Stop the rumor mill

Stop the rumor mill

In this part of the world rumors are perhaps as old as
civilization. The changes brought by time seem to have been
unable to stop the spread of rumors which often find their way
about faster than the truth. Rumors have victimized many people,
and their impact often lasts longer than the truth.

Last week, in one of the central Sumatra villages which were
shaken by a major earthquake recently, two people, one a member
of the Armed Forces and one a villager, were killed and another
Army officer seriously injured when villagers rioted in reaction
to rumors.

Reports said that the riot started when the people, whose
village had been reduced to rubble by the devastating earthquake,
saw two soldiers dropping off two local high school girls who had
been given a ride in their car. The mob, which feared that the
girls might have been harmed, ran at the soldiers, one of whom
opened fire in the confusion and killed a villager. The villagers
were driven to the violence due to rumors circulating that other
young women in the area had been molested.

Earlier, two journalists had been attacked by villagers who
were angry at what they claimed was the media's failure to give
equal coverage to all villages hit by the disaster.

The people's suffering in lamentable conditions apparently
made them overly sensitive to the things happening around them
and thus more vulnerable to rumors.

Another riot was triggered in Ciracas, East Jakarta, recently
when the rumor circulated that an infant injured during the
murder of her mother and three siblings several days earlier had
also died. The local people were so incensed at further tragedy
befalling the Rohadi family that they attacked and set fire to
the homes of the murder suspect and his relatives. They found out
later that the child was still living.

But even that was not the first time in recent years that our
people have become victims of rumors. Many racial or religious
conflicts here have been provoked by rumors. Rumors that certain
dairy products had pork among their ingredients and other rumors
that certain processed foods were poisonous have caused radical
reactions among the populace.

The question now is: Why do people so easily believe
everything they hear, without trying to check it out? Apparently
there is a reluctance to verify the truth of information with the
authorities. And even when the authorities do issue statements
countering rumors, many people refuse to believe what they say.

Clearly there is a vast and disturbing credibility gap. The
people want the truth at all times, but seem to be in need of an
education about how to live and behave as responsible citizens.
Many Indonesians have minimum educations and are not sure who or
what to believe.

They have heard so many things from the authorities which have
proved to be unfounded later on. And their reactions to this kind
of situation are fast. There was a time when the authorities
announced that there would be no devaluation of the rupiah
shortly before it was devalued. And the government's policy of
maintaining economic stability for the benefit of the people has
yet to be fully mirrored by the realities faced in the
marketplaces. The news media, which prints official statements
about commodity prices in good faith, stand accused of
disappointing the public. People say, "If you want inexpensive
goods, try to buy them at the newspaper offices."

The fact that rumors are playing the role modern communication
technology should play in a country which is trying hard to
modernize itself is lamentable. Efforts should be made to improve
our people's capability to react maturely in any given situation,
no matter how difficult. Reducing the number of hollow promises
and avoiding making statements or accusations which are not
supported by facts could improve the situation.

In whatever way possible, the current state of communication
between the authorities and the people must be improved so that
the citizens's trust in the government can be restored.