http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20070903.H01&irec=0
Play staged to challenge rising bigotry The Jakarta Post, Jakarta A kindergarten girl refused to eat meals provided by her mother as she was of a different faith from her. "I was told by my teachers at school that we are not allowed to eat food prepared by people of different religions," the little girl said. In this way, her shocked mother found out that even though the family had sent the child to the best school they could afford, it was not enough to shield her from lessons in discrimination from her teachers. Inspired by a true event, this story formed a scene in a play performed by a number of artists to commemorate Motherland Day at the National Monument square Saturday. The play was presented to remind people that discrimination still affects the daily lives of many Indonesians, and that it takes various forms. Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono initiated Motherland Day on Sept. 1, 2005. It is aimed at developing a spirit of unity and integrity among Indonesians, which many say is being undermined by religious fanaticism. After the play, a number of artists -- mostly Indonesians of Chinese descent -- shared their experiences of discrimination. "I was once took part in a singing contest and when I got up on the stage, some people in the audience interrupted and started shouting 'foreigner'," Hendra, a member of the XDragon Evolution music group, recalled. But well-known singer, Bob Tutupoli, shared a different experience, saying that he had been married to a Muslim woman for 30 peaceful and happy years, while he himself remained a Christian. "We never thought of our differences as an obstacle to our marriage. I love her for who she is no matter what faith she holds," he explained. Another well-known artist, Titik Puspa, shared her experience when having a chat with a prostitute who wished to get out of the business. "I asked her to pray with me even though she is a Christian and I am a Muslim. We prayed according to our own faiths," she said. Titik said that about a month later, she met the girl, who had already quit prostitution and got married. "That is the proof that no matter what our faith is, God will listen, because He is the only one. So why we should distinguish between people who are different from us," she said. "It does not matter whether you have yellow skin, black skin, straight noses or flat noses, we are all Indonesians." Separately, prominent spiritualist Anand Khrisna said that disintegration was still one of major problems facing Indonesia. He quoted a study from the U.S., which he said referred to the possibility of Indonesia splitting up into five different countries in 10 years time. Anand, who is of Indian descend, warned that the Indonesian people must be aware about this danger. "The foreigners are waiting for us to become divided so that they can exploit us," he was quoted as saying by detik.com news portal. "If we continue to ignore this kind of threat, Indonesia will become nothing more than a name." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
