Plea for peace

Plea for peace

On the night of Sunday, May 18, my friend got an urgent
message from her mother telling her "Don't go anywhere". She said
it was very dangerous as there was a "war" in Kebayoran Lama near
their house.

But, thank God, on Monday it was calm, and we all knew the
reason. I went to campus and did my exam in peace.

On Tuesday, it was a different story. It was fearsome,
although we had been given assurances of our safety. A campaign
rally took place. How crazy I was to go to campus, as I was
trapped in a big crowd on my way back home. The road was really
in their control. The situation was perhaps great fun for the
jobless. They got Rp 10,000 or Rp 15,000 as they joined the
rally. There were processions and parades all day long.

Why should campaign rallies be done in this way? The people in
the rally broke the traffic regulations, drove on the wrong side
of the road and forced other people to give way.

As a citizen I want peace, which is the aspiration of the
people. Why do the parties blame each other? We, the younger
generation, lack experience and have many faults. But we wish
that something is done so that things will improve in the future.

SISKA KOMALA

Bandung, West Java