Writes within context of conflict

Writes within context of conflict

Indra Harsaputra, Contributor, Surabaya

"The human body

Like the world and everything in it

was made from earth, water, air, and fire

was separated by conflict, the neikos

was attracted to each other by love

the philotes

the alternation....."

These lines are taken from Love and Strife, a poem by Retno
Hastijanti, declared one of the best poems and poets in 2002.

Inspired by The Dancing Column on Order in Architecture by
Joseph Rykwert 1996, this poems dwells on human relationships
amid the diversity in social life.

"I'm no artist, but a researcher. I write poems as a bridge to
understand facts and theories," she told The Jakarta Post.

Love and Strife, once read out by Alan Rose, a U.S. poet and
recorded in The Sound of Poetry by the International Library of
Poetry, U.S., was written following the outbreak of conflict in
Sampit, Kalimantan.

Love and Strife led to scientific work on the conflict in
Sampit, titled Managing Ethnic Space for a Sustainable City, the
Case Study of a Madurese Mosque in Sampit, Central Kalimantan,
Indonesia. This research was presented at the Conference on
Sustainable Building of Southeast Asia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
in April.

In her research, Retno concludes that the existence of
exclusive spaces for the Madurese were a factor that led to the
outbreak of conflict.

The spaces were known as the Madurese market, the Madurese
village or even the Madurese mosque. It is this exclusive space
that became an obstacle to common access for the two conflicting
ethnic groups.

Nevertheless, the conflict in Sampit was resolved after a
consensus was reached by the two groups about how to use public
spaces, such as mosques, together.

A religious symbol, Retno says, brought the conflicting groups
together. Within this context, a mediating religious symbol means
a place that two conflicting groups can refer to in order to end
their conflict.

"My research shows the significance of a common space or
building to reach a consensus," she said.

Take a religious service facility, for example. Aside from
serving as a place for Muslim worship, the shape of the building
describes the structure of the local community. "Make sure that a
mosque building does not contradict local culture," she added.

Take, for example, Amal Bhakti Pancasila mosques that were
built by Tutut Hardiyanti Rukmana, one of former President
Soeharto's children. These mosques, built in a number of
provinces in Indonesia, are shaped like a crown.

Usually, only mosques in Java have such a shape. If a mosque
with a crown shape on top is built in Kalimantan, it is not
suitable to the local culture and can trigger conflict.

As a woman, Retno did feel afraid when she had to mediate
between conflicting groups of people. Thanks to the encouragement
from her family, she was able to overcome this fear.

"I feel lucky to have been born a woman as I can freely go
about among opposing groups, as most of my respondents were
women," she said.

Spending some time in a conflict zone, Retno has learned a lot
about love and conflict in the community. She said that these two
were, historically, crucial for reaching unity among diverse
ethnic, religious and social groupings.

Conflicts are unavoidable but love will enable those involved
in conflict to reach consensus. Consensus will lead to
understanding between people.

Aside from Love and Strife, Retno also has several poetry
collections to her credit, including Struggle for Existence,
Heartless Dream and Understanding Difference. The last was
inspired by The Order of Things, An Archaeology of Human Science
by Michel Foucault (1970).

"So, that's me, a researcher who spends part of my life amid
love and conflict," she added.