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Meeting and talking with people is like opening
a box of chocolates. Except that you don't know how fresh that box is, no
matter what the age of the people are. But sometimes, just the experience of
having a box of chocolates is more important than what happens afterwards. Such
is the experience of having hopes and dreams which is peddled to the women and
young girls in social situations which seem bleakly unchangeable. In rural
areas of Indonesia,
where there is almost nary an experience of hope, of making a change, then hope
doesn't exist. People who live in the rural areas, who farm for a living, are
mostly there not by choice. They would also have the least means and access to
change. Sadly, in a "grown-up" world, instead of being nurtured to
grow, some things die.
It is cruel to deny others a chance to hope for
a better life. But according to a recent public forum, these women and young
girls are not part of the Indonesian unemployment statistics. Under ugly
circumstances, a portion of society that was previously "invisible"
has become a source of contention between countries. It's ugly since it's bad
news that is popular, and peddled to us. It shows the worst side of humanity.
It's ugly because the aspirations and desperation of these women and young
girls were perverted and trampled on, sometimes literally, because of other
people's frailties or will to power.
Some of these women who rise above their
unnecessary trials - no longer "young" girls - are determined that
others not share the same fate. They crusade valiantly against a predatory
system. They prepare to be martyred before a tide which is both pulled and
pushed to dream of hope in a foreign land. It cannot be denied that financial
independence is important. In a way, they are a little more fortunate than
those from the Indochine countries, who tend to be lured and trapped into a
world of vice. However, entrapment also happens to the Indonesians women and
young girls, when they take on these promises of a better life working abroad.
What fuels these lures and traps? It's difficult
to see how our modern lifestyle creates such unnecessary evil. But we can all
see how necessary it is to get someone to help with cleaning the house, taking
care of the laundry, the meals, the cars, the pets, the kids – any little burden
that does not fit into "our lifestyle." But indeed, whose life is it
we are chasing after? Whose dream is it we're trying to chase - and whose
dreams are we trampling and burdening on?
One of the strangest misunderstandings of our
time might be over happiness. It's too closely associated with images of the
afterlife - yet has such an influence on our present lives. But on the other
hand, our present modern lifestyle is often described as being as far away from
the heavens as the poor are from the rich. Yet we only know of this one
lifestyle to achieve happiness, through our being alive and living in it. But
how truly happy are we if every day we have to be “blind to others” in order to
have peace of mind?
Someone said that there can be no peace without
justice. Unfortunately, if we only wait on institutions and regulations to give
out justice, I feel that we would already have missed out on the soul and
meaning of justice. What if we could democratize justice? It is not about being
vigilantes, but about being vigilant, being active, alive, and being real
towards people, in all situations and conditions. Yes, there are people who
want the best for their kids, and there are those able to do that. But is that
all there is in living in this world? Is that all that can be taught and handed
down to the next generation? What does it mean to be alive? Does someone else,
some thing else, always have to "die" in order that we live? Can we
become alive, overcome our daily "deaths," and get rid of our
addicted to the "dying" of others?
While we cannot be vigilantes and good citizens
at the same time, we can be good vigilant citizens. Let’s see what is happening
around us, and see how such injustices can be overcome; let’s dream a new and
just life. Dreams don’t need a lot of money, neither a forest nor a sea needs
to be damaged, but a good dream can move mountains, just through our bodies. In
our present modern lifestyle, there is never anything for nothing, yet dreams
might just prove ourselves wrong. So, come, let’s start sharing our good
dreams, and help the dreams of others grow instead of dying.
