Matraman residents try to overcome feud
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's statement that pluralism has proven to be a blessing for Indonesia rather than a threat to national unity, apparently is not understood by many. An example of that is the terror threats ahead of Christmas celebrations. Some Indonesians do not understand the meaning or spirit of pluralism, and are thus easily provoked to participate in ethnic or religious conflicts -- often sparked by trivial incidents. The Jakarta Post's Abdul Khalik has delved into these sensitive issues and this is the first of four articles dealing with society's understanding of pluralism.
An abandoned, severely damaged building stands on Jl. Matraman Raya, East Jakarta, as a memory of the seemingly never-ending and deadly brawls that blight the neighborhood, with residents struggling to live side-by-side in peace.
It was not easy for Nasrun, 52, a resident of Tegalan subdistrict, to forget what happened during the conflicts between his own neighborhood and the residents of the Berlan housing complex across the road, until a peace pact was made in late 2000.
"Several people died in a series of clashes that happened during 1998 and 2000. We lived in fear, as Berlan residents could kidnap my children at any time. We were afraid to go out of our homes," he said.
According to First Sgt. Suyanto of Matraman Police, no clashes have taken place during his three years of duty in the area.
"There were a couple of clashes between several residents of Berlan with other groups, including with residents of Jl. Tambak, but they were settled," he said.
The clashes on Matraman began in the 1950s as a form of rejection of other ethnic groups living in the area; an area originally occupied by ethnic Betawi, the native Jakartans.
An influential figure in Berlan, Mande Darmani, said that the local administration, the police and the military had established a forum involving community figures and clerics to find a way to stop the clashes.
"They had tried 18 or so different ways, an official told me, but the brawls continued. They all failed because they left out the young who were actually involved in the fights.
"Why didn't they involve us? We respect those in the forum but we must fight back if we are attacked. As for the fence built to separate us, we could get through it easily," he said.
The fights continued until the Bina Bangsa Foundation and the Ministry of Social Affairs held an outbound program in November 2000 for 100 young people from the troubled neighborhoods.
"We were trained in Cibodas and Ciloto, Bogor, for 10 days, where we were taught to work as a team with our enemies," said Mande.
During the outbound program they established the Matraman Peace Cabinet, with Mande as the elected president.
Each "minister" has a duty to detect sources of conflict among their own people, and to find ways to revolve conflict as early as possible.
"We practice what we learnt during the outbound program ... We work together to make residents realize that fighting is useless," Mande said.
A sociologist at the University of Indonesia, Ida Ruwaida Noor, said that the peace process in the area was a success in terms of quantitative indicators, such as decreasing number of clashes and a lower rate of vandalism to buildings and infrastructure.
"But the question is whether this peaceful condition can be preserved, and whether residents have internalized the values of the importance of peace.
"The root of the conflict is justice, both economic and social. If the new generation can't find jobs, or be engaged in activities to spend their time on, then they will be tempted to get involved in fighting again," she said.
Indeed, according to a Berlan resident, Ade, 42, the young of the area have no soccer fields or social organizations to occupy their time.
"I see that many of our teenagers don't know what to do and where to go. Instead, they hang around playing guitars, annoying people and maybe even using drugs," he said.