Not only soldiers can become heroes

By Arief Budiman

SALATIGA (JP): When I first visited Paris in the early 1960s, I was walking along a small street when I was struck by a small copper plague nailed onto the stone road in a dark corner of the street. The plague was old and rusty, and with difficulty I made out the inscription: "On this spot, on Jan. 17, 1943, a French patriot was shot by the Germans for defending his motherland."

As I said, the plague was small and if I had been walking quickly, I wouldn't have noticed it. I was walking slowly, taking my time enjoying the old city of Paris, so I caught this small copper plague.

After reading the inscription, a cold wind swept through my body. My mind went slowly back to the past like in a dream. I visualized the young Frenchman running to the corner of the street, pursued by German soldiers. He tried to shoot back with his simple rifle, but was cut down by the Nazis who sprayed bullets from their automatic machine guns. He collapsed, croaking Vive la patrie.. au revoir... and passed away with a smile on his face. He died there that day.

This young Frenchman was a hero. He is remembered by the French in a modest way, not in a big and pompous celebration.

His memory is not marked by flowers, or drums and trumpets, or rhetoric by high officials and politicians, only by a small copper plague in a dark corner of a Parisian street. A rose or two is put down once in a while by the family of this young man, or by sympathizers who sincerely honor the young man who died alone and lonely in this small street.

Speaking of heroes, Indonesians often think that only soldiers can be heroes, killed in battle. This assumption is strengthened by the fact that most graves in heroes' cemeteries are military graves. Even Sukarno and Hatta, the first president and vice- president of Indonesia are not buried in heroes' cemeteries.

The truth is that everyone can become a hero, military or civilian. To be killed in battle is not a necessary condition to be considered a hero, nor is it necessary to perform monumental deeds like Sukarno and Hatta. Some heroes are simple people, doing small honest jobs.

Under this definition there are many heroes. A father who spends many hours working diligently in the street of Jakarta to feed his family is a hero. A mother who gives her food to her child, although she is hungry herself, is also a hero. However, since these are not dramatic things, we tend to forget these people.

The case of Muhayat, a bemo driver in Jakarta, may be a little different. It is more dramatic although it is still very simple. Muhayat picked up a woman passenger on the evening of May 10 when some muggers stopped him and attempted to rob the woman. Muhayat must have been terrified because the burglars had machetes with them. But he felt pity for the woman, who was scared to death. So Muhayat abruptly hit the gas. One of the muggers managed to slam his machete into Muhayat before the small vehicle could jerk away. He was taken to the hospital but died on the way.

Muhayat was poor. He had to earn his living working hard for many hours in the overcrowded and polluted streets of Jakarta under the glaring sun. He had a wife and children waiting for him to bring home some money to buy food. His family is not waiting any more; Muhayat has gone forever.

When his bemo was stopped by the muggers, and his passenger was about to be robbed, he was not obliged to do anything. Nobody would have blamed him, if he had done nothing, in the big city of Jakarta where the principle of lu lu gua gua -- minding your own business -- reigns. But the fact is that, maybe because he felt he had a moral obligation to help her, he did and paid with his life. Some people might think Muhayat was stupid.

I say Muhayat is a hero; many people will agree. Muhayat's wife was invited to the Jakarta District Police where she was given a donation from the City Police office, the Jakarta Fatahilah Foundation and a businessman (Kompas, May 28, 1996). This shows that people in Jakarta still care.

I would suggest that on the spot where Muhayat was mortally wounded, a small plague should be put up with this inscription: "On May 10, 1996, Muhayat, a bemo driver, was hacked to death here trying to defend a woman from muggers." It will serve to make people realize that in commercial and pragmatic Jakarta, there are still people like Muhayat. Maybe they are not many, but there are some.

When this plaque is installed, I would be one of the first persons to put a rose below it on my next visit to Jakarta.

The writer is a sociologist and a researcher living in Salatiga.