Theater helps heal wounded community

Theater helps heal wounded community

By Blontang Poer

SURAKARTA, Central Java (JP): A pregnant young woman was
shouting, smiling and at times complaining about her fate. With
her clothes in tatters and her burned face blistered, she was
walking among the rubble of a building that had been razed to the
ground. The woman occasionally condemned the brutishness of the
people who had raped her.

Meanwhile, a number of security guards tried to coerce her not
to talk anymore about the incident and the way she had become
pregnant. They said she should sleep, so that what had happened
to her seemed only a dream.

Seeing the performance of the play Korban-korban berjatuhan
(Victims Fall) by Teater Ruang in Surakarata, staged in an
interactive theater on the banks of a river on Sep. 30, the
hundreds of spectators were reminded of the May 14-15, 1998
tragedy which nearly devastated their lives. The community,
already hit by the economic crisis, could not obtain basic
foodstuffs because most of the shops had been burned down. Many
rape cases from that time, involving mostly ethnic Chinese women,
have still not been solved.

Joko Bibit Santoso, the playwright and director of the play,
does not want to give a solution to the problems raised by these
events. But he does provide a tragic ending where part of the
stage is burned. It is obvious he means it to recall the savagery
of the riots. The play contains a long dialogue between the
security guards (a metaphor for the security apparatus) that
illustrates they also have conflicts of opinion in facing the
criticisms of the community.

It is apparent that Joko's intention is to invite viewers to
reflect on the May incident. Incidentally, the people living
close to the river - who made up the majority of the spectators -
are the people who participated mostly during the riots and
subsequent looting.

The play certainly made the spectators think, and they were
occasionally shocked. An ethnic Chinese boy expressed his
"regrets"; he said that if he was allowed to choose he would have
been born with brown skin so he would not have to carry the
burden of his ethnic heritage. "I was born not because I wanted
to. Why have we been victimized? As for food, language and
religion I just take what there is around me," said the boy, a
junior high school student.

The performance started with a rebana (tambourine) music show
using Islamic verses - interspersed with Javanese nuances - which
was performed by students of the Al-Muayyad Muslim boarding
school. At the Surakarta Arts Center on Sept. 26 a show combining
different cultural elements took place. The students tambourine
music alternated with singing of a church choir. There was also a
Balinese Hindu dance and finally a combination of barongsai (lion
dance) and wushu martial art performance with strong Chinese
characteristics.

The Salatiga forum promotes this activity in cooperation with
existing religious institutions, like Muslim boarding schools,
churches and Hindu and Confucian temples. They are optimistic
that their approach through art is able to loosen the knots of
sectarianism. Especially since conflicts between ethnic and
religious groups have affected parts of the Surakarta population
for generations. Previously, various efforts were made to solve
the problem but they didn't yield results.

The atmosphere during the performance came as a relief to all
groups. Ethnic Chinese children did no look uneasy sitting next
to, and applauding with, other ethnic groups. Loud applause was
heard in the Taman Budaya Surakarta when the church choir
finished singing. They shook hands and embraced each other after
senior high school students, trained by the Indonesian Confucian
Society of Surakarta, gave a wushu performance.

Kiai H.M. Dian Nafi from the Al Muayyad boarding school,
Father Mardi Widayat from the Catholic Church and Aji Chandra
from the Confucius Society were smiling proudly seeing the
harmony among their pupils. Martidjono, head of the Surakarta Art
Center believes the use of art as an alternative method to teach
children about cultural differences is right. This is because,
"Only art is able to bridge the various differences in ethnicity,
religion and ideology in a pluralistic community. Especially
because the spirit in art emphasizes adulthood in attitude."

On the evidence of Korban-Korban, this view is not
exaggerated. That evening the audience followed intently the
story and felt free to identify themselves with the dialogue on
stage.

In their entertainment the spectators found a temporary
release from the grip of the current uncertain sociopolitical
situation. On their way home they were also left to think about
cultural problems and the need for immediate solutions.

The performance that evening should hopefully help Surakarta's
people to a new awareness. Namely, that a more civilized life can
only be achieved with a spirit of togetherness, regardless of
ethnicity, religion and party ideology.