We Are Dangerously Beautiful

Posted on September 15th, 2009 at 11:40 pm by Akhyari

4



I was driving with my friends from Leicester to London when I found the coldness could no longer be tolerated, and we decided to stop by local coffee shop, A Tower1 coffee. A-GBP-6-cup of coffee finally helped us ease the extreme coldness, before I realized that there was a small yellow sticker on the cash machine, something I really recognized,”TRAVEL WARNING: INDONESIA -  DANGEROUSLY BEAUTIFUL

My boss, an English national, once told me like this, “Arry, I have been traveling to over 60 countries worldwide, and I find that Indonesians are the friendliest people on earth“.

When I tried to ask further about that, he continued, “I wanna spend my remaining years in Indonesia, would you mind find me a good place in Yogyakarta, or West Java, or Bali?” I then realized that it was no need to argue with him. I have been living among Indonesians for over 30 years, and I find that he was right. We are used to the culture of helping people, tolerating others’ stand, being respective and passionate.

These days, Indonesia sees a heighten tension with its neighbor Malaysia over several issues. GNFI agrees that some remaining issues should not be left unsolved, both countries should really sit together with the spirit of equality, understanding, and for the sake of long-term friendship. Both sides then should really adopt and follow what is decided during the talk, with no reserve.

GNFI would like to use this opportunity to ask you Indonesians to uphold the spirit of friendship and mutual need during any rally or demonstration. We should adopt a friendlier demonstration, instead of burning flag, blocking road, and sealing the embassy’s gate with our flag. Those kinda things will not resolve anything, instead, it damages our reputation as a “civilized” society.

I met some angry students of Indonesians visiting Phnom Penh few months back, over the repeated physical abuse of Indonesian migrant worker in Malaysia, which at that time happened to take Siti Hajar as the victim. In time like this, Indonesians have been continuously taught to let the heart heated, but keep the head cool. Some Javanese proverbs also told us to fight fire with water, not with fire.

Please I request you to stop any harsh action towards Malaysian, its people, and its interest anywhere, cause believe me, with a peaceful demonstration, your message will be more easily to be delivered and heard. I am so sure, the messages to the Malaysian government have been clearly read and thought. We have seen some good progress as part of the result of good effort to ease the tension. We have seen some Malaysian programs aired in our TVs, our drama actors and actress spends days to learn to speak Malay, and there have been a clear standing from our government over the tension.

So, let’s forgive, for forgiving is the attribute of the strong. And then resolve!

I love Indonesia probably more that some Indonesian do, I’d gladly sacrifice my life for the sake of Indonesia and its people, but I’d die in honor and dignity.

Back to the story in London, in that coffee shop I encouraged myself to talk with the cashier and ask her where they got the sticker. Amanda, her name, replied, “Oh, I just returned from Indonesia 2 weeks ago, and someone gave me the sticker for free“. I bombarded her with more question, “You agree with the remark?“. She replied, “Oh, absolutely! The people were really nice“.

Hey, I think you must remove the sticker, or else your boss will do“, I continued. She said and asked me, “Thank you, I am the boss. Hey, are you Indonesian?

I surely am, Amanda!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Share this Good News!
  • Print
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • email
  • Reddit
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Tumblr
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace