Anti Domestic Violence Project in Maumere

A struggle against “culture of violence”

SILVIA (it is not the real name) was still quite and did not want to talk to anybody; she just locked herself inside a shared bed room and only opened the door when a sister invite her for eating together or when it was time for bathing. Among with other victims of domestic violence, Silvia has been boarded in SSpS monastery for months. She was rape by her own father. It was done regularly when her mother was working in the local market selling vegetables. She was too afraid to report it to her mother since her father threatened to kill her with jackknife if she reported it to anybody. Event if she shared her problem with her mother, she would get anger by her own mother. She knew that there was similar incest cases happened in her village. One of her best friend in the village was beaten by both her mother and father in separate event when her friend reported to her mother that his father already raped her for several times. Silvia’s case was and is not the only domestic violence cases handled by Caritas Maumere, there are many of others Silvia that need further help by anyone.

“We got many violence reports from our volunteer based in parishes; violence against women, violence against children and domestic violence. We used to follow up some of them since we have limited resources,” Heny Hungan told us when we were in Maumere for monitoring the project. She is the legal and medical assistance coordinator of TRUK-F and together with Caritas Maumere is trying their best to take care victims of domestic violence like Silvia. TRUK-F is the Flores volunteer team for humanitarian that was established by congregation of SVD and SSpS during “Timor case” when massive and systematize violence (killing, rape, burning infrastructure and houses, etc.) occurred just after the election in Timor Timur, the former province of Indonesia, creating hundred thousands of family became internally displaced person. TRUK-F together with Caritas Maumere then continue their service to advocate and serve the victims of violence (women, girls and children) mainly in Flores Island where several of violence cases are easy to be happened in almost entire island. Since 2008, Caritas Germany has been supporting Caritas Maumere on building the safe house to be used as temporarily home for the victims. The assistance given is also including medical & trauma healing service, legal accompany, training and course for the victims and awareness campaign and information against domestic violence and trafficking.

It is not easy for Caritas Maumere to manage the situation. “Our team is often seen as the enemy of the family. When we manage our door to door campaign, there were strong rejections from other family members, especially the men. Don’t interfere to our family business! They warned us like that,” shared Dafrosa Keytimu (Osa) who are traveling a lot from village to village accompanied by their volunteers to conduct the anti domestic violence campaign . It was a heavy journey for them since the road condition to villages is too bad and very often they have to use public transportation. And event when the campaign was done on groups, there were rare men joint in. In Flores, patriarchal culture is still presence very strong and influence in all sector of live. Men are really acted as a king in the family. In this case, women are seen as property that can be sold and must follow men’s opinion since they are belonging to men. “To attract men participate in the campaign, we involve parish priest as our campaigner. We also played documentary film about women and anti domestic violence. Several priests who already joint in our team also delivered speech about right’s equality between men and women during Monday mass,” told Osa.

Besides getting the report on domestic violence cases directly from the parish based volunteers, from other family member, or during campaign session in villages, Caritas Maumere also actively monitor the cases based on data given by police and other institution who are dealing with this issue. Caritas Maumere then registering the victim’s identity in their form continued by preliminary counseling to get short story about the violence case in chronology in ethical way (secret, empathy, victim’s empowerment). After that, the team will do screening to distinguish the case into certain type and value its impact to victims themselves. Once the victims aware with the situation, the team will offer them to choose the type of resolution; whether litigation or non litigation resolution. Caritas Maumere then will continue its assistance through the chosen resolution made by victims themselves or based on recommendation from the family who would like to take the responsibility also.

As case’s example of Silvia, she managed to go for litigation case. After further litigation process accompanied by Caritas Maumere, finally the judge punished her father with eleven years punishment in prison. So Silvia won the case but she still could not forget the “past accident” in her life. She even still has to treat her “unwanted baby”. At the beginning she wanted to do abortion, but the team of Caritas Maumere was prefer to be in “pro life” side than in “pro choice” one. “It was not an easy job for us, we tried our best to convince the victims and encourage them to continue their life. We often also involved their other family members on discussing of whom should be responsible for the baby. Many of family members decided to adopt the baby. In this case, we have to prepare the legal status of the baby also,” explained Sister Eustochia , the TRUK-F coordinator, referring to the reason why the team prefers to be in “pro life” side. As it consequence, the sisters also accommodate “unwanted babies” in their monastery or share it responsible with other orphanage / foundation who has special service on nurturer baby and children.

Yayasan Nativity is one of orphanage that I ever visited during my trip to Maumere. Although it has limited capacity, but all three lay person women who are really dedicated on caring baby and children there are able to manage more than twenty baby and children under five. “We need more baby and children clothes at this time,” told one of the women I met.

Very often, victims such as Silvia find herself in dilemma. When the baby was born, they could not live anymore together with their parents, so Silvia and her baby then was accommodate by her grandmother. The other victims’ then living with their aunty or force to move to another island to avoid a feeling of ashamed since the case was really embarrassing for the victim herself. Unfortunately, others also see it as curse or disgrace for the family.

“The accompaniment to victims of domestic violence is a must, but a continuous campaign and conscientization program should be done to increase people awareness about human dignity and the equality of rights between women and men,” urged Fr. Emman Embu, SVD, the Program Manager of Anti Domestic Violence Project within Caritas Maumere. Furthermore he explained that violence is the biological legacy from human evolution. It is part of the basic instinct of human being and unfortunately also already rooted in the traditional culture. It’s seemed that the struggle to fight anti domestic violence in Maumere will be a kind of never ending war again the culture of violence.

Just like Silvia’s case, she may forgive his father, but she hardly forgot the experience of very personal violence ever happened in her life. * * *

Survival (Not) of the Fittest

DO you still remember Charles Darwin? About “Survival of The Fittest” on his masterpiece book titled “The Origin of Species”? Like other species in the world; ethnic groups, communities, societies, nations and corporations have to defend their own life in order to survive. One among other survivors who always tries to survive in former tsunami most affected area is Karen Dersen, twenty three years old youth descendant of South Indians. “I was born in Medan but I spent my childhood in Medan and Banda Aceh. My mother is living in Banda Aceh now but other relatives are still living in Medan,” sometimes he shared his story with me in separated moment.

In down town of Medan, an area called Kampung Keling is considered as the original home of Medan's ethnic Indian community. They are mainly the descendants of South Indians who came to work in the plantations of North Sumatra in the late 1800s. A prominent reminder of the South Indian heritage in the area is the Sri Mariamman temple, which was built in 1881 for the goddess Kali. The names of the streets in the area also once reflected the origin of those living there; Calcutta, Nagapatam, Bombay Streets. Kampung Keling, which was originally called Patisah, changed its name to Kampung Madras to reflect the South Indian origin of those living in the 10 hectare area. But because the South Indians were mostly people of dark skin, the name Keling - a slang word for darker skin - became more popular. What attracted them to the area was the presence of the Sri Mariamman temple, which today has become one of Medan's tourist attractions.

There was a moment where Medan was not safe enough because of local thugs (preman) were fighting to each other. This was the reason why Karen then was sent to Banda Aceh. But during the implementation of DOM (Zone of Military Operations) in Aceh, he was forced to come back to Medan again. It was another hard time for him and his family and he did not finish his study yet. “We have no other choice, we must be flexible so we can survive,” he said.

Blessing in Disguise
No one ever predicted about Tsunami in Aceh. But when such gigantic wave attacked western and northern part of Sumatera, it brought the real change. Thirty four countries sent their 16.000 personals, 117 medical teams, 31 aircrafts, 82 helicopters, 1 floating hospital, 9 mother ships and 14 warships in a colossal way, all at once. This was the biggest humanitarian response ever recorded in modern history. From closed isolated guided territory by military under the martial law, Aceh geographically transform itself into open society. Everybody come and welcome to Aceh. Karen told me that tsunami had brought both positive and negative impact. “Situation in Aceh before tsunami was very troubled, especially for those who are not Moslem. Even for getting a job, we have to be a Moslem, unless we manage our own business. Opening a restaurant for example, the owner can be non-Moslem but waiters must be a Moslem,” he said.

One fine day we talked each other in a simple Padang restaurant in Medan.

“What is your most interesting experience during your work time with Caritas Germany?” I asked him.

”To be honest, I got lot of new experience. My language (English) skill is increasing, I know better how to deal with social problems, how to handle project management and also how should we combine the technical aspects with social aspects. I got the most important experience when I work in Simeuleu island, Jogja (during the emergency response for earthquake’s survivors) and Trienggading,” Karen explained me that each project he ever handled has different approach.

“So then based on your experience, which project is the best one in relation with the previous concept and its implementation on the ground?” I gave him another question and drank my lemon juice.

He smiled spontaneously and answered me, ”Let’s compare Lhoong and Jambo Masjid. Lhoong has a good concept since the beginning. We started our project by involving community directly. It was a really participatory approach driven by local NGO named Mammamia. Yes, I can understand we cannot use this participatory approach in every location. And I see the establishment of committee maybe was not so correct because then we pay them including all their administrative expenditures. It was like we hire new staff. Then people think we have lot of money to be spent. It was a pity we use contractors for reconstruction project in Jambu Masjid. Local people saw contractors as the party who are responsible to build their houses so they feel they do not need to give any contribution.”

Karen’s answer gave me another question in my mind; what is the important one? Participatory approach or speed factor? A project’s evaluator ever said to me that speed factor is chosen to lighten survivor’s suffering so they can stay inside the house as soon as possible. But a friend of mine, he is a community development worker and he chooses participatory approach in order to respect the rights of survivor to determine their own future and needs. So; it is like a game whether we should choose an egg or hen first?

Despite such interesting experience, Karen said he was very happy because of tsunami he could accomplish his engineering study in Syah Kuala University, Banda Aceh. He even already has a job before finishing his thesis. When social depression occurred in Aceh during conflict period, tsunami came and brought thousands of job opportunity for others. What a blessing in disguise! Karen even now has a dream to become a professional engineer and would like to have his own company in the future. “I am motivated by Claus Hemker, I saw him as a professional engineer and consultant, I want to become like him and has my own company one day,” he shared with me his fruitful moment when he assisted Claus Hemker, an engineering consultant hired by Caritas Germany.

The Peaceful Survivor
Practicing Hindu’s values in his everyday life but working in a Catholic organization who gives its service for the poor and tsunami’s survivors living surrounded by strong Islamic tradition does not make Karen feel alienated from others. “I guest there are similarities between Hindus and Aceh; the familial relationship, daily good manners and the respectful to our parents. Almost all Caritas staff based in Banda are Acehnese, but principally I do not have any problem with them,” he said. But being identified by society as minority group, Karen feels that the discrimination is still alive and sometimes he becomes the victim of its unfair treatment.

“How do you face this problem?” I asked.

“Yeah, I just face it. When I was student of University Syahkuala, our lecturer teaches us about Pancasila (national ideology). He said no need for us to worship statue. I knew he tease me and it made me hurt. But in Hindu’s teaching we learnt about Ahimsa (do no harm to others) and we have to do something also for others goodness. So I just stay calm and not to react angrily to him.”

Actually, social constructed identities such as religion, ethnic and gender are having nothing to do with humanitarian service. But very often when survivors realize that they will get aid from Christian (Acehnese says Kristen to mention Catholic and Protestant) based organization, they will call it as a help from Kafir. “These cases happened in Aceh but maybe they have no choice so many of them just received it but without saying thank you. Of course it is not a problem for me but I just wonder why those people did not say thank you after receiving house,” Karen told me one of his field experiences.

I try to put my position as if I was a Karen or an Acehnese. Yes, of course it is not a perfect relationship, nor one that is at all equal. But a symbiosis has naturally developed that has helped encourage a peaceful understanding among residents in Aceh; whether they are Acehnese, Hindu descendants India, European, Javanese, Chinese, etc. At least, since time goes by the atmosphere of peace is really presence in Aceh now. Of course this peaceful understanding and cohabitation did not occur overnight and it will still required years of mutual tolerance by all sides before a level of "comfort" could be attained.

“I am surprise that situation in Aceh can be changed as fast as it is like today. I thought it will consume lot of years. I can see Acehnese become more open now even we cannot get our real freedom because of Syariah Islam implementation. But I am also wonder whether Acehnese economic development will run in smooth way if all international NGO left next year,” Karen finished his lemon juice.

With the support of all local, national and international actors through its rehabilitation and reconstruction project, perhaps one day Aceh will answer the idealism concept of Open Society model by George Soros. In his book titled “Open Society and Its Enemies” he maintained that societies can only flourish when they allow democratic governance, freedom of expression, a diverse range of opinion, and respect for individual rights. And I still remember that Charles Darwin himself insisted that social policy should not simply be guided by concepts of struggle and selection in nature, and that sympathy should be extended to all races and nations.

When I finished my lemon juice also, I am sure I just met with the real peaceful survivor, and He is Karen himself. * * *

“Climate Changes, Business as Usual”

A personal reflective observation about ecological justice

By Michael Yudha


BEAUTIFUL little Julia was very serious. She is eight years old daughter of a Dutch father and Balinese mother. In her attractive hand, a small cute puzzle of “Nemo Fish” was being constructed. Ten minutes left and she still could not finish the puzzle. “I am giving up papa,” she put the “Nemo Fish” back on the table while her father just smiled. Accompanied by her father, she visited the other neighborhood booths during cultural festival organized by Karina (Indonesian Caritas) in the compound of parish Franciscus Xaverius, Kuta. This is another parallel event supported by Caritas Germany during two weeks International Climate Change Conference in Bali, the island of paradise.

Julia did not know what kind of event it was when I asked her about climate change conference. She also could not understand what global warming mean is. “I do not know. Papa… what is global warming?” she forwarded my question on her to her papa.[1] Then we all just laughed. Yes, Julia is just a child and what a child knows is just a game like the Nemo Fish puzzle. This global warming issue is out of children’s mind but it will absolutely influence their future life; the food stock, availability of clean water, loss of biodiversity, mosquito-borne diseases like malaria spread more widely, huge increase in flooding and severe droughts across wide area of earth, social justice and the world climate.

Moral Issue Needs Political Action
Global warming is no longer natural disaster, it is really man-made disaster. In May 2007, IPCC’s[2] new five year report stated a scientific consensus based on tens of thousands of studies; there is virtually no possibility that the heating we’re seeing can be explained by anything other than human causes. The only possible cause for most of it was the carbon we were pouring into the atmosphere. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, when northern countries began to burn fossil fuels in large quantities, the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) has been increasing. There’s more of it in the atmosphere now than there has been for millions of years.

Through the Al Gore’s famous PowerPoint lecture about consequences of global warming and the myths and misconceptions that surround the science in his “An Inconvenient Truth” film which I saw in the cultural event last night (Friday, 12/14/07), his international students; from Europe to China, from family to person, men or women, they are all started to realized the earth is much more important than the prosperity. Nobody will choose gold if at the same time the earth is gone. Al Gore stressed global warming as moral issue.

But nothing will change if there is none political decision. Since religion is the only survive moral institution in this turbulence world, many of their representatives showed its moral movement. At that same night, I saw Muslim Ulamas, Catholic Priests, Buddhist Monks, Protestant Reverent, and the Hindu gathered together hand in hand showered a small globe with holy water followed by short continuous interfaith prayers. They were all surrounded by traditional dancers from several ethnic groups such as Bali, Papua, Dayak, Lamaholot, Donggo and Manggarai. This cultural performance reminded me about God the Creator. He gave human being His Love and beautiful Mother Nature, the earth, to be managed as best as they can do for everybody and for human generations. But since modern life highlights “time is money”, “fast food” and “instant way”, we already forgot about the flow of a river, falling leaves gone with the wind, voices of birds in the broken fresh morning, jumping frogs in beautiful paddy’s field, smooth green grass… so quite, so peaceful. People already forgot that Indonesia is also being known as Jamrud Khatulistiwa, the Emerald of the Equator.

Can those missing links be found again? Will high industrialized countries say enough to their “new life style invention”? Will people living in the North share their prosperity with their families in the South? The real honest answer is still lying under the sea. Yes, there are many “good will” given through international aid, technical assistance, capacity building, oil for food and REDD[3]. The latest one is to be expected become one of among real progress can be achieved before end of the UNFCCC[4]. Global warming is the biggest trouble humans have ever made for themselves, and its momentum has been snowballing without a response for a long time. Enough will not be enough without a global policy, a political action.

Global Carbon Trading
Julia’s generation, as well as my son’s generation will harvest bitter fruit of many social problems. Any form of social injustice and structural violence will rise as speed as deforestation happened in Indonesia. Their future is so fragile. Yes, we may talk about the future and its complex problem. But please don’t forget about today’s poverty which still can’t be solved. The missions of Millennium Development Goals are not accomplished yet and everybody should be aware of climate change now.

Let’s come back to climate change. Recently an idea about carbon market is risen up already. It’s expected that “forest countries” would raise billions of dollars from this market mechanism. For example, if Indonesia can decrease the amount of felled trees to about 6 million m3/ per year, then the compensation is 6 million m3 times IDR 1 million is almost IDR 6 trillion, who are going to pay? And that is just timbers, excluding the oxygen and CO2 absorption. Who will pay for that? And so, this scheme has to be agreed during the conference.

In the world there are only three areas that have tropical rain forest; Brazil, Indonesia and Congo. Tropical rain forest have as stronger ability to absorb CO2 than forest in the US, Europe or Japan. Forest in those countries drop their leaves in winter and start to grow when spring come again. In a year, there are two seasons. Meanwhile in Indonesia all the year forest can absorb carbon. But carbon trading is another illusion because carbon market was designed to allow big fossil fuel users to delay investment in a change in industry, to find the cheapest way out. So the loser is the climate itself. The market has been doing nothing to deal with the climate problem; it’s actually slowing down constructive actions, creating delay in tackling the problem.[5]

Observing this international climate change conference directly by presenting me myself in the first week of the event on the ground, accompanied by tight security surveillances and a good Germany writer, three simple theses are hanging on my mind still. First, after decades, nothing is really changed in the whole archipelago so-called as Indonesia. Everything have already been exported since pre-colonialism to present day; spices, sugar cane, tobacco, tea, coffee, oil, gas, coal, timber, rubber and CPO but the poverty is still reminds and even increase. Second, the local wisdoms and its unique cultures already become the giant magnet for tourism industry but its way of thinking, the habits of people can’t be good fertilizer for the invention of any kind of “good technology”. Third, the desire to absorb, to use and to experience anything related with and referred to “Western” or “Modern” is getting higher and higher.

Then today’s life reminds us that climate is changing. But actually life in Indonesia is stagnant; it is just like business as usual.* * *

[1] According to IPCC, global warming is the rise of the earth’s surface temperature caused by the greenhouse effect which is responsible for the disruption of global climate patterns.
[2] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
[3] Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation.
[4] United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Its COP 13th held in Bali, December 3rd – 14th 2007.
[5] See an interview titled “Companies are telling a lot of lies, UN sanctioning them,” Jakarta Post, December 4th 2007, page 22.

The World is Disabled

“A mad disabled psychologist dedicated himself to cure disabled world”

By Michael Yudha


A PEACE of smile was sent from a wheelchair. Hartono, owner of such smile has been sitting on it for more than thirty years. His body is tiny and is attacked by stroke, while his feet already disabled because of polio since he was ten years old. Only his left hand which can be moved welcomed my warm regard when I met him. My personal encounter with him reminded me to the extraordinary people such as Stephen Hawking and Helen Keller. They are few “superman” and “superwoman” who are physically disabled but still has amazing spirit of life and even able to give enlightenment to others through their inventions, works and solidarity movement. From them perhaps we should learn that principle of “dare to life” is truly need bigger courage than principle of “dare to death” as it is usually yell out by the actors of suicide bomb.

Trickle Down Effect
Hartono maybe is not as very well known as Hawking and Keller, but his strong spirit of life, his respect on life and his struggle and contribution to fill the world with his works are proper to be highly appreciated; two tombs up for him! He shared some stories with me in an event of commemorating Jogja’s earthquake held by Karina-KAS together with disabled community victim of earthquake in Griya Sehat Sejahtera, Jantiwarno, Klaten, end of May 2007. This 62 years old grandfather works as psychologist within CBR [Community Based Rehabilitation] project supported by Caritas Germany. So far, the CBR team has already assisted amount 130 disabled person by providing psychological consultation, medical treatment and therapy, economic recovery and advocacy.

Hartono acknowledge he has personal motivation to help his new friends who have similar case with him and was forced to sit in wheelchair. He believes his advice or consultancy to disabled people will be more meaningful because he also has already experienced disability. His main task is to give motivation, support in a consultancy form and increase their self confidence, it is a psychological consultation. “I found an indication that wife or husband will leave their pair because they feel tired every time they must help the pair now. For example; at two o’clock midnight a disabled husband woke his wife up. But the wife felt very tired because all day long she has already worked in paddy’s field, and still must care her husband again. Then such wife told her husband, “If situation still goes like now, I will go out soon, it will be better if you just divorce me, please, I will work abroad [as an Indonesian woman worker; TKW – red]!”

Internal family problem which become increase post earthquake disaster as it was informed by Hartono certainly also become our common concern. In Bantul for example; it was found tens of people suicide because they did not strong enough to carry on suffering. “I was informed by a doctor in a hospital in Bantul there were twelve people suicide already. Before earthquake, I assisted several disabled person with SCI [Spinal Cord Injuries], its disability age is high. I found tendencies of disabled person which its age around two to three years to do suicide is high. Maybe because they felt useless and could do nothing,” said Father Pius Riana Prapdi, Pr. [40 years old], health division coordinator of Karina-KAS.

Wise man said, “No man is an island.” This CBR project is managed to not separate and not to excommunicate disabled person from society, but keep them among us, keep receive their existence, just like how they are, among their family. “Very often people were sent to a special residence so-called “panti”, but not with CBR. CBR approach is totally different. Within CBR we want to wake people’s consciousness up that disabled person is not necessary to be separated from their family. Within CBR we; as a community, ensure that disabled person still have their rights as others. And the society should take its responsibility, welcome for their existence and to contribute their sense of solidarity in concrete action, minimally in family level,” said Hartono.

Disabled Person’s Rights
Family then really can become key factor to restore sense of self confidence of disabled person. Hartono’s personal experience has proved it. “I am the only child of my parent by accident. Both of them love me so much, they even sold all their valuable belonging just to cure my feet. If I cannot be a man [success] but fail, everything will fail. But if I can be, everything wills success. My parent’s patience and support, especially from my mother then became ammunition of my life. I promised myself I have to proof disabled person can do the same others can do. There will be no barrier to work anywhere, if there is a will, there will be. Unfortunately, discrimination still occurs until now, doesn’t it?”

Hartono’s complain regarding disabled person rights as stated above was not concocted. In Jogja, a popular city which is very well known of its hospitality and cultural rich, the presence of disabled person is still seen as low class citizen. The famous street of Malioboro, for example; as a centre where political power, capital and culture are integrated all together, is also does not friendly enough with disabled person. Special access way for disabled person had been robbed by power of capital and used it as parking area and street market for street vendor. “Malioboro street was built with special access for disabled person. But it became parking area and street market now. For this we need to do advocacy. But this will be a hard work because challenges will come from government and society themselves. Government sometime make unfair regulations which really discriminated certain community,” explained Father Riana.

It is not only related with social life, the disabled person’s rights is very often being eliminated. In Hartono’s case, once again, before and after his marriage which gave him three daughters, his neighborhoods even could not accept Hartono’s happiness, they used to condemn him. At that moment actually he was friendly enough. But several people said behind his back, “Who want to be my future wife? a wife for disable person like me?” Among of them also said whether I still able and strong enough to have sexual intercourse hahaha… [laughing]. Then I had a girlfriend. But her parent rejected me. They said what we can expect from disabled person like me. This just makes my self motivation higher. One day I have to prove I can do something, I promised my self. I had many closed relations with girls as my girlfriend. My wife now is my 21st girlfriend hahaha… [laughing]. When I married already, the neighborhoods still not welcomed us well. They said how strange it is that disabled person getting married finally. Another said why the woman wants to accept me as her husband; can I satisfy her on the bad? hahaha… [laughing]. I myself though it was God’s will,” again Hartono shared his personal life with me followed by his sense of humor.

Hartono and his beloved wife then agreed to become an entrepreneur by selling lemet [traditional Javanese cake from cassava with red sugar inside]. Hartono admitted they could sell amounting 10kg of lemet each day. His wife distributed it to several warung [traditional Javanese store]. The income was good enough. Some of it was used for paying his student fee in university and the rest was for daily needs. After getting permanent job, he told his wife that they should manage their family well. “I will responsible for making the income and you, my lovely wife, will responsible for caring our children and take care the house,” he told smilingly. So far this couple always stays together in harmony. Their wedding birthday is 34 years old now; they both are all healthy and happy. “My wife is normal people and healthy,” Hartono said.

Another disabled rights which are very often being discriminated is the rights to get proper education. Again, Hartono felt this bitter experience. When he finished his elementary school and tried to get higher education, he was rejected. He also faced similiar experience when he enrolled for senior high school. “Actually I have been received already as a student but rejected by the headmaster because of my paralyzed. He said if I joint in the classroom, other student will not able to concern on subject given. For me myself, it became a challenge. I came to the headmaster and said, “Please give me three months, if I cannot prove it then I will leave myself.” So for three months Hartono studied hardly and success to become the winner in such class. The headmaster then accepted him. He was always in the top rank three in school. “I was in the second rank when I graduated from senior high school. The headmaster came to me and said, “Have you find any university? If not, I will find one for you.” Afterward I just followed regular test and was accepted as psychology student in Gajah Mada University.

Corruption and Disability
The society’s attitude on Hartono’s case actually is just a peak of ice’s mountain of discrimination against disabled person. He has already felt and received so many unfair attitude almost along of his life and in the opposite perspective he can feel the society, the world is disabled also. It even more disabled than he himself. “Disabled can be divided into several categories; physical disabled, mental disabled, moral disabled, and social disabled. Like me myself, I can be categorized on having physical disabled. Those who work as prostitute perhaps can be categorized on having moral disabled. Mental disabled then refer to people who have lack of memory, the psychopath the can be example for social disabled. And corruptors, I think they are both mental disabled and psychopath hahaha… [laughing].

Hartono said corruptors can be categorized as a psychopath because financially they do not need more money. Like high rank official, their basic needs already full filled by state facilities. The house, vehicle, telephone, salary, everything is enough. But why they always feel everything is not enough and still corrupt? This he mentioned as a psychopath. “Psychopath is psychic pathology. It means the selfness is having sick’s selfness; it can be socio or psycho. It can not be healing totally and the only good therapy is just sent them to jail,” he said.

Living inside the disabled world and among corrupt society just makes Hartono became a strong man. When people treat him in impolite manner or unfair way, he will just act foolish. “In my friend’s point of view, I event have more self confident in comparison with non-disabled. My colleagues in office just call me a mad psychologist hahaha… [laughing].” He then shared one of his unforgettable moments, “At that time I have been getting stroke for two months. Then I took my leave for one month. I just worked at home for private consultancy practice. I went back to my office in Panti Rapih [hospital] the next month. My physical condition was still very weak, my body was tightened. Then a student of university came to me. He was looks very tired, stressful and said to me, “I want to have a consultation with the psychologist, Sir, are you also patient?” Maybe he thought I was the patient on waiting list. Then I answered smilingly, “No, but I am the real psychologist.” He was very surprised observing my condition; my body was tightened everywhere because of my stroke, I was so weak but still I could laughing gently. Suddenly he said, “Sir, I am looking your condition and I think my problem is just like a dust in comparison with yours. I am sure I can solve my problem by myself.” Then he left. This moment was very meaningful for me.”

Having personal conversation with this retired researcher in Research and Development of Social Department Special Region of Jogja gave me so many insights. Actually I won’t end on hearing his living story sharing. But suddenly I heard beautiful song sang by group band music of disabled invited me to joint with the crowd of villagers in front of a stage in the small garden of Griya Sehat Sejahtera. In other hand, my colleagues also asked me to joint with her and I asked Hartono also to joint with the event. When I walked beside this professional psychologist and seeing his wheelchair moving around, I were very sure Hartono already took care the disabled world and cured his surrounding society from his wheelchair. And I am sure now his consultancy practices also already healing the world. * * *

SEFA: Social Development through Alternative Education

“A group of Acehnese youth activist try to develop their own society”

by: Michael Yudha

“ALLAH isn’t mountain, Allah isn’t star, Allah isn’t paddy’s field, Allah isn’t animal, Allah isn’t human being, Allah is Allah…” thus a referent of a song sang by a group of children in a veranda of school in Piyeung Menara, Aceh Besar, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. That afternoon, in the middle of April 2007, after heavy rain showered down on the land of Serambi Mekah, I saw teens of children was singing and dancing together form a half of circle. In front of them, a young man gave instruction and sign to make funny body movement while was asking those tsunami affected children to imitate such movement. Just nearby, on pillar’s border between school veranda and school garden, a woman with white scarf covering her head was smiling friendly while offered her hand and said, ”Welcome to TAS [Taman Anak SEFA[1] = SEFA Child Garden] of Piyeung Menara!” I reached out her hand spontaneously meanwhile I just kept my surprise inside of my heart. Even more than tens time I have already visited Aceh, this was my first time an Acehnese woman shake her hand on me with her own direct initiative.

Then I knew her name is Dahlia, a 32 years old mother with two sons and one daughter. Her husband is a village based carpenter. Dahlia herself is working as SEFA’s Community Organizer staff under TAS project supported by Caritas Germany now. “I am just a housewife, what can I do? I know nothing,” she rejected followed by having not enough self confidence attitude when SEFA asked her to joint with team of TAS as its Community Organizer, a year ago. At that moment Dahlia and her family were living in a temporary shelter.

But now, after receiving training from SEFA, Dahlia confessed she has more self motivation to educate children and she felt happier. “This [the game] is a new thing for us. I myself never had such experience. We never sing a song followed by dancing and playing together like this before, imitating animal attitude with such funny body movement, it is really gratify. I am very happy seeing these children playing the game in joyful atmosphere,” she said. She committed herself to take cares the children so they will get proper education and can find good job also for their own future.

Childhood Memory and the Idol

Dahlia’s happiness may represent another happiness of thousands of families affected tsunami and conflict in Aceh. Tsunami in another hand had given a blessing in disguise. Since such dramatically event, suddenly the wind of change blew and covered to whole area of Aceh. Just like a magic game, social change occurred suddenly. From closed isolated area, Aceh become so open and busiest zone in the world, not only in term of politics, economic or culture, but also information and knowledge exchange. But it also brings another impacts and consequences for both short and long term. And the children, for sure, are very prone with this impact.

”In my childhood period, I played game so-called hidden stone in the river with my mate. I also visited my grandfather just after school time to hear some folklore, myth, legend or other story. I still remember a story of tomatoes and bananas grow from somebody’s head. Ha… ha… ha… this was really funny story but meaningful, full with moral values. I got a lesson learnt how to become a good human being from this story.” This was a sharing from Yuli when I suddenly remember him. Yuli of Yuli Zuardi Rais, a 30 years old former Acehnese activist acting as Director of SEFA now. As the son of Aceh born in Samadua, Aceh Utara, he really had experienced how hard living inside the conflict zone was. Mobility was very limited and it made him lost his zest for study. “The atmosphere in campus was very dry; I even did not have enough motivation to study. I saw children playing gun shooting with plastic weapon and plastic bullet. In the whole Aceh, this was the most popular game during conflict period,” he shared to me.

That was a time when I met him in his office. SEFA’s office is located nearby Ulee Kareng area. A zone which very well known with its coffee shop. Not because of the taste but also the way Acehnese made their coffee is also unique. From the main road to Ulee Kareng, office of SEFA is stayed in the right side of it. This office painted in sky-blue color with four working rooms, living rooms used as a small library and a kitchen behind. There are several children painting and photos of SEFA’s activities hanging on the wall. Yuli of Director’s room itself size 3x3 meter. A poster of Che Guevara, an Argentine-born Marxist and leader of Cuban is hanging on the right wall exactly on top of his computer set. It is no need to ask Yuli why he put such poster in his office room. For others Indonesian youth, from Sabang to Merauke, Che has been the icon of student movement fighting against unjust structure and authoritarian regime.

Different Model of Education

“Please have a drink, but it just a mineral water.” Yuli then shared with me some problem appear in the early phase of implementing TAS project. “When we started to introduce our method so-called TAS, at the beginning there were a lot of questions, critics and disagreements from ulama [moslem cleric], parents and cultural local leader. In general, they protested ask why we collected and brought the children out of the meunasah[2]. This was against with the habit of Acehnese children where they should go to Meunasah directly to learn Quran just after school hour ended,” he said. Even though, such curiosity then gone slowly as time goes on. Many parents accompanied their children to go to TAS in order to see with their own eyes activities managed by SEFA through this TAS project. Finally, they are agreed and event gave support to SEFA to run this project in other villages.

Except meunasah, Aceh has its own local knowledge in term of education system inside the Dayah. Dayah is a model of informal education, indigenously very Acehnese and community-based. It is similar, but not the same, with ‘pesantren’ known in other part of Indonesia. In the era of Daud Beureueh, an Acehnese popular leader movement whose also become a leader of a Dayah, the egalitarians atmosphere was very strong tasted. As it was said by Saiful Mahdi on “Dayah Freire: On Revitalization of Education in Aceh”, Abu, a familiar call name of Daud Beureueh, always tried to manifest his firmed beliefs and words into real actions. He himself was among his people clearing water streams for paddy fields when he was talking about the importance of mu’amalah, teachings in Islam about social life. Not like, as a friend said, a teungku who talks about simple life and sharing to his or her people but live hedonistically and become a slave of worldly power.

Education and leadership exemplified by Abu Beureueh is empowering, and to some extent, liberating. It was quite the same with the “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” of Paulo Freire. Unfortunately, this valuable tradition has already gone now.

The goals may looks like quite same but there are some differences in term of method and approach. These the education system offered by Dayah and Meunasah which have already exist since long time ago, or TAS of SEFA as a “new comer”. “TAS itself principally has open characteristic. “We also involve parents and local leader to create any new method or interactive game together with us for their children. Of course in certain days we also teach the children about Quran. In this case, our TAS method is a combination of IQ [Intelligence Quotation], EQ [Emotional Quotation] and SQ [Spiritual Quotation] together by using interactive game and multimedia tools.” Yuli gave me further explanation while was introducing one of his colleague whom just arrived already. “Hello, please call me Alus,” a young man whose original named Jasman is the head of education department of SEFA.

Former Activist to Social Worker

Alus has athletics body but a little bit short, he is still young enough, 27 years old. During his student period, he almost got caught by Brimob [police military, attached with automatic weapon]. “That was the moment I involved in advocating IDPs’ caused by conflict. We helped some families on distributing clean water. Suddenly a group of Brimob appeared. They were asking us loudly and cruelty,” What are you doing in this place? You must student who help the combatant…!” We were very surprise and afraid and suddenly we run quickly. Those Brimob tried to catch us but it did not happen. We just arrived in IDP’s camp and some women helped us to close the gate and leaved them outside only some meters away,” Alus shared his unforgettable moment. I can feel the spirit of struggle and youth idealism from the eyes and gently speech of this Kapoh village-born activist in Kluet Selatan, Aceh Selatan. Story of Alus is just another “dark note” of Aceh conflict before tsunami.

During conflict period, the not-conducive condition has also disturbed motivation and concentration to study. In some of conflict-prone areas students has been “forced” to be the part of the conflict. Furthermore, their time to study has ironically been “seized” for being “child soldier” in various forms. Concerns of lost generation in Aceh are reasonable. One can obviously imagine what happen to the education in Aceh when 514 teachers left Aceh due to security reasons [Kompas, February 8^th 2000]. Only in a five-year war [1998-2003] at least 546 schools were burned [Diknas Aceh, 2003]. Additionally, tens of gun-shot cases directly distracted, otherwise, killed teachers and university students.

The dark phase of education in Aceh due to the conflict culminated at the gun-shoot tragedies of the rectors of the twin universities, Prof. Dr. Safwan Idris, Rector of Ar-Raniry Islamic State University was shot-dead on September 16, 2000. The following year, on 6 September 2001, Prof. Dr. Dayan Dawood, Rector of Syiah Kuala University was also shot-dead in broad-day light, only a hundred meters from Aceh governor office.

Such obscure moment then became one of reason behind the establishment of an organization so-called SEFA later on which it concern related to child and youth issues. On September 11st 1999, SEFA officially declared and established. Mostly the founder and its initiator were former Acehnese youth activist like Yuli, Alus and their colleagues. SEFA then choose a dolphin as it official icon. Like a cocoon which becomes a butterfly, this group of activist transforms itself to become a group of social worker. And they are learning how to become a professional social worker now.

“We choose a dolphin as our institution symbol because in a common sense, as we all already knew, dolphin is a friend for people who get any accident or disaster on the sea. This is what we are doing now.” Alus smiled frankly while was offering me a piece of cigarette. I apologized I had to reject it because I have already quite as a smoker. He said eventhough SEFA is Aceh based NGO but deliberate to use English language for it official name because of security reason. “This is a matter of strategy. People will think this is a foreign NGO. If something happen with us, the police or military officer will consider and think many times before they do something that we would not want to be. And it work, they think we have many foreign staff,” Alus laughed.

Development Progress in Uncertain Atmosphere

So far, SEFA is covering eight villages affected by conflict and tsunami. SEFA is serving and assisting children in those areas. Poor children can play with modern multimedia and interactive innovative game. In certain day of each week, SEFA’s mobile library will visit those children as it is scheduled. Acehnese children in the remote villages then can have same experience with their peers in city or children from middle class family. They do not have to pay; it is free because of Caritas Germany financial support.

SEFA method of education is inspiring children to become more creative and honest with their own selves. “We teach them how to work together, as a team, and not to compete to each other. SEFA has many thematic module related with current issue. This is a good way to transfer any knowledge and basic educational values into a game. We bring fantasy and reality together, down to earth and close with the world of children,” told Alus. Since this, SEFA then received many invitations and requests to assist children who are studying in the formal school. The teachers come to ask and want to learn something from SEFA. They ask SEFA to teach them how to deal with children by using this method.

More or less, it seems that every development projects both infrastructure or social are running smoothly in Aceh now. But Yuli and Alus still have similar anxiety deep inside on their own heart about the future of peace in their homeland. Alus hoped that the peaceful situation will be everlasting event somehow he thought it is still fragile. “I mean everybody must understand that change needs a process and for this we have to be careful and patient. Of course there should be many positive impact and opportunity for us to get a better live,” he said calmly.

“What should the former combatant do now? For example if they would like to become a police. People say that is possible but others say no way, it is not allowed. Somehow any little discourse can be a stimulus for any potential conflict; I do hope this will not happen,” Yuli continued his sharing directly.

But reality comes against these Acehnese young men expectations. When I am typing this story, an email from my friend is coming bringing news about Aceh conflict monitoring update[3]. I read a paragraph like this; “This month saw the highest number of violent incidents since tsunami, with several mob beatings and revenge attacks coming as an urgent sign of widespread tension between KPA, communities, and the security forces. These dynamics are especially strong in Aceh Utara. Local level conflict also achieved a new high this month of 126 incidents. This update highlights two types of local level conflict. First, conflict related to integration fund. Second, conflict continues over the pilkada [local direct election] district Head result…”

Pfuhh… I just stop my reading on such report. I myself then try to imagine that situation. But my imagination then quickly brought me to a group of children in a veranda of school in Piyeung Menara who sang another song as I met them last month. That time the lyric was different but I still remember it clearly, “We alive because of Allah, We die because of Allah, We meet because of Allah, We separated because of Allah…” * * *

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[1] SEFA = Save Emergency For Aceh, an Aceh based NGO working for children and youth. At the beginning of it works during the conflict period, SEFA served IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons] by providing advocacy’s assistance supported by KWI [Indonesian Bishop Conference]. Mostly staffs of SEFA are youths with 20 to 33 years old.

[2] Meunasah [madrasah in Arabic] is a lower level informal schools led by a leader called teungku. At this level, the students are taught basic Qur’an reading and Arabic writing. Presently, meunasah can still be found widely because almost each gampong [village] in Aceh has meunasah. Unfortunately, the function of meunasah has now become limited, so much so that meunasah can merely mean a simple building used for prayers. Nowdays, meunasah is only used for collective praying and for a meeting/hang-out place at the gampong level. For more detail please see an article named “Lost of Dayah Manyang” by Nazli Ismail.

[3] See Aceh Conflict Monitoring Update 1^st-31^st march 2007, World Bank/DSF.

Oposisi, Satu Bantal Dua Mimpi

Oleh: Michael Yudha W

SALAH satu pelajaran politik paling berharga yang dapat kita petik bersama dari tarik ulur kekuatan antara “kubu presiden” dan “kubu wakil presiden” dalam dua tahun terakhir ini adalah soal oposisi. Polemik UKP3R [Unit Kerja Presiden untuk Pengelolaan Program Reformasi], kontroversi kenaikan BBM, dan perselisihan dalam menentukan posisi menteri dalam rumah tangga Republik, misalnya, adalah cermin dari keberadaan oposisi setengah hati alias banci. Baik kubu presiden dan wapres menikmati satu bantal kekuasaan yang sama tetapi dengan mimpi yang berbeda.

Sebagai suatu kekuatan anti status quo, oposisi seharusnya mampu dilembagakan secara formal guna menjalankan tiga fungsi politiknya; kritik, pertimbangan dan pengawasan terhadap pemerintahan yang sedang berkuasa. Pelembagaan oposisi secara strategis, sistematis dan demokratis akan mampu mencegah berulangnya kembali dosa-dosa politik masa lalu seperti korupsi, kolusi dan nepotisme [KKN]. Pendek kata, pelembagaan oposisi menjadi keharusan bila masalah kemiskinan dan ketidakadilan sosial benar-benar mau dibumi-hanguskan dari persada nusantara.

Oposisi Machiavelian

Mengapa kekuatan oposisi dalam politik Indonesia mandul atau terkesan banci? Sejarah mencatat bahwa Soekarno, Soeharto dan Abdurrahman Wahid memang berhasil diturunkan dari kekuasaannya melalui konsolidasi kekuatan oposisi. Tetapi oposisi dalam ketiga kasus tersebut semata bersifat Machiavelian, haus akan darah kekuasaan sehingga segala cara yang melibatkan konspirasi dengan agen asing, politik kambing hitam, maupun fatwa agama dihalalkan sebagai senjata politik. Orientasi kerja kelompok oposisi selama ini hanya berkutat pada masalah menggulingkan dan merebut kekuasaan untuk kemudian dibagikan kepada sekutunya masing-masing. Dalam kasus Soekarno, hampir seluruh kekuataan oposisi saat itu langsung bermetamorfosis menjadi penguasa, rejim Orde Baru kemudian terbentuk dan mengakar kuat. Dalam kasus Soeharto, aksi politik metamorfosis oposisi paska lengser keprabon masih harus bertarung dengan kekuatan status quo pendukung Orba dan terpaksa melakukan kompromi politik akibat tiadanya strategi komprehensif yang kuat atas cara-cara penyelesaian politik paska penggulingan.

Dalam era Soekarno, bisa dikatakan bahwa oposisi tidak diperlukan karena masalah integrasi bangsa dan nasionalisme masih rawan. Maka Soekarno pun berusaha mengkonsolidasikan kekuatan politik nasional dengan jargon nasakom-nya. Gagasan cerdas Soekarno ini sebenarnya sejalan dengan pendapat Gellner [1983], dalam bukunya Nations and Nationalism, bahwa keberhasilan pembentukan negara bangsa memang harus melibatkan unsur kekuasaan, pendidikan dan kebudayaan. Pada konteks inilah ide jenius Soekarno terbukti berhasil memandulkan kekuatan oposisi tetapi sekaligus memanfaatkannya sebagai benteng pertahanan Indonesia dalam menghadapi kekuatan asing.

Disahkannya Pancasila sebagai dasar ideologi Negara Indonesia pada sisi lain ternyata juga berhasil mencegah tumbuhnya embrio oposisi. Sila Persatuan Indonesia yang sangat digandrungi Soekarno menjadi senjata ideologis untuk menumpas lawan-lawan politiknya, baik di dalam maupun di luar negeri. Soekarno menegaskan bahwa musuh bangsa yang utama adalah kolonialisme dan imperialisme. Jargon-jargon Soekarno pada era revolusi tersebut menjadi jamu yang sangat manjur agar rakyat tidak berpikir tentang kelemahan politik presidennya yang sudah memasuki stadium otoritarianisme politik. Demokrasi terpimpin yang diperkenalkannya adalah sebuah penyakit akut yang menggerogoti dan bertentangan dengan nilai-nilai demokrasi itu sendiri. Dalam teropong nasionalisme, usaha-usaha Soekarno memang berhasil. Tetapi dalam periskop demokrasi, sikap politik Soekarno tersebut lagi-lagi telah memandulkan embrio oposisi.

Soeharto setali tiga uang dengan Soekarno. Ketika melihat embrio oposisi mulai tumbuh subur, segera dibuatnya kebijakan pemangkasan partai-partai politik hanya menjadi dua partai dan satu golongan karya. Dirinya mengatakan bahwa “konsolidasi” politik penting agar mesin pembangunan berjalan lancar. Penerapan dwi-fungsi ABRI tidak lain sebagai fungsi pengawasan terhadap kemungkinan tumbuhnya gerakan oposisi di tingkat pedesaan – akar rumput. Agar tidak dianggap meniru Soekarno dengan nasakom-nya, Soeharto mengintegrasikan kekuatan ABG [militer, birokrasi dan Golkar] untuk memudahkan manajemen kepemimpinannya. Kebijakan massa mengambang dan politik rekayasa pemilu pada akhirnya semakin mengunci kesadaran rakyat untuk memainkan fungsi-fungsi oposisi.

Demikian tragedi politik di Republik ini, oposisi menjadi pekerjaan politik setengah hati yang diterapkan dengan semangat Machiavelian. Ketika kekuasaan didapat, detik itu juga kekuasaan dimanfaatkan untuk melanggengkan status quo sembari mengebiri habis embrio-embrio oposisi yang baru.

Rencana Strategis

Menurut Sukardi Rinakit, saat ini adalah momentum yang tepat bagi Golkar untuk menekan pemerintah dan keluar dari kerangkeng kekuasaan [Kompas, 14 November 2006]. Dengan kata lain, Sukardi menyarankan Golkar untuk secara total memainkan fungsi oposisi. Menurut saya, harapan Sukardi terlalu tinggi. Kalaupun Golkar bertekad menjadi oposisi, ia tidak mungkin seratus persen melepaskan bantal kekuasaannya. Nasi sudah menjadi bubur, Golkar telah berbagi bantal dengan Sang Presiden dan dirinya hanya bisa memiliki mimpi yang berbeda. Apalagi, secara kultur Golkar adalah partai penguasa yang terbiasa berada pada posisi puncak. Bahkan meski dukungan rakyat pada partai beringin ini menurun pada pemilu terakhir, para komprador, sekutu serta kekuatan jaringan partai ini masih berkuasa penuh dan berpengaruh secara signifikan atas hitam putihnya wajah Republik. Pun seandainya Golkar merubah haluan politiknya sebagai oposan, yang terjadi kemudian hari tidak akan lebih dari sekadar oposisi Machiavelian sebagaimana dijelaskan di atas. Mengharapkan angin perubahan politik dari Golkar ibarat punguk merindukan bulan.

Belajar dari kegagalan oposisi dalam sejarah politik kita, sudah saatnya memikirkan suatu rencana strategis untuk mengkonsolidasikan kekuatan oposisi dan pelembagaannya secara komprehensif demi kepentingan jangka panjang. Perspektif yang dipakai adalah untuk kesejahteraan rakyat serta keadilan sosial dan bukan semata demi perebutan dan pembagian kekuasaan. Jika tidak, kelompok oposisi yang kemudian hari berkuasa akan bertindak otoriter seperti di era Soekarno dan Soeharto atau justru berperilaku ibarat bunglon seperti di era Abdurrahman Wahid dan Megawati.

Pelembagaan oposisi secara strategis salah satunya dapat dilakukan melalui gerakan-gerakan sosial yang mensinergikan kekuatan masyarakat sipil [rakyat]. Sejarah mencatat bahwa tidak ada kekuatan yang mampu menandingi kedigdayaan kekuatan rakyat selain kekuatan alam. Jika rakyat bersatu, suatu pemerintahan atau sebuah korporasi bisnis pun dapat tumbang dalam sekejap. Momentum ini seringkali datang tak terduga, tetapi telak dan menyadarkan penguasa dari mimpi panjang mereka.***

Diagram Venn Indonesia - Amerika

Diagram Venn Indonesia-Amerika
oleh: Michael Yudha

DALAM “dunia hubungan masyarakat” [Public Relations], tujuan dan esensi interaksi adalah terciptanya pemahaman bersama [mutual understanding] atas persoalan yang menjadi pengikat dalam interaksi tersebut. Kesepahaman bersama itulah yang secara jelas digambarkan dalam diagram venn pada logika matematika. Ada sebuah wilayah arsiran yang menjadi tanda bahwa bagian A tidak bisa dilepaskan dari bagian B. Demikian halnya kepentingan B akan memberi manfaat bagi tercapainya kepentingan A. Sementara sejumlah nilai-nilai “ke-Indonesia-an” bisa jadi sama dan ada dalam nilai-nilai “ke-Amerika-an”. Maka dalam konteks inilah sebenarnya titik temu antara Indonesia dan Amerika akan dapat dilihat secara obyektif serta transparan.
Meminjam konsepsi Giddens tentang peta politik global saat ini, maka hubungan bilateral Indonesia-Amerika secara umum dapat dipetakan dalam tiga titik temu. Pertama, hubungan antar negara [G to G; Governemnt to Government], hubungan ekonomi [M to M; Market to Market] dan hubungan personal; [P to P; Person to Person].

Hubungan G to G dikenal sebagai diplomatik-bilateral yang mengharuskan protokoler politik secara ketat. Sehingga simbol-simbol politik negara wajib dihormati. Wilayah “ring satu” ini sudah pasti mendapatkan perhatian yang serius dan menjadi daerah yang rawan dan tabu untuk “diserang”. Hubungan M to M disebut sebagai kerjasama ekonomi-perdagangan yang pada dasarnya dipengaruhi oleh watak survival of the fittest. Artinya, siapa yang lebih cerdik, berkuasa dan memiliki akses terhadap fasilitas pendukung, baik perangkat keras maupun lunak, dialah yang akan memenangkan pertarungan dalam bentuk himpunan modal dan akumulasi kesejahteraan. Sedangkan hubungan P to P umumnya bersifat humaniora-universal. Prinsip dan nilai yang dijadikan indikator keberhasilan hubungan ini adalah sejauh mana penghargaan terhadap martabat manusia dan hak-hak dasarnya dipraktekkan. Seringkali hubungan ini diwakili oleh kerjasama masyarakat sipil dalam bentuk bantuan hibah, teknis, konsultasi, pendampingan, pemberdayaan, loka-karya sampai pemberian beasiswa.

Diplomasi Humaniora
Berdasarkan informasi dari meja Presiden melalui juru bicaranya, Dino Patti Djalal, akan ada enam agenda untuk dibicarakan bersama Bush yang diharapkan bermuara lebih konkrit pada kerjasama bidang ekonomi [Kompas, 17/11]. Artinya, kunjungan Presiden Amerika kali ini masih menganggap bahwa hubungan G to G dan M to M lebih penting daripada hubungan P to P. Tentu saja hal ini wajar, sebab Bush adalah simbol kebijakan politik dan ekonomi Amerika. Dan konteks kedatangan Bush adalah kunjungan resmi kenegaraan. Sehingga pemerintah Indonesia dengan rasa hormat kepada tamunya [sesuai dengan kultur lokal bahwa tamu adalah raja] berusaha semaksimal mungkin membuat pertemuan menjadi aman, nyaman dan lancar. Hal mana membuat persiapan pengamanan dan penyambutan Sang Presiden begitu kompleks.
Di lain pihak, persiapan dimaksud bisa dikatakan telah menimbulkan teror tersendiri bagi rakyat Indonesia. Yaitu dalam bentuk pelarangan berbisnis kepada para PKL di sekitar Kebun Raya Bogor, penutupan ruas-ruas jalan, libur akademik dan pemutusan saluran komunikasi publik. Ironisnya, warga Bogor dan sekitarnya harus menanggung langsung kerugian ekonomi dan sosial akibat kunjungan diplomatik Bush.

Pada titik inilah, diplomasi humaniora seharusnya dijalankan oleh kedua belah pihak, baik pemerintahan Bush maupun SBY. Mereka seharusnya sadar bahwa kerugian sosial-ekonomi yang ditanggung oleh rakyat telah memberikan keuntungan politik bagi peningkatan hubungan bilateral Indonesia-AS. Tetapi kontribusi rakyat [warga Bogor dan sekitarnya] tersebut sudah sepatutnya mendapatkan “ganti untung”, misalnya dalam bentuk kucuran kredit lunak bagi para PKL, beasiswa kepada para murid atau transfer tekhnologi informasi.

Penting untuk diingat bahwa aktivitas politik kenegaraan sudah terlalu sering merugikan aktifitas publik – kerakyatan. Atas nama kepentingan nasional [negara], rakyat dipaksa untuk taat, mengalah dan dengan sendirinya menanggung kerugian. Tetapi tidak ada jaminan bahwa aktifitas kenegaraan tersebut, baik secara langsung maupun tidak, akan menguntungkan rakyat. “Ganti untung” dimaksud penting untuk diberikan sebagai simbol tercapainya mutual understanding antara negara dan rakyatnya. Dalam konteks demokrasi, inilah proses akomodasi politik yang harus dilakukan oleh pemerintah. Sebuah diplomasi humaniora untuk kembali mendapatkan kepercayaan rakyat.

Fenomena Bush
Di Amerika sendiri, Bush dicap sebagai seorang penjudi kakap yang kelewat berani mengambil resiko [Wallerstein, 2006]. Penjudi dengan watak seperti ini jelas potensial mengalami kekalahan yang besar juga. Presiden Bush telah menuai kekalahan tersebut dalam kasus Irak dan kemenangan Partai Demokrat. Proyek Bush untuk Irak dianggap gagal karena tidak mampu menciptakan stabilitas politik, pemerintahan yang ramah dan pembangunan bagi basis militer Amerika di Irak. Sedangkan kemenangan Partai Demokrat jelas menunjukkan antipati dan sikap politik rakyat Amerika terhadap kebijakan Bush. Dua hal ini menjadi stimulus politik yang sangat kuat bagi rakyat Indonesia dalam melancarkan aksi-aksi demonstrasi menentang kedatangan Bush.

Ketika kebijakan politik Bush telah dirasakan bertentangan dengan nilai-nilai keadilan sosial, demokrasi dan bahkan sudah dianggap menindas dan menghisap pihak lain, serangan protes serta kecaman tak lagi dapat dielakkan. Maka kecaman dan protes yang ditujukan kepada Bush harus dimaknai dalam konteks ketidaksetujuan atas kebijakan politik dan ekonomi pemerintah Amerika. Seperti halnya serangan terhadap menara kembar WTC dan markas Pentagon oleh Osama bin Laden dan sekutunya, adalah bentuk nyata kebencian sebagian warga dunia atas kebijakan politik luar negeri Amerika.

Kebencian yang memuncak tersebut adalah kebencian kepada sikap politik pemerintahan Bush, bukan kebencian kepada warga negara Amerika per individu. Bahwa ada rakyat Amerika yang tidak bersalah dan menjadi korban, menurut “bahasa teroris”, hal ini dianggap sebagai tanggung jawab pemerintahan Amerika itu sendiri. Demikian aksi demonstrasi menolak kunjungan [baca: menolak kebijakan pemerintah AS] dipastikan tidak akan berhenti paska kunjungan Bush ke Bogor. Di masa depan, banyak kemungkinan munculnya aksi-aksi lain yang lebih besar jika pemerintah AS tidak melakukan perubahan kebijakan politiknya. Terutama terkait dengan ketidakadilan ekonomi global dan “intervensi demokrasi” pada negara-negara di wilayah Timur tengah, Amerika Latin dan Asia.

Terlepas dari pro-kontra hubungan Indonesia-AS dan pertemuan kedua presiden di Bogor, ruang kesepahaman bersama antara kedua-belah pihak sudah saatnya diperluas. Diagram Venn Indonesia-Amerika tidak melulu sepenuhnya bisa diperluas dengan hubungan G to G maupun M to M. Mengingat sensitivitas dan kompleksitas yang ada, tampaknya peningkatan hubungan P to P akan lebih memberikan hasil positif daripada dua bentuk hubungan lainnya. Hal ini berlaku untuk masa depan kedua negara ini, entah siapapun presidennya nanti.
Kasus bantuan untuk tsunami Aceh dan gempa Jogja misalnya, menjadi salah satu contoh bagaimana wajah Amerika yang humanis mendapatkan hati bagi masyarakat Aceh dan Jogja. Tetapi perluasan diagram venn Indonesia-Amerika melalui pola hubungan P to P ini perlu dikembangkan lagi secara lebih komprehensif, melalui upaya strategis yang sinergis, hal mana menjadi PR kita bersama. * * *

Kios Sabina, Wajah Lain Globalisasi

By Michael Yudha W

APAKAH anda pernah melihat sebuah kios? Sungguhkan anda telah mengenalinya? Sebuah kios dimana aneka dagangan rokok, minuman ringan dalam kaleng, obat nyamuk, sampo, sabun, tissue, permen, obat generik dan makanan ringan seperti kacang kulit, wafer, serta biskuit ini tertata rapi berjajar, bertumpuk serta menggelantung pada sebuah kios kecil dekat perempatan jalan. Di simpang tersebut, kepadatan lalu lintas dan kebisingan jalanan memekik bercampur debu, terik matahari dan hasrat manusia untuk bertahan hidup menjadi teman keseharian bagi Sabina Tambunan, Si Empunya warung. Toch janda beranak satu [kini duduk di bangku SD kelas enam] ini selalu terlihat ceria dalam obrolan bersama tukang parkir, pengamen, pemain catar jalanan, “mandor angkot” ataupun pembeli yang mendatangi kiosnya.

“Ya… beginilah Bang, namanya juga cari makan. Yang penting tidak bikin susah orang lain,” bicaranya ringan tanpa beban disertai seulas senyum ketika saya singgah sesaat membeli teh botol dingin usai melakukan assessment di daerah Mandala, pemukiman kumuh dekat rel kereta api. Kios Sabina memang bukan satu-satunya kios yang beroperasi di wilayah tersebut. Jika kita ambil titik tengah perempatan jalan sebagai pijakan awal dan terus berjalan ke arah Utara, Selatan Barat atau Timur, maka akan kita jumpai puluhan, ratusan bahkan mungkin ribuan kios seperti dimiliki Sabina di sepanjang jalan yang entah akan berakhir di mana ujungnya. Belum termasuk ribuan kios lainnya yang bertebaran berhimpit dan berdesakan memenuhi pedalaman pasar-pasar tradisional. Bila dilihat dari ukurannya, kios-kios tersebut luasnya rata-rata hampir sama dengan luas enam lantai keramik yang menghiasi mal-mal mewah di kota Medan ini.

Ketidakadilan Global

Pada hakekatnya, dalam dunia dagang yang mengambil bentuk kios sebagaimana dikelola Sabina tersebut, tidak ada yang berubah antara yang “tradisional” dengan apa yang disebut “modern” yang umumnya disimbolkan oleh kehadiran mal. Keduanya bermuara pada usaha mengejar laba. Masalah tampilan kios, faktor kenyamanan dan manajemen pengelolaan lebih merupakan akibat dari usaha untuk bertahan, sebuah jawaban dari prinsip ”survival of the fittest”. Sebab dalam jagad perdagangan berlaku juga hukum rimba bahwa yang terkuatlah yang akan menang.
Dus, apa yang dikatakan Arief Budiman memberikan deskripsi yang jelas tentang masalah perdagangan ini. “Saya kira seperti masalah pedagang kecil dan pedagang besar. Pedagang kecil bisa bertarung, tetapi selama mereka tidak memiliki modal yang besar dan teknologi, mereka akan dikuasai pedagang besar. Modal dikuasai pedagang besar, pasar juga dikuasai mereka. Misalnya kita kalau mau ekspor ke Inggris atau negara besar, kita harus melalui calo mereka juga. Kalau kita buka jaringan sendiri tidak mungkin,“ demikian pidatonya dalam sebuah acara penerimaan Achmad Bakrie Award di Jakarta pada pertengahan Agustus 2006 lalu. Sosiolog penantang teori modernisasi tersebut diganjar uang seratus juta rupiah karena dianggap berperan penting dalam melakukan suatu terobosan dalam menggelorakan sebuah ide dalam khazanah ilmu-ilmu sosial di Indonesia, terutama dalam masalah pembangunan dan modernisasi.
Dalam konteks globalisasi seperti gerak masyarakat dunia saat ini, keberadaan dan pertumbuhan mal yang demikian pesat semakin mempertegas keterkaitan antara pedagang besar, modal, teknologi dan pasar sebagaimana dikatakan Arief. Sehingga kios milik pedagang kecil seperti Sabina pun tidak lagi memiliki alternatif lain selain [tidak bisa tidak] harus menjual “barang-barang global” milik pedangan besar [korporasi]. Pun masih disertai keharusan lainya, bahwa mereka “hanya boleh” mengambil sedikit keuntungan yang besarnya sudah ditentukan juga oleh pasar. Kesempatan untuk menjual barang lain juga semakin tertutup manakala para pedagang besar ini juga telah menguasai rantai distribusi secara kuat. Tidak terlihat lagi barang-barang produksi warga lokal “asli” seperti limun atau rokok kretek. Semuanya telah menghilang dari pasaran. Gempuran iklan dari korporasi global mungkin telah menyingkirkan dan menguburnya. Bahkan meski para pemodal besar tersebut tinggal ribuan kilometer nun jauh di belahan bumi sebelah Utara sana - dengan segala fasilitas dan kenyamanan dari laba besar yang mereka peroleh dari “barang-barang global” yang dijual penuh jerih payah oleh seorang pedagang kecil seperti Sabina - tali kendali pasar senantiasa dalam genggaman mereka.
Kios besar [mal] yang dikelola pedagang besar bermodal besar [korporasi] umumnya harus berkompetisi ketat untuk memenangi persaingan. Dengan segala cara mereka berusaha memperbesar keuntungan dengan semakin menekan pengeluaran. Sikap rakus, tamak dan watak gigantik ini barangkali sudah menjadi roh globalisasi. Sebaliknya, para pedagang kecil seperti Sabina justru tidak perlu khawatir akan masalah kompetisi dagang tersebut. Menurutnya, di antara mereka [sesama pemilik kios pinggir jalan] tidak pernah merasa bersaing atau sengaja melakukan usaha untuk menjatuhkan kompetitornya. “Namanya berusaha, pastilah ada rejekinya masing-masing. Sudah ada itu yang mengatur [Sabina percaya bahwa Tuhan turut campur tangan dalam hal memberikan rejeki untuk seseorang]. Jadi tidak ada itu niat jahat atau persaingan. Lagi pula kios ini kan untungnya masih kecil, tapi cukuplah untuk biaya makan hari ini,” wanita bertubuh tambun namun gesit dalam kerja tersebut mengakui setidaknya ada sedikit perubahan penghasilan dari kerja sebelumnya sebagai tukang cuci pakaian selama tiga tahun sejak suaminya meninggal.
Demikianlah kenyataan globalisasi menghadirkan anomali dan paradoksnya sendiri. Sang Pemenang masih merasa tidak puas atas kepemilikan dan hasil yang telah dicapainya sementara Si Pecundang terpaksa “berdamai” dengan ketidakadilan yang menghantamnya dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Dan Joseph Stiglitz, ekonom pemenang Nobel tahun 2001 pernah memberikan peringatan yang tajam atas ketidakadilan akibat globalisasi ini. “Yang menjadi catatan penting dari globalisasi adalah semakin lebarnya kesenjangan antara janji dan kenyataan, semakin banyak pihak yang kalah dan sedikit pemenang, semakin deras aliran uang dari negara-negara miskin ke negara-negara kaya padahal yang terjadi seharusnya adalah sebaliknya,” kritiknya dalam Financial Times edisi 8 september 2006.

Spiritualitas Sabina
Pada diri Sabina, semangat dagang terlihat begitu besar tetapi juga memiliki batasan etis. Membuka kiosnya sejak jam delapan pagi hingga jam delapan malam jelas menunjukkan kerja keras dan ketekunan yang dimilikinya. Tetapi kemampuan diri menerima keuntungan yang hanya berkisar antara seratus hingga dua ratus ribu rupiah selama hampir dua belas jam lebih menjaga kiosnya di tepi jalan yang panas, bising dan sumpek jelas bukan pekerjaan yang nyaman. Toch sejak menerima bantuan keuangan mikro dari CORDIA lima bulan yang lalu, Sabina justru semakin bersemangat. Mimpi memiliki toko yang lebih besar disimpannya kuat dalam ingatan perempuan tamatan SMA ini. Meski ia sendiri tidak yakin kapan mimpi itu akan terwujud.
Sabina adalah orang biasa dengan semangat luar biasa. Tentu ada sesuatu yang menjadi keyakinanya. Ada kalkulasi kepercayaan yang menjadi dasar etika usaha yang dimiliki Sabina. Meski bukan seorang Calvinist [Sabina memeluk agama Katholik] namun semangat berwirausaha Sabina tidak kalah dengan spirit Etika Protestan yang melanda Eropa pada awal abad keduapuluh. Tetapi mungkin juga karena atmosfer masyarakat Indonesia yang cenderung mistik dan religius dimana agama menjadi salah satu tempat melepas beban sekaligus oase bagi kepenatan hidup. Sabina akhirnya mampu menerima diri sendiri apa adanya. Berdamai dengan masa lalu bersama konflik pribadi yang dialaminya.
Tetapi penerimaan diri Sabina tidak identitik dengan menyerah pada nasib, melainkan menerima kenyataan hidup sebagaimana adanya dan dengan demikian menumbuhkan sikap serta semangat untuk bekerja demi hidup yang lebih baik. Inilah etos kerja yang dimiliki Sabina. Tidak rakus dan tamak hingga sampai dan dengan sengaja merugikan orang lain sebagaimana umumnya watak kapitalisme, tetapi tekun dan keras dalam perjuangan hidup meski hasil baru sejumput. Sebuah prinsip yang patut mendapat acungan jempol. Sebab dengan tidak merugikan pihak lain, Sabina sejatinya telah mampu menempatkan martabat orang per orang sejajar dan sama nilainya dengan dirinya sendiri.
“Kalau dipikir-pikir setiap orang kan pasti punya masalah. Tapi bukan berarti kita harus berpura-pura untuk tidak mau peduli dengan masalah orang lain kan?. Saya senang ketika datang ke gereja meminta bantuan dan ternyata pastor paroki mau memberikannya. Inilah awal mula saya kenal CORDIA dan mendapatkan bantuan,” ceritanya. Meski termasuk kategori orang miskin, Sabina masih merasa bahwa dirinya adalah orang yang cukup beruntung. Tentunya jika dibandingkan dengan kondisi dan jumlah orang miskin di wilayah Medan dan sekitarnya.
Sebagaimana dicatat oleh BPS tahun 2003, jumlah keluarga miskin di Medan mencapai 113.449 KK dari total keluarga sebanyak 412.024 KK atau sama dengan 2.010.676 jiwa. Sedangkan jika diambil populasi di propinsi Sumatera Utara yang mencapai 12.123.360 jiwa atau 2.621.333 KK, di dalamnya terdapat 966.299 KK miskin. Angka-angka kemiskinan ini akan semakin meningkat jika digabungkan dengan jumlah penduduk miskin dunia.
Tetapi kemudian, apakah kita benar-benar percaya bahwa takdir manusia sudah ditentukan oleh “invisible hands”? Jika Sabina percaya bahwa takdir manusia ditentukan oleh usahanya sendiri, melalui kerja keras dan ketekunan misalnya, sebagaimana ia lakukan sendiri selama hidupnya namun ironisnya belum menampakkan perubahan hidup yang lebih baik, lantas kepada siapa kita harus berpaling? Jika takdir seorang pedagang kecil pinggir jalan, jutaan Sabina lainnya, terlihat telah ditentukan oleh gerak globalisasi, oleh “the invisible hands”, maka cerita tentang jalan hidup mereka tak ubahnya seperti pantulan cermin kehidupan Sysiphus.
Seperti tuturan mitologi Yunani tentang Sysiphus, demikian takdir manusia harus dijalani. Oleh karena sebuah kutukan yang kita tidak tahu siapa yang menyebabkannya Dan dari mana asalnya, Sysiphus akan selalu membawa batu besar di punggungnya sembari mendaki gunung hingga mencapai puncak sebagai tujuannya. Tetapi nahas nasib berkata lain, Sysiphus jatuh bersama batu besar tersebut dan menggelinding ke bawah. Dan ia harus memanggul batu tersebut dan mendaki gunung kembali, namun terjatuh kembali di tengah perjalanan dan kembali merangkak dari bawah. Demikian berulang kali Sysiphus jatuh bersama batu beban hidupnya untuk kemudian memulai langkah awal mendaki gunung. Dan kesekian kalinya cerita ini berulang, terjatuh dan mendaki lagi, jatuh dan naik kembali, lagi… dan lagi…
Lalu percayakah kita bahwa ketidakadilan global yang berlangsung dalam masyarakat dunia saat ini sungguh tidak dapat diubah? Haruskah kita biarkan jutaan Sabina lainnya bernasib dan menjalani takdir hidupnya seperti Sysiphus?* * *

Sumpah Pemuda, Sumpah Anti Korupsi

Michael Yudha W

JANUARI 1970, mahasiswa Indonesia membanjiri jalanan ibukota Jakarta. Mereka melakukan demonstrasi menentang korupsi yang sudah menjamur di tubuh birokrasi-pemerintah Republik. Sejarah mencatat, aksi ini merupakan demonstrasi anti-korupsi terbesar dalam kurun waktu 25 tahun sejak Indonesia diproklamasikan.

Aksi ini bahkan sempat mengancam stabilitas pemerintahan Soeharto yang sedang bergiat membangun fondasi ekonomi nasional. Saat itu, pasukan khusus dari angkatan bersenjata dikerahkan untuk menghadapi gerakan demonstrasi mahasiswa. Untuk meredakan ketegangan, Soeharto akhirnya menunjuk Komisi IV guna melakukan tinjauan dan memberikan rekomendasi konkret demi perbaikan selanjutnya. Dengar pendapat maraton kamudian digelar oleh Komisi selama beberapa bulan. Kalangan media, mahasiswa dan tokoh-tokoh politik nasional mengeksperikan pandangan mereka.

Di bulan Agustus, tepat di hari ulang tahun kemerdekaan Indonesia ke-25, genderang perang melawan korupsi itu ditabuh. “Seharusnya tidak perlu ada lagi keraguan, saya sendiri akan memimpin perjuangan melawan korupsi,” demikian pernyataan Presiden Soeharto dalam pidato nasional usai membacakan naskah proklamasi. Sungguh sebuah aksi Public Relations yang cantik dan mujarab tetapi tragis. Sebab fakta sejarah kemudian menyajikan cerita lain; gurita korupsi justru semakin menjadi, menciptakan wabah kemiskinan dan pengangguran bagi jutaan rakyat Indonesia serta merebaknya kekerasan sosial tanpa henti di seluruh pelosok nusantara. Dan akhirnya, Sang Jenderal Besar terpaksa lengser keprabon.

Di hari ke-14 September 2004, pasangan calon presiden dan wakilnya, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono [SBY] dan Muhamad Jusuf Kalla [MJK] menggelar sebuah acara penajaman visi dan misi yang disiarkan oleh sejumlah stasiun televisi. SBY sendiri menyatakan, ”Saya akan memimpin langsung pemberantasan korupsi di negeri ini...” Janji tersebut ditegaskannya dalam dokumen “Membangun Indonesia yang Aman, Adil dan Sejahtera” yang menguraikan program kerja SBY-MJK pada masa kampanye. Dokumen tersebut mencatat bahwa sasaran pemberantasan korupsi adalah “berkurangnya secara nyata praktek korupsi di birokrasi, dan dimulai dari tataran pejabat yang paling atas.”

Kampanye politik Public Relations tersebut akhirnya diikuti dengan keberhasilan duet SBY-MJK sebagai Presiden RI yang terpilih secara langsung oleh lebih dari enam puluh persen rakyat Indonesia. Dua tahun sejak menjabat sebagai Presiden RI, jumlah penduduk miskin bertambah mencapai 39 juta per Maret 2006, pengangguran menghinggapi 11,1 juta warga dan peringkat Indonesia sebagai negara yang menarik bagi investasi justru turun drastis ke posisi delapan di bawah Rusia dan Korea Selatan [menurut Survey Japan Bank for International Cooperation, November 2005].

Sintesa Korupsi

Apa sintesa yang bisa dipetik dari hubungan kekuasaan dengan korupsi dari kasus Soeharto dan SBY tersebut? Pertama, sejarah mencatat bahwa gerakan anti korupsi yang dicanangkan pemerintah selalu menjadi lips service semata guna mencari dukungan publik untuk proses akumulasi kekuasaan dan kapital guna kepentingan status quo. Korupsi dalam pengertian usaha penggunaan sumber-sumber publik untuk tujuan pribadi [Theodore M. Smith] yang melibatkan elite politik jelas merupakan korupsi tingkat tinggi. Korupsi jenis ini umumnya bertujuan untuk menghimpun kapital.

Tetapi masalahnya kemudian, ke mana kapital itu akan digunakan? Untuk reinvestasi kembali di dalam negeri atau justru diekspor ke luar negeri? Menurut Smith, korupsi untuk tujuan reinvestasi dalam negeri umumnya digunakan dalam bentuk proyek konstruksi “urban housing”. Dari sini, sektor riil digerakan untuk memacu roda ekonomi dan pertumbuhan nasional. Tetapi pertumbuhan ini akan bersifat maya sebab dana yang digunakan adalah hasil korupsi. Barangkali kasus kredit macet yang dialami secara masif dalam dunia usaha di Indonesia beberapa tahun lalu – dan belum tuntas jelas hingga sekarang – menjadi indikasi bahwa dana korupsi di Indonesia memang dilarikan untuk reinventasi melalui proyek-proyek konstruksi. Sedangkan “pelarian modal” ke luar negeri oleh pengusaha kakap Indonesia yang terkait kasus korupsi menjadi penanda kedua bahwa korupsi di Indonesia juga bertujuan untuk mengekspor kapital.

Kedua, korupsi dapat menghancurkan aset potensial negara seperti antusiasme, idealisme dan simpati generasi muda bangsa, karena pelajar dan pemuda merupakan pemimpin masa depan serta pembaharu ekonomi [economics moderniser]. Semangat juang dan idealisme kaum muda Indonesia seringkali berbenturan dengan kenyataan yang mereka saksikan di lapangan kehidupan riil. Solidaritas dan empati mereka atas ketidakadilan sosial dan kemiskinan misalnya, segera mengerucut pada aksi-aski demonstrasi pro rakyat. Pada titik ini, demontrasi menentang korupsi telah menjadi sikap politik riil. Dan akhirnya, korupsi lebih cenderung merupakan persoalan politik ketimbang ekonomi. Korupsi akut yang menggurita dalam tubuh birokrasi jelas mereduksi produktifitas pemerintah. Akibatnya, korupsi mampu mengurangi dukungan kepada pemerintah baik di level nasional maupun di level propinsi dan kabupaten/kota.

Ketiga, sebagaimana dikatakan Bung Hatta bahwa korupsi sudah menjadi seni dan bagian dari budaya Indonesia [Indonesian Observer, 2 Juli 1970], maka upaya hukum dalam penanggulangan korupsi harus diikuti oleh gerakan pembaharuan budaya. Sebab watak birokrasi Indonesia semata-mata memang mewarisi langsung tabiat korup pegawai firma dagang kolonial VOC yang gemar memperkaya diri [serta menjadi salah satu penyebab kehancuran VOC itu sendiri]. Dan sejak jaman Mataram budaya ewuh pakewuh semakin dikokohkan dengan penyingkiran para priyayi yang kritis terhadap kebijakan dan perilaku atasan mereka.

Alternatif Strategi

Dalam dunia politik Indonesia, situasi lebih kompleks dan tidak stabil sehingga dapat berubah secara dramatis dalam tempo yang singkat. Gerak bandul stabilitas politik dapat ditentukan oleh kuat lemahnya dukungan terhadap gerakan anti korupsi dan pemberantasan korupsi. Semakin kuat dukungan diberikan, semakin mantap arah gerak bandul pada perubahan sosial yang menjadi harapan rakyat banyak.

Jika pada tahun 1998 gerakan politik nasional terpolarisasi antara pro status quo dan anti status quo [reformasi], kini saatnya mengalihkan energi rakyat menuju pada penggalangan kekuatan gerakan anti korupsi dengan cara-cara damai dan legal. Karena pengaruhnya yang besar terhadap hajat hidup orang banyak, korupsi dapat menjadi isu politik abadi yang secara moral sangat patut untuk diperjuangkan melalui beragam model gerakan anti korupsi. Misalnya melalui proses advokasi, kampanye penyadaran publik, riset maupun diseminasi informasi. Strategi ini akan semakin terasa dampaknya bila didukung oleh media massa, aparat hukum dan sikap politik pemerintah.

Alternatif strategi lain yaitu dengan melakukan pelacakan terhadap rekening konsultan hukum koruptor. Umumnya para koruptor memiliki pengacara. Melalui pengacaranya, para koruptor memberikan “surat kuasa pengacara” [hak tanda tangan yang sangat kuat] kepada pengacara yang bekerja untuk dirinya. Nah, pengacara inilah yang akan membuat perjanjian sejenis dengan pengacara kedua, demikian seterusnya secara berantai, sehingga pada akhirnya pengacara kesekian [baik atas nama perseorangan maupun atas nama firma mereka] tidak mengetahui lagi dari mana sumber uang yang mereka tangani. Cara ini sangat aman karena setiap pengacara hanya memiliki sedikit informasi dari pengacara sebelumnya. Bahkan setiap anggota mata rantai hanya berhubungan dengan individu di atasnya. Sehingga untuk membongkar jaringan ini harus dimulai dengan mengidentifikasi pihak pertama dalam mata rantai tersebut, yaitu pengacara yang secara langsung berhubungan dengan koruptor atau tersangka koruptor.

Memasuki tahun ketiga usia kepemimpinan SBY-MJK, ada baiknya kedua strategi tersebut segera dijalankan. Tentu dengan harapan agar rakyat yang telah babak belur dihantam bencana dan menderita penyakit kemiskinan akut dapat segera sedikit keluar bernafas dari kubangan lumpur ketidakadilan sosial. Korupsi harus menjadi musuh bersama yang diperjuangkan sepanjang masa, hingga masyarakat adil makmur sejahtera benar-benar terwujud di persada nusantara.

Barangkali, momen Sumpah Pemuda menjadi saat yang tepat untuk memekikkan lantang sumpah anti korupsi bangsa Indonesia, yang disertai dengan aksi-aksi riil dengan gagah berani. * * * [Penulis adalah Peneliti Mandiri dan Mantan Ketua Umum Senat Mahasiswa Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta 1997-1998, kini tinggal di Medan]