Soul and beggar

Soul and beggar

From Republika

I completely disagree with the editorial on Jan. 29, 2003 entitled The state without soul. A soul is God's secret, created by Him, the Almighty, and exists only in living things.

If Singaporeans now call us "beggars", it probably means that we should not be too demanding. Anyway, what is Singapore compared to Indonesia?

I have known the term "beggar" for many years now, and unless I am mistaken, in the early 1960's there was a song by Tommy Sand called Beggar from Texas. Despite its oil -- remember the movie Giant with James Dean -- there seemed to be a lot of beggars on the streets of Texas, so consequently, I don't think we should look down upon ourselves if we are called "beggars".

In 1973, I traveled with Christian Hoffman, a German engineer from Mannheim, to survey the 150 KV transmission line network between Semarang and Purwokerto in a VW Variant sedan (left-hand drive). He was at the wheel. In Tegal, he stopped and rolled down the window to ask someone for directions: "Hi, beggar, where is the direction to Purwokerto?"

"This way, sir, go straight ahead. Turn right at the traffic light, drive straight," the man who had just been called "beggar" answered proudly.

Hearing the word "beggar" addressed to someone on the street, I felt disturbed. I asked Christian, "Why did you just call him 'beggar'?"

He answered with a smile, "I don't know his name."

I was quiet, but in my heart I said, "Shame on you!"

F.NURJAHMAN, Jakarta