Woman dedicates her life to help prisoners
Woman dedicates her life to help prisoners
By T. Sima Gunawan
JAKARTA (JP): More than five years have passed since the death of human rights campaigner Yap Thiam Hien, but Ade Rostina Sitompul still remembers one thing he told her.
"Praying alone is not enough. You have to act," recalled Ade, a winner of this year's Yap Thiam Hien Human Rights Award.
Ade knew Yap in 1987 when she joined the Hidup Baru Foundation, which is active in the rehabilitation of convicts, especially political prisoners. The foundation is a member of Prison Fellowship Indonesia, which was chaired by Yap.
Ade is now active in the prison service of the Communion Churches of Indonesia.
The Foundation of the Center for Human Rights Studies awarded Ade, 57, for her service to political prisoners. She shared the award with tobacco farmers from Jenggawah, East Java, who won the award for their long struggle to gain their rights to own and cultivate the land.
They are scheduled to receive their awards tonight, on International Human Rights Day.
Ade first encountered prison life the 1970s when she accompanied Sister Inez Braun from Argentina who was here for prison service. She helped Sister Braun look for the wife of a prisoner who had not visited her husband for years. The wife, however, had moved. They finally found her but were disappointed to learn she had married another man.
After they talked to the wife, telling her about the condition of her husband, how he needed and loved her, she decided to return to her first husband.
"I began to realize that prisoners and their families need great attention," Ade told The Jakarta Post.
When she heard that there were two teenagers who could not leave prison because there was no one to act as their guarantor, Ade offered her help. The teenagers had been arrested and sent to jail without trial because the government accused them of being communists in the 1970s.
Ade did not only act as the guarantor, but also gave them shelter as their families lived far from the city. One of them stayed with her for a few months, but the other did not leave for several years.
Once, as independence day drew near, the neighborhood chief told her not to allow the two men to leave the house as he was afraid they would cause trouble.
Society is often prejudiced against ex-convicts. Ade knows this well. Even one of her five children, who needed a secretary, refused to hire the daughter of a political prisoner.
"She said she was afraid," Ade said.
Ade has been divorced for 18 years. All of her five children live with her.
She knows her children do not like her work. As they grew up, they tried to persuade her to change jobs.
"My children asked why I served prisoners. They said it would be better if I helped orphans or the elderly. But I believe that what I am doing is the call of God," she said.
Political prisoners
In 1989 she was summoned by the warden of the Cipinang Correctional Institution in East Java. The warden asked if she was trying to convert the prisoners to Christianity. Ade strongly denied his allegations.
"I serve the political prisoners regardless of their race, religion or political ideology," she said.
Ade also lends a hand at the Institution for the Institute of Policy Research and Advocacy and helps an organization called Women Against Violence.
She wants to establish a house for ex-political prisoners who are destitute, and a crisis center for victims of rape and other violence.
Ade loves to listen to semi-classical music, pop songs and kroncong (local music). Among her favorites are Pavarotti, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and local singers Sam Saimun and Masnus.
A low profile woman, Ade said that she never dreamed she would receive the Yap Thiam Hien Human Rights Award.
"This is the most beautiful birthday gift I've ever had," said Ade, who will celebrate her 57th birthday on Dec. 12.
Ade was selected for her "low-profile" but "abundant" dedication to the protection of human rights in Indonesia, according to T. Mulya Lubis, chairman of the Center for Human Rights Studies.
"She used to fight for human rights enforcement from the rear, but she often ignored the risks she faced because of her activities," he said.
He added that she never hesitated to jump into conflict zones to fight for people's rights.
"To tell you the truth, I feel embarrassed because I don't think I deserve the award. Anyone can do my job," said Ade.
Many political prisoners would disagree.