Lifeline braille magazine needs rescuing

Lifeline braille magazine needs rescuing

By Kafil Yamin

BANDUNG (JP): Burung camar terbang tinggi/ hinggap di atas
batu karang/ ngaku jadi Muslim sejati/ tapi tak pernah
sembahyang.

These lines of the quatrain can be translated as: Seagull
flies high/ It lands on the rock/ (They) call themselves good
Muslims/ but never perform prayers.

This poem at the editorial desk of a Bandung-based bimonthly
magazine was written by a young blind woman, Fitri Nugraha
Ningsih, from Solo (Surakarta), Central Java. You won't be able
to read it, though, because it was written in braille.

Fitri is a regular contributor to Gema Braille, the only
braille magazine in the country. She receives Rp 5,000 for each
piece that appears in the publication.

Ruhiyat, a blind editor of the magazine, finds that Fitri is
indeed a gifted but fledging literary writer and her talent has
been developing with the magazine. "I have been watching her
development. She writes short stories and poems. She's showing
significant improvements," he told The Jakarta Post.

Another contributor sent a popular science article entitled
"Why (the bride) does not bleed on the first night". It is an
explanation of the biological mechanism of a virgin bride the
first time she has sex.

And Ruhiyat has anything it takes to be an editor. He checks,
edits and organizes editorial meetings where the board of editors
discusses what will appear in the next edition.

Ten editors now run the magazine. They include those who help
convert selected articles to braille. Since it is more like an
in-house magazine that does not require field coverage, editors
take material from the printed media, books and brochures. The
rest is sent by regular contributors and readers.

And as another editor, Harsono, puts it, their articles are
the most appealing part of the magazine. "Maybe because the
readers are the blind, and the works are of the blind, there is a
sort of psychological connection created," he said.

Kontak jodoh (Matchmaking) is the most popular column. So high
is the passion for this section that the editors have additional
jobs: arranging meetings for corresponding readers. "After a
couple meet each other, we just let them go ahead with their own
plans," said Dadang Kusnadi, another editor.

Kusnadi does not recall exactly how many men and women met
their spouse under the auspices of Gema Braille, "but there are
many".

"Usually they invite us to their wedding party and we are
delighted to attend," Kusnadi added.

Like general magazines, the publication also deals with
current issues in the public arena. It has published, for
example, a profile of Abdurrahman Wahid when he was just elected
President. It also hit the mark with analysis on the last general
election.

Gema Braille is published in Bandung by the Indonesian Braille
Publishing House Abiyoso, which was controlled by the closed down
social affairs ministry. It first appeared in 1959 as part of the
ministry's efforts to serve the blind in the country with
valuable reading materials.

The World Health Organization estimates that three million of
Indonesia's 206 million people are blind, while the number of
blind people worldwide reaches 45 million.

Abiyoso also produces talking books, reference books to
fulfill the needs of schools for the blind. Gema Braille itself
appears in two versions, one for children and the other for
adults. Despite the ups and downs of the economic situation, the
magazine has been consistent in reaching its readers.

Being a non-profit publication for decades, Gema Braille by
any standard has improved. Some 1,100 copies are printed
comprising 80 pages every two months. This is a significant
achievement for a non-profit publication that initially had just
50 copies.

It has also made great strides forward in terms of equipment
and physical aspects. The publication has acquired a comfortable
office in the Bandung hinterland of Leuwigajah. Sophisticated
printing machines and the latest computers, all of which are
donations from foreign countries, boost the quality and
efficiency of the publication.

Orphanages, schools for the blind and a number of social
organizations are now enjoying the free magazine. Some of the
blind find their talent developing and being nurtured.

With the closure of the social affairs ministry, editors,
publishers and others who were involved in the publication see
gloomy days ahead.

They have every reason to be skeptical. One edition requires
Rp 33 million (US$4,714). This does not include salaries and
other expenses. The magazine needs about Rp 200 million per year
(about $28,571).

Greater concerns come from the readers themselves. "You see
this?" Ruhiyat points at stacks of paper on his desk, "These are
all letters asking for the continuity of the magazine in the wake
of the social affairs ministry closure," he told the Post.

As President Abdurrahman suggested, it is the time for social
work to be handled by the community itself. The board of editors
of Gema Braille must find the way ahead themselves.

"Actually there is a letter addressed to the President. It
asks the President what he will do about the magazine," Ruhiyat
disclosed.

Ruhiyat is aware that it is unlikely that the President, who
is partially blind, will read this letter.

"Not because he is incapable of reading braille, but because
this letter will not land on the President's desk," he grinned.