Matraman residents try to overcome feud
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.