversity sounds good on a coat of arms or a coin, but where is it really practiced in Indonesia? Community with conformity would be a more fitting motto in most cases. The sense of community in Indonesia is strong, and should be celebrated. But in this post-Soeharto era, with the nation fumbling towards freedom and democracy, it is time to also celebrate the diversity within the community. Not just the diversity of races and religions, but of ideas and lifestyles.
The majority of conflict in Indonesia is sparked by one group opposing another, and there are so many groups (and groups within groups) that is impossible to memorize all the initials used in a single edition of The Jakarta Post.
The large groups shout while the smaller groups whisper in darkened rooms behind closed doors. The voice of the individual with an independent viewpoint is barely heard, rarely heeded, and more than likely to get the individual in trouble with the herds.
The characters who inhabit Jl. Jaksa are not wearing it down. They are propping up the last bastion of independence against the forces that rail against it. They are people who took their freedom instead of waiting for some authority to grant it with forms filed in triplicate.
They are individuals working together to form a community, as opposed to a community working to absorb individuals.
BRAD BRYANT Melbourne-Australia