Why fly the flag if we are not free?

In the early morning on the day before Independence Day, my mother was busy trying to find the red-and-white national flag. The flag is only used once a year but she was not looking for it because she wanted to put it up. Instead, someone from the neighborhood had come to our home and admonished her for failing to hoist the flag.

I told my mother that we did not have to do what somebody told us and asked her why we should feel obliged to raise the flag on Independence Day if we did not feel free in our country.

I feel I do not have freedom. Think about what has happened in our country. We all have witnessed many adverse events which have undermined our pride as a supposedly civilized nation.

The colonial-style bureaucracy is still evident. Crime is rampant and we are afraid to go out at night. We have little confidence in our police force which is supposed to protect the public. In fact, we believe it is police officers who are behind the criminal activities for money.

The military shoots on civilians in Aceh yet people like me feel powerless to halt the bloodshed. We cannot do anything to help the situation and we do not know who will take our grievance.

What is the point of Independence Day in such circumstances?

If an institution like Indonesian Corruption Watch cannot take to court a person who has leeched money from the people, then what does Independence Day mean? How can we trust our law enforcers?

I commuted by train during my studies at university. One day at Gambir Railway Station, I saw a little boy being beaten black and blue because he was caught selling something on the train. I felt sorry for the boy, who should have been going to school and needed money to survive.

Reports say the son of a general was caught recently for drug trafficking. Nothing was done to him and he was allowed to return home; the policemen who caught him even apologized for the arrest. We can add so much more to the long list of lawless deeds, but bribery is always superior to the rule of law in this country, and the culprits can easily make their escape.

My only hope is that the coming government will listen to the people's voice and their cries for justice to ensure that Independence Day will really have meaning for them.

SHINTA BENILDA

Tangerang, West Java