Kayaknya Mbak Julia terlalu menggebu-gebu dalam menanggapi si Warwick yang ketiban rejeki gede dapat status warga negara Indonesia. Tanpa mengecilkan jasanya Warwick membangun lingkungannya dengan memberikan/membuka lowongan kerja dalam perusahaannya bagi penduduk sekelilingnya ,aku kira bagi Warwick akan beda statusnya misale seorang Tionghoa di Indonesia. Bagi Warwick pabila ada ribut2 kayak Mei 98 itu dengan mudahnya dia bisa tinggal landas dan bila perlu ngak perlu balik ke Indonesia lagi. Pemerintah Ostrali dengan tangan terbuka akn menerima dia kembali jadi warga-nya. Dan aku kira putusan Warwick untuk ambil wni ya kayaknya dipengaruhi oleh desakan finansiil dan ekonomi. Kalau wni itu kan benang merah tidak begitu semrawut apabila mau diri-in perusahaan misal-e saja. Kalau wna bisa di bayangin lah betapa susahnya, belum lagi ongkos2 yang tidak terduga...wah gede-nya bukan main! Bagi mbak Julia, with due respect ya Mbak Julia akan dengan mudah tinggal landas apabila ada goncangan2 baru di Indonesia, apalagi kalau mbak Julia punya misua seorang Ostrali, apalagi kalau mbak Julia udah punya keluarga(anak). Tentunya ya anak2 perlu di-ungsi-kan duluan... for their safety, ini normal bukan? Belum ,amit2 saja apabila sampai anak pinaknya kena musibah geger2 kerusuhan yang sudah beberapa kali terjadi, tentunya tinggal landas adalah hal yang patut dipikirkan sebagai opsi yang terachir. Tanpa embel2 ngak /atau kurang nasionalis kah atau tidak cinta sama tanah air dll dll.Ini adalah sifat manusiawi, cari keselamatan, terutama bagi anak2nya. Dan juga buat mabk Julia, aku anjurin ya ngak perlu tanggalkan wni-nya karena status nya mbak itu menikah dengan seorang Aussie sudah nge-jamin hak2nya sama dengan wn Aussie, cuman mereka yang cuman PR saja tidak diperkenankan ikut Pemilu. Itu saja beda-nya jadi ...what the heck...apakah wni atau wn Aussie ya haknya sama minus tidak boleh ikut Pemilu buat para PR. Harry Adinegara For better or worse: Becoming Indonesian Julia Suryakusuma, Bantul, Yogyakarta I spent last weekend at the lovely bungalow compound of my friend Warwick Purser in Tembi village, 30 minutes outside Yogyakarta. Not long after we sat down to chat, he turned to me with a big smile and said, "I'm going to be one of you lot next week." "What do you mean?" I asked. With an even bigger smile he replied, "I'm finally getting my Indonesian citizenship." I felt disbelief, incredulity, amazement. Why would someone from an advanced, prosperous country like Australia give up the privileges and comforts of his land of birth to become Indonesian? Why become the citizen of a nation so many are trying to escape, beleaguered as it is by a spate of natural and unnatural disasters, to say nothing of terrorism, exploitative identity politics, the chaos of decentralization, and old problems from the Soeharto past like corruption and human rights abuses? Why plunge into the mess that is Reformasi, where so many problems are rolled up into one messy tangle? Warwick simply replied that after spending 25 years in the country, it just seemed like the natural thing to do. "I must follow my heart," he said, "knowing there will be a price to be paid." "But surely, that's what commitment is about," he added. And love and passion too, I would say. As I listened to him, my eyes became moist and I had to wipe away a sudden trickle of tears. "Why are you crying?" Warwick asked me. "I'm so moved!" I blurted. You see, I've had an intense love-hate relationship with Indonesia all my life, but giving up my nationality is not something I would ever consider -- even after marrying Tim, an Australian. Yes, I was born into an Indonesian family, but being Indonesian for me is a choice, a conscious decision. An internationalist like myself could live anywhere, but I feel it would be a betrayal of my "destiny" if I changed citizenship and could no longer be part of this wonderful country that I love so deeply, for all its flaws and disappointments. So Warwick's decision reflected my own commitment to Indonesia. And it made me think of what commitment should mean, and of Kennedy's words, "ask not what you country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country." Warwick has done more for his country-to-be in his 25 years here than most Indonesians in their lifetimes. His outstanding contribution has been his role in developing Indonesia's handicraft industry. Now much-copied throughout Indonesia, the stylistic innovations and marketing savvy he introduced 12 years ago completely changed the face of the Indonesian handicraft industry, bringing the country's crafts into new markets, in volumes hitherto unknown. Today his company, Out of Asia, produces a range of 28,000 products carried in elite stores and mass-market chains alike in the U.S. and Europe, including Macy's, Harrods, Habitat, Target and Marks & Spencers. Yes, Warwick has done well for himself, but at the same time he has created employment opportunities for tens of thousands of the country's craftspeople, not just in Tembi, but throughout Java, Bali, Lombok and Aceh. Almost single-handedly, he transformed his home base in Tembi from a sleepy rural center with no employment into a bustling, fully employed community, with new roads, restored houses and educational programs for its children. This attracted world attention, including a profile in TIME, and our government chose Tembi as an example of model rural community development. For similar reasons, Australia also selected Warwick last year as a top national achiever, from among one million Australian expatriates. So how did Australia feel about Warwick officially going native? When learning that he intended to become an Indonesian citizen, Australian ambassador Bill Farmer said, "We are happy to share this national treasure, in fact we'll hold a congratulatory party in his honor." And what do we Indonesians feel about Warwick becoming Indonesian? Pleased and grateful, for sure, but also ashamed that we don't do more. He is truly a mirror for us who take being Indonesian for granted because it's something we were born with. For him it has been a process, a love affair which grew, marked by achievements and happiness but also difficulties and disaster. Most recently it was the Yogyakarta earthquake, which destroyed half of Warwick's compound and most of his possessions, badly damaging everything still standing. Many would have seen this as a sign to return to a comfortable life in Australia, but instead the quake strengthened his commitment to Tembi. He poured money into reconstructing the village, and pulled in Richard McHowat, CEO of HSBC, and other donors to do the same (see my column in The Jakarta Post on Sept. 13, 2006). Warwick Purser isn't the only foreigner to commit to Indonesia and became a citizen. Ktut Tantri, Molly Bondan, and Franz Magnis Suseno came before him, as did H.J.C. Princen, a soldier of the Dutch colonial army, who fought against the Indonesian "rebels" during the revolution -- until he joined the enemy. Princen stayed in independent Indonesia to become one of its foremost activists, always struggling to defend the oppressed. The context of Princen's fight was the struggle for independence. The context now is the struggle against poverty, ignorance, and the loss of cultural identity and spiritual meaning. Warwick puts himself squarely in the center of the arena. Where do we put ourselves? This week, in a simple provincial courtroom ceremony in Bantul, Warwick Purser, perhaps Indonesia's highest-profile expatriate, officially becomes Indonesian. We embrace you, Pak Warwick, you who have been more present and caring in your foreignness, than many of us in all our inherited "Indonesianness". The writer is the author of Sex, Power and Nation. She can be contacted at [EMAIL PROTECTED] and [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20070314.F05&irec=4 Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
