[faithful alienation]

At least, for the last few years, my mind keeps questioning a part of John Lennon’s lyric. “And no religion too. Imagine all the people living life in peace”. I wonder whether the world will be peaceful if religions had not been “invented”. That the goods and faiths will only be as they were, no one formed or organized them to be religions. I wonder whether spirituality and morality are just enough.

Indeed. I also argue that people are stubborn and always thirst for power. Humans will always think that they are cleverer than others, and thus, need to rule the world to be a better place [according to them]. That under the name or humanity, human rights and freedom, people shout loudly that they have the rights to do whatever they want to. Humans are naturally homo homini lupus. We will, always, think that we have rights, but get used to forget that we do have obligations too.

We obligate to obtain our rights without assaulting others’ rights.

I know that religions are not the scapegoats. That the ‘punishments’ should be laid to the people not the teachings or faiths. But that does not prevent me to think that religions, at certain point, have power to alienate others. That people in particular faith groups [religions] have authorities to isolate the outer-groups. These negative, pessimistic points keep growing in my mind. These teach me to sarcasm with lots of bitchy words, to those who were justified their stupidities or supremacy syndromes in the name of religions.

Therefore, I always look forward for events of interfaith dialogues. Not as a speaker or sources. I just need refreshments to bring my positivism back.

Then, in early of December 2009, there was the Parliament of World’s Religions in Melbourne, Australia. In short, it was held to not discriminate or classify people with their differences [especially in the name of religions], but to unify under the similarities. No suspiciousness toward other groups. No judgment or evaluations about which group is the best, the most truth, the brightest, or even the heir. No place for any form of hostility and aggression, not even in verbal.

Interestingly, people participated from across the world. Either as speakers, contributors, guests or even volunteers. I attended a free event, ‘the Melbourne – River City – Place of Gathering‘. There was not only speeches, but also art performances. I captured two memorable moments. First, there were a Swami Monk, Catholic Pastor and Buddhist Monk. They had been living in the same house for seven years. The ‘living together’ point itself was interesting. At the beginning, they were strangers. Until the day they stood on the stage, they were still ‘strangers’ in public’s opinion. Three ethnics, three cultures. Three religious leaders of three different religions. Three different beliefs, three ways to ‘reach’ GOD. Hence, they succeeded to live together for years.

Even to live with others with the same ethnic or culture is still hard. Parents teach their children in their ways, even sometimes the same parents might treat their own children differently. Then, what was the secret? The Pastor said something like this: “We have lived together for 7 years, but none of us, ever, provoke others to convert” that followed with three big smiles.

Dialogue, understand, tolerate and respect.

Then, there were four young adults represented four groups: Buddhist, Jewish, Moslem and Christian. They stood proudly on stage. Their speeches were amazingly beautiful. Especially the Moslem, whose speech was outstandingly smart and wise. Unfortunately I couldn’t remember her speech, and others in details. All that I can remember, that they agreed that differences can be found in their religions, yet those could not cover up the fact that they have fundamental similarities too. That their religions do not legalize any discrimination or harassment in any form to others.

In the end, the Jewish said something very crucial.

The more we know our religions, the more we should love others.

Indeed!

I wish this world has millions of youngsters with that attitude. I imagine that if there are more people have this belief, especially youngsters, peace would not only a dream. At least, every war would only be in the name of political interests. That religions would never be the ‘weapon’, to legitimate people’ thirst for power.

[love to be loved]

Last weekend, I went to the Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne. It was not for any religious intention or other important things. It was ‘only’ a part of my sightseeing. I’ve heard that it is a historical site and has a unique restaurant. I was lucky as on that day, there was a farmers’ market where I could buy many fresh products.

With respects to other interesting things, I am fond with the restaurant. Lentil as Anything, the LAA. It has uniqueness in lot of aspects. As describes in its website, it is a vegetarian restaurant that is run as a not-for-profit community organization. The customers are not only able to eat as much as they want, but they also have the privilege to pay as much as they can to afford. The money should be put into a treasure box by the customers themselves. The customers are even able to eat in and/or take away the food.  They can stay as long as they want. So, it has more privileges than the all-you-can-eat restaurants.

Even though it is a not-for-profit restaurant without definite fees, it does not mean that the food varieties are limited. The menu has changed for different meals, at least for breakfast and lunch. At least, there were 6 different menus for breakfast and 10 for lunch. There were also home-made cakes. There also ‘standard’ drinks like water, coffee, tea and juice. It has different types of cuisine for different days. As long as I remember the Wednesdays are for the African cuisine, and Saturday for Srilangkan.

The most interesting part is how it has been managed. It runs with the help from many volunteers. Has gained supports not only from individuals’ commitments but also from companies and organizations, and even the local government body. These supports have enabled the restaurant to have five ‘branches’ in Melbourne. I think this fact is amazing. They do not only able to handle the financial challenges [due to pay as you want] and quite extensive supports, but also able to spread the ‘virus’ out.

The individual volunteers have different backgrounds. There were people who ‘just’ love to be involved in social works, or those who have to ‘shape’ their resumes with voluntary works. But there were also those who really want to pay it forward or ‘pay their debts’. From the website, the LAA wants to help those in need. Not only for food, but also those who need social supports.

It provides a place for over a hundred new migrants, refugees, people with disabilities and long-term unemployed to build confidence, gain skills and receive assistance with access to legal, health, housing and education services. In addition to running the sites, we provide crisis accommodation, English tutoring, counselling services, legal advice, homework assistance, and driving lessons.

Even if we have not read that descriptions, we can see how hard the lives of those who were there. As examples, there was a young lady and mid-aged couples who seem have difficulties to smile. There were other volunteers, who smiled and laughed. Yet, the gloomy and sadness were still there. I believe that face is like a canvas, and the person has painted her/his past experiences. Indeed, the past would not directly foretell the future. Fate is in our hands, with GOD’s grace. But the role of the past could not be denied. I have no idea how to define how I have sensed that way. Maybe it likes how we can differentiate the never-been-poor from the never-been-rich people, even if they dress in exactly the same way.

Greater than that, I admire the solidarity amongst them. Even if they ‘work’ for different reasons, they have the same goal. They are not only support one another, but have created a community, a social circle. It might be too early to claimed the LAA as a proof of succeeded community development, I believe that it can be an example for how great the impacts of social support is. The LAA has initiated the community engagements.

To give hope to the hopeless.

['cyber-exhibitionist' symptom]

Last week, I chatted with a friend through an online messenger. One topic that we discussed was the impacts of the social networking sites on social relationships. In this discussion, we were particularly pointed on facebook.  The reason was simple, facebook has became a well-respected site in within a short period. After 5 years it has ‘born’, there were lots of communication companies which provide the services to get connect to facebook. Believe it or not, facebook creates a sense of urgency to have handsets with internet connectivity which actually has been invented for years earlier.

It is indeed, helping lots of people to get connected. It is not only being a good ‘facilitator’ of friends, long-lost friends but also for business partnerships. I, as a fan of technology, am far from any intention to knock it down. I am grateful for its existence. I can get in touch with my friends and former colleagues, no matter where we are. I have found those who I had lost contacts for years. I can share what I thought and read what they feel. I can see other parts of the world as my friends have seen through photographs. I can share videos or music that I love, and also listen and watch from others. And, lately, I like the games.

My objections are not to the inventors, nor to the inventions, but to those who use it. As I wrote in the [ask for a favor], I really do not like the way people congratulate others only through the wall of facebook. I have done it too, but only to those who I do not have their contact numbers. Yes, you can call it as my defense. But, that is how I see it. Yes, there might be other opinions. I would not argue with that, as I said, that is just the way I feel.

What is more important is the fact how I amazed with the ability of lots of people to share their identities.

[melawan hiperealitas]

Dua minggu yang lalu adalah 81 tahun Sumpah Pemuda [dan Pemudi]. Saat itu, mereka mengucapkan janji setia terhadap negeri ini. Ikrar bahwa bangsa ini harus bersatu. Ikrar bahwa walau perbedaan itu ada, dua persamaan tetap ada. Satu tanah air dan satu bangsa. Selanjutnya, diwujudkan dengan memiliki bahasa persatuan.

Tujuh belas tahun setelahnya, Indonesia berhasil memproklamasikan kemerdekaannya. Apakah artinya negara ini merdeka setelah ‘dianggap’ dewasa dalam mempersatukan perbedaan yang ada?! Bahwa persatuan itu tidak berarti harus satu warna, namun dengan berbagai warna, mencapai suatu harmoni? Mengingat, perjuangan kemerdekaan tidak terpusat di satu titik saja. Setiap daerah, dengan pimpinan tokoh setempat, dengan kearifan budaya setempat, dengan persatuan diantara warga set

empat tanpa mempertanyakan asal muasal, bersama-sama berjuang melawan penjajahan.

Semuanya bergerak demi tujuan yang satu, bukan ’seragam’ yang sama.

Bung Tomo oleh Alex Mendur

Proklamasi kemerdekaan tidak menyebabkan para penjajah menyerah begitu saja. Mereka memperjuangkan apa yang dianggap menjadi hak miliknya. Salah satu akibatnya, terjadilah pertempuran 10 November. Singkat cerita, pertempuran ini merupakan perlawanan melawan kolonial Belanda yang menumpang tentara sekutu untuk kembali menguasai Indonesia. Entah atas nama harga diri atau memang negara ini terlalu kaya. Jelas tindakan mereka mengancam kredibilitas bangsa. Oleh karenanya, sekali lagi, pemudi-pemuda [dan rekan] berjuang mempertahankan kedaulatan. Intervensi ini berhasil membuat perbedaan pendapat mengenai status kemerdekaan Indonesia di kancah internasional, saya membaca di sebuah museum di Australia yang menyatakan Indonesia merdeka pada tahun 1949. Apapun, intervensi ini ‘menghasilkan’ perjuangan yang kemudian diperingati sebagai Hari Pahlawa nuntuk mengenang persatuan Rakyat Indonesia, setidaknya di Surabaya.

Dua puluh satu tahun setelahnya, 1966, terjadilah perlawanan terhadap otoriterisme. Sungguh disayangkan, terutama mengingat beliau termasuk tokoh pejuang kemerdekaan, pendiri dan bahkan berperan penting dalam memperkenalkan bangsa baru ini ke dunia. Saya kurang paham sebenarnya mengapa seorang pejuang yang membenci penjajahan berubah menjadi sosok yang berpotensi ‘menjajah’. Entah benar atau tidak, setidaknya begitulah yang dipersepsikan oleh pelajaran sejarah. Sungguh saya tidak mengerti alasan dibalik tindakan beliau ini, termasuk ‘kisah akhir’ kepemimpinannya yang kronologisnya tidak terlalu jelas.

Setelahnya, pembangunan terjadi secara simultan. Gedung-gedung pencakar langit nan megah hadir di kota-kota besar.Sayangnya, pembangunan ini terpusat dan tanpa sistem tata kota yang baik. Entah bagaimana, pemimpin bangsa ini terjerat hal serupa dengan pendahulunya. Penjajahan kembali muncul dalam tampilan baru. Eksistensi rakyat tidak lebih dari sekedar pion catur, tergantung pada perintah [yang merasa] grandmaster. Sejarah pun kembali terulang. Tokoh otoriter digulingkan oleh kekuatan rakyat setelah 32 tahun. Reformasi pun terjadi.

Hari ini, lebih dari 11 tahun setelah reformasi dimulai, keadaan tidak jauh berbeda. Ancaman baru pun muncul. Media massa tanpa henti memberitakan kisah epik antar institusi di negeri ini, yang semakin mendekati kisah drama. Tak sekedar disisipi kejutan dan ‘kejutan’, muncul pula panggung untuk atraksi hewan. Entah pihak mana yang harus tersinggung, sang manusia yang dianimalisasikan, atau sang hewan yang dipersonifikasikan secara negatif.

[getaran penuh duka]

Untuk ke-sekian kalinya, Indonesia menangis.

Setidaknya, 1,100 rakyat negeri ini meninggal dunia secara tragis. Belum lagi mereka yang masih tidak ditemukan, tertimbun di reruntuhan bangunan. Tidak terhitung berapa banyak kerugian yang dialami…

Dapat dibayangkan, betapa banyak yang berduka karenanya. Dengan adanya 1,100 yang meninggal dunia, setidaknya ada 2,200 orang tua yang berduka, 4,400 kakek-nenek yang berduka. Belum lagi kakak-beradik, sepupu, teman, rekan kerja, dan seterusnya. Angka tersebut sangat mungkin akan menjadi perhitungan tak berhingga.

‘Ancaman’ akan perasaan depresi pun terjadi pada para pekerja sosial yang langsung mendatangi tempat kejadian. Para pekerja ini tidak hanya dari dalam negeri, tapi juga dari luar negeri. Betapa mereka sangat rentan terhadap perasaan depresi dan tidak berdaya. Bila perhitungan tadi diteruskan, akan sampai pada sanak-saudara-rekan dari para pekerja sosial ini. Bagaimana mereka merasa cemas dan khawatir terhadap keberadaan mereka yang ingin membantu ini.

Hal yang sama juga terjadi pada para jurnalis dan reporter. Mereka datang dari berbagai tempat untuk meliput. Bagaimana, kadang, mereka harus melawan hati nurani mereka untuk tetap merekam demi kepentingan korporat dan bukannya langsung bergerak untuk membantu. Jelas, mereka juga rentan terhadap kegalauan yang dapat mengganggu kesehatan psikologis mereka.

Data yang dicantumkan pun praktis merupakan perkiraan saja. Angka 1,100 itu pun telah saya ketahui sejak dua hari lalu, dan hingga kini belum ada perubahan. Apakah itu artinya belum ada pendataan kembali? Yah tak mengapa, dapat dipahami karena memang lebih penting untuk melakukan tindakan penyelamatan. Walaupun menurut saya pendataan itu penting, karena tanpa ada pendataan, akan sangat membingungkan dalam usaha penyaluran bantuan baik tenaga seperti tenaga medis maupun materiil seperti makanan.

Angka yang disebutkan pun hanyalah mencakup korban di Padang, tidak termasuk banjir di Mandailing yang terjadi sebelumnya, atau gempa di Jambi yang terjadi sesudahnya. Terlepas dari rasa ingin tahu saya pribadi mengenai kenapa tidak ada berita yang memadai mengenai dua bencana ini, hal-hal ini menunjukkan betapa pedihnya duka bangsa ini …

Sayangnya, entah mengapa, di setiap bencana selalu ada kejadian yang menurut saya tidak pantas terjadi.

Saat ini, berdasarkan cerita dari saudara yang berada di Padang, penjarahan mulai terjadi. Memanfaatkan situasi yang praktis tidak terkendali, sistem hukum yang dapat dikatakan sedang lumpuh. Iya kalau memang yang dijarah itu adalah makanan dan minuman, bagaimana kalau itu komputer seperti yang dipertanyakan oleh seorang rekan di facebook? Entah seberapa jauh kejadian ini sudah terjadi. Memang, bisa saja hal ini sekedar gosip belaka, bisa saja hanya sekedar tiupan angin yang tidak berdasarkan fakta, atau tidak seheboh perkiraan misalnya hanya ada satu-dua orang yang melakukannya. Apapun itu, hal-hal seperti ini tentu menambah kekhawatiran. Masyarakat yang masih berada di daerah-daerah tersebut tidak hanya harus waspada terhadap gempa susulan yang mungkin terjadi, namun juga keamanan diri dan barang-barang yang mereka miliki [yang tentunya benar-benar semakin tidak seberapa itu]. Mereka tidak hanya berduka karena kehilangan sanak-saudara dan/atau rekan sejawat, tidak hanya bersedih karena kehilangan harta-benda, namun juga harus khawatir akan nasib mereka ke depannya. Tidak hanya khawatir terhadap apakah aka nada bantuan namun juga apakah mereka akan aman.

Perasaan tidak tentram ini pun tidak selesai disitu saja. Seorang pejabat MUI memberikan komentar, yang menurut saya, sungguh tidak tepat:

Namun,  musibah gempa itu juga bisa berarti peringatan karena banyaknya maksiat atau perilaku masyarakat yang bertentangan dengan ketentuan agama. Untuk itu, selain bersabar, warga Sumbar yang mengalami musibah gempa tersebut juga harus banyak memohon ampun kepada Allah SWT karena mungkin banyak melakukan kesalahan [Kompas, 01 Oktober 2009].

Terlepas dari apakah memang Tuhan menghukum manusia atau memberikan peringatan kepada manusia [karena saya hanyalah ciptaan-NYA], saya rasa adalah tidak bijak untuk menyalahkan bencana kepada para korban?!! Apakah penderitaan mereka tidak cukup?!! Apakah mereka harus lagi dibebani dengan penghakiman bahwa mereka telah berdosa berat??!!!