Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Yang telah Selesai

Tiga hari penuh berita bertaburan tentang perginya seorang tokoh besar. Entah dia sebagai pahlawan besar, atau sebagai penjahat besar, itu soal lain. Hidupnya bak dua mata pisau yang agaknya sama tajamnya. Jadi, kalau banyak orang bertengkar soal itu, tak mengherankan.

Yang jelas, tahu-tahu saja jadi ingat sebuah puisi yang dimusikalisasi oleh penyair sekaligus musisi, Abdul Gafar Abdullah alias Ebiet G. Ade. Kalau tak salah tahun 1982 dalam album "Langkah Berikutnya" (jadul banget bukan gue?). Sepertinya cocok. Kebetulan pula lagunya ada di Samsung MP3 player saya. Ya sudah, sambil berdiri terselip di antara penumpang KRL Eksekutif, puisi ini saya dengarkan. Mau ikut menikmati. Monggo....

Yang telah Selesai

Jangankan untuk berpikir
sedang mendengar pun enggan
Jeritan pilu lewat bagai angin
Jantungnya telah membeku

Lupa segala-galanya
tak merah tak juga jingga
Rintihan kelu tak ubah nyanyian
Ibanya telah membatu

Semakin hari semakin tak peduli
semua harapan tlah pupus
Matanya kosong
Sinarnya binasa
Bibirnya rapat
terkunci

Dia bukan milik kita lagi
terselubung dalam sepi
Masa lalunya begitu gelap
Benturan demi benturan
begitu berat menekan

Jangankan untuk menyapa
sedang menoleh pun enggan
Lampu jalanan pun perlahan padam
dia hanya pantas dikenang

Sekali waktu terbangun
Nafasnya tersendat-sendat
sumpah serapah yang ia gumamkan
"Dia hanya pantas dikenang..."

Monday, January 28, 2008

Local language in 9PM

A call came from Deddy Ardiansyah, reporter of 9PM Magazine, couple weeks ago. He found one of my weblog, http://www.kamus-medan.blogspot.com. This is a blog where I collect and put every word and phrase of bahasa Medan or Medan language. I told him that my blog has been dormant for almost a year. Not because I didn’t get any entry, but more because, uh, you know… too lazy to do that. But he said, it is the only weblog that has the most entries he ever found and listed together in alphabetical order.

The 9PM is a new free magazine published in city of Medan, North Sumatra. It’s a city lifestyle magazine which managed by a group of energetic young men. They released the first edition last December, covered the raise of creative industries in some big cities in Indonesia including Medan. And for the second edition, the local language had been picked up as their headline.

The language itself is slightly different from Melayu (Malay) --known as lingua franca in archipelago which eventually evolve become Indonesia language. It seems that the language was the result from mixing use of Melayu with other languages such as Javanese, Chinese, Malay, and Batak. It’s interesting to know that Medan people always keep their language style even they live far way from Medan now. Many say that using Medan language provides them strong identity because it’s a unique style which clearly represents their Sumatra culture. Using categories used by Edward T. Hall (1973), we could place Medan culture (includes its language) as a low context culture: verbal, explicit, to the point. In this culture, people say what they mean and mean what they say.

So, Deddy promises me to send a copy of the newest edition of 9PM. The package hasn’t arrived yet, but at least you can see the cover (see left). Cool….

Monday, January 21, 2008

50 People who could save the Planet

It’s been long time for me not updating this blog. No excuse. My head of delegate, Bob, left a message in my latest posting, said that there are two possibilities about why I couldn’t write anything: first because I work too hard (do I?), and second because I’m too lazy (I’m exactly at this position ☺).

OK. But let me tell you good news. My sister sent me short message, told that her husband –my brother in law- Henry Saragih just named last 5 January by the Guardian, a London-based prominent daily, as one of 50 people who could save the planet. It’s really a new year surprise for us and we are very proud of him, of course.

The Guardian comes up with a list of 50 people who they think the most able to prevent the continuing destruction of the planet. The newspaper invited an expert panel to select hundred names into a short list through a global environment debate. Some experts included Bob Watson, the former World Bank chief scientist and now is a British government's scientific adviser on climate change; Indian physicist and ecologist Vandana Shiva; Kenyan biologist and Nobel prize-winner Wangari Maathai; activists - Guardian columnist George Monbiot and head of Greenpeace International Gerd Leipold; politicians - Green party co-leader and MEP Caroline Lucas, and London mayor Ken Livingstone; sustainable development commissioner for the UK government Jonathon Porritt and novelist Philip Pullman.

Along with him as 50 people who could save the planet are several widely known person such as German chancellor Angela Merkel, US politician and environmentalist Al Gore, movie star Leonardo di Caprio, and statistician Bjorn Lomborg (who write “the Sceptical Environmentalist”).

The Guardian profiled Henry as described below:

“Henry Saragih is a small farmer who has hardly seen his wife and children in 15 years since taking on the Indonesian government and the palm oil barons of Sumatra and Kalimantan. Companies with links to government are devastating vast areas of Indonesia and southeast Asia to grow palm oil to supply Europe's cars and kitchens with biofuel and cooking oils, and Saragih is one of the few people standing in their path. Not only does he lead a union of several million agitated Indonesian peasants, but he also heads Via Campesina, the global movement of increasingly militant peasant farmers which campaigns for land reform in 80 countries. Saragih and his colleagues are lobbying the UN and the World Trade Organisation.
How this struggle plays out in the next 20 years will determine whether there is any rainforest left intact south-east Asia in 50 years' time, and possibly the political future of many developing countries”.

Pic.(left): with President Hugo Chavez, in a peasant rally in Venezuela

For me, this announcement is another recognition on Henry's and his colleagues’ effort to help small peasants in Indonesia
and many developing countries. I know that he has been devoting his self to peasant’s welfare issues since he was at college at University of North Sumatra (before he met my sister). Fourteen years ago, he brought me for the first time to Bangunpurba, a little town in southeastern of Medan, North Sumatra. He was born and grew up there, among rubber trees plantation area. During our visit, he expressed his vision on how to defend small farmers’ right, agricultural reform, and how to make farmers’ life better in the future. He admitted that that is an unpopular vision among his generation who prefer chasing their professional career in big cities instead thinking of peasant’s welfare.

As secretary general of La Via Campesina, he must have travel a lot. His daughter and boy criticized him about this. But then, after years, they both finally understand why their father chooses to spend a lot time with other people, not with them. I’m happy that my brother in law now can achieve exactly what he dreams about: working closely with farmers, building stronger network among peasant unions in the world. Last year, Global Justice –an NGO network- gave him award for his role in agricultural reform.

For complete news, you can visit this link: