Children

Beautiful children.
Precious children like yours and mine.

Will I ruin the mood if I remind you about theirs?

A song for Palestinian children, Look Into My Eyes by Outlandish.




Shine a light for every Soul that ain't with us no more...

Picture Of The Day : Our Waste Management

This picture's from the Independent. It said : A group of scavengers collect plastics for recycling at Jakarta's main garbage dump at Bantar Gebang district, Indonesia. A group can collect up to 2 tonnes of plastic a day and sell it for 2-5 million rupiah ($166-416).

Picture like this always make me sad.
Remember when the same Bantar Gebang killed some people in 2006?

Indonesian people are not used to waste management.
But we're getting there.

Intinya hanya kemauan, strong will. Seperti yang telah dilakukan oleh masyarakat Banjarsari, Cilandak, Jakarta Selatan. Mereka telah menerapkan 4R, "reducing, reusing, recycling and replanting", jauh sebelum warga perumahan mewah Bintaro akhir-akhir ini berlomba-lomba menerapkan green homes dan green environment.

Di rumah, kami sudah menerapkan pemilahan sampah selama 2 tahunan. Awalnya hanya karena ngga tega melihat pemulung memisahkan sampah plastik dan kertas yang bisa mereka jual dari tumpukan sampah basah.
Sekarang Damar dan Dimas pun sudah terbiasa membuang botol bekas susu mereka ke dus "botol susu".
Tadi pagi kami menjual koran-koran bekas dan menyerahkan mainan-mainan lama dan beberapa hasil menyortir tumpukan barang-barang di rumah ke bapak pemulung yang tiap hari lewat.
Sempet tarik-tarikan dulu sama Damar karena tiba-tiba dia ngga mau melepas mainan pesawat dan trolinya yang sudah rusak. Mungkin perasaanya saat itu sama dengan perasaanku waktu Dagadu favoritku ( Make Laugh Not War!) dari jaman kuliah dipensiunkan Dewo karena sudah berubah warna. Akhirnya air mata yang mengalir deras itu berhenti setelah tawar-menawar untuk membeli mainan baru kalo udah gajian.

Yang masih jadi PR, pengolahan sampah basah. Percobaan untuk bikin lubang biopori masih gagal. Ngga kuat muter alat pembuat lobang biopori... >,<
Apalagi sekarang mau pindah. Mungkin dilanjutkan di Balikpapan...

Tapi kemaren sempet berhasil mengolah sampah biji mangga dan rambutan. Caranya? Disebar di halaman! Dan tumbuh!!! Beberapa bibit pohon rambutan sudah dibagi-bagi ke tetangga. Ah, senangnya...^^

Before I'll stop writing, need to mention Earth Hour!
Or just visit http://www.earthhour.org/.

Hmmm,must start to think things to do with my children during that one hour, kalo mereka belum tidur.

A (Not So) Democratic Nation

Again, another example of Western's freedom of speech and democracy.

Canada banned peace activist from entering the country.

The outspoken anti-war MP George Galloway has been banned from entering Canada on the grounds of national security.

Mr Galloway was due to give a speech in Toronto next week but has been deemed "inadmissible" to Canada under section 34(1) of the country's immigration act.

Mr Galloway, an opponent of the war in Afghanistan where Canadian troops are deployed as part of international forces, said the ban was "not something I'm prepared to accept" and pledged to use all means at his disposal to challenge the ruling.

And George Galloway's response is Canada can't muzzle me.



Go Galloway!

And here's something about Viva Palestina. Also, some great and hillarious articles by Mark Steel (Thanks, Mr. Steel!).

Out of Topic, but I'm so happy to read new posts from two people this morning (2 am @ Jakarta)!!!!!

Beautiful new spring pictures from Climbing Walls and a new post from Tabula Gaza.

update:
from a canadian blog

A few fascinating points about this interview:

- It takes Weinstein less than 2 minutes to bring up Hitler, Nazis and the death of 6 million Jews, making a strong case for Godwin's Law.

- Weinstein's depiction of Hamas as fanatical, hell-bent on the destruction of Israel, etc etc, is grossly incorrect, given the fact that Hamas has publicly stated that it would recognize Israel along 1967 borders.

- Weistein's rationale for banning Galloway: Canada says Hamas is a terrorist organization, therefore Galloway giving aid to Hamas makes him a threat to national security. Canadian NGOs have given aid to Hamas- yet for some reason they aren't threats to national security. Hmmm... all this relies on the Canadian government's assessment of Hamas being accurate, which would also assume that our government is not staffed by ignorant dolts.

- Check out Weinstein depicting anti-war church groups as targets with "links to terror groups" and randomly imply that they are Iranian proxies! Funnily enough, the JDL has its own ties to terror, and Weinstein was a spokesperson for Kach in 1994, which is considered a terrorist organization by Canada.

Last but not least, some facts to sum things up:
George W. Bush, responsible for anywhere from 99,000 to a million Iraqi deaths:
Welcomed into Canada.

George Galloway, whose activist work aims to prevent war around the world:
Denied entry into Canada.

Well said, my unknown fellow Canadian.

Shame On You, Kompas!

Kompas today, A full page ads of Marlboro.


(Sorry bout the monkey, Dimas wouldn't let me move it when I took the picture)

Menteri Kesehatan India, Dr Anbumani Ramadoss merupakan tokoh yang melarang rokok diiklankan dan dipromosikan di media massa, media luar ruang, maupun jadi sponsor event olahraga dan pergelaran musik di India sejak Oktober tahun lalu.
Dan mulai 31 Mei 2009, ia bakal mewajibkan agar semua kemasan rokok memasang peringatan secara visual dengan gambar

Perhaps like these?


Selain sama sekali ngga enak dipandang juga pasti bikin harga rokok jadi lebih mahal.

Bagaimana dengan Pemerintah dan Menteri Kesehatan Indonesia??

1 Kite For Rachel, 14 Kites For Palestinians

A great post from tales to tell.

Our Rafah ISM colleagues (both of whom worked with Rachel) invited us south for a commemoration kite-flying today; 1 kite to comemorate ISMer Rachel Corrie who was killed by Israel on this day in 2003, and 14 kites to commemorate the over 1,400 Palestinians killed by Israel in Dec 08/Jan 09. They also invited local artists to paint a section of the Israeli wall near where Rachel was killed.

My comrade J writes…

“Today is the 6 year anniversary of the murder of my friend and comrade Rachel Corrie. I was with her when she was crushed to death by a US-made Caterpillar Israeli Military Bulldozer as she stood nonviolently protecting a Palestinian civilian home. There are memorial services happening all over the country, I will be presenting and performing at one in Kansas City and will also be doing a live radio broadcast at 10pm
Central time that you can listen to online at http://www.kkfi.org/”

He’s written a poem for Rachel today and I will finish with some words from it

…

…So many remember you, but forget the thousands of Palestinians
They remember you but have never heard of Tom, or James, or Nabila or Ali…

As I’ve traveled this land speaking of your last stand
Still clutching to your hand, extending out of the sand

I accept that I cannot pull you out
But we
Might keep the rest of us
From being pulled under…

A Girl vs Soldiers

I love korean drama. Such a girlish thing to do of course.
I've been thinking to learn korean languange but never had the time. Watching this video really brought me a new feeling for korean people. At least some of them look beyond the western's typical propaganda of Palestinian resistance.

This is wayyyy much much more worth to watch than any kdrama I've ever watched!!




And what a brave woman, I'm speechless...
I'll surely google her later. Hope she and her peace activist friends stay safe there.

I'm glad I'm using LG and not Nokia >,<

Thanks Young Activist, for posting this video.

update:

I'm back from my googling! Here's from Kim Petersen,Dissident Voice :

W (World Wide Weekly), a culture and current events program on MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation) in Korea, showed a video depicting the courage of an unarmed woman using her body to prevent Israeli soldiers from shooting at Palestinian children.

The Korean announcer states: “Sometimes Palestinians’s thirst for freedom leads to intense confrontation. Armed soldiers attack. The Palestinians defy them with stones and run away. They are the targets of Israeli soldiers. Rubber bullets with high killing power sometimes threaten lives. But then, a girl’s voice cries out, “Stop, stop, stop.”

This she shouts as she places her body in front of a soldier to prevent him from a getting a line of fire on the children.

She tries to reason with the soldier, asking him if he understands. “You are shooting at kids.” She offers the simple way for the soldiers out from the situation: “Just pull back.”

The Korean announcer comments, “One Palestinian woman blocks the muzzle of the gun. Her action surprises the soldiers. She resolves to stop the Israeli gunfire even with her unarmed body.”

“What are you shooting at? Why are you shooting at them?” the courageous woman asks as the soldier tries to position himself above her. She raises her arms.

In the background other soldiers begin shooting. The woman flinches at the sound of gunfire, but she holds her ground. World View News Service identifies the woman as Huwaida Arraf. Arraf is a Palestinian-American who co-founded the International Solidarity Movement in Jerusalem. Since she is a Palestinian-American activist, she probably knows of American solidarity activist Rachel Corrie and her fate, further boosting the valorous credentials of Arraf.

The Korean announcer says, “Despite her last ditch effort in throwing her body before the guns, even a slight peace is hard to come by. This is the cold reality of this land.”

Apart from ill-gotten booty, those who wield preponderant power are in a no-win situation. There is no gain from using violence on someone smaller or weaker. If clever, the powerful counterpart will withdraw, status still intact. To use violence on the weak and lose would make one a laughingstock. To use violence and beat the weaker counterpart would expose oneself, at best, to be a bully and a coward — and worse, a craven war criminal.

Thanks to Yang Hyesun for the translation from Korean. Thanks also to Ron Saba for the screen shot and steady flow of information on the terrible situation in Gaza.

Remembering Rachel Corrie (1979-March 16, 2003)

My thoughts go out to them :



Rachel Corrie, she's only a year older than me...





Tom Hurndall, a 21-year-old photography student, was shot six years ago in Rafah, Gaza.





James Miller, After he died, his colleagues finished the film, with an ending he had never envisioned: his own killing. Its title was “Death in Gaza,” and it won a host of awards, including three Emmys.





Fadel Shana'a, a 23 years old palestinian journalist.





Tristan Anderson, hope he'll recover...


and every Humanitarian workers, human rights activists and journalists in Palestine.

And whose gaze turned from one of trust to astonished alarm? The driver, who trusted that Rachel would leap away before it was too late? Or Rachel, who trusted that the driver would halt the vehicle one tread sooner?

Ever more relevant is “Season of the Camomile” by the late Palestinian poet Samir Rantisi, written in 1988, soon after the killing of an Israeli and a Palestinian near the village of Beita. An excerpt:

How many more ordinary mornings
will fill us with horror
and transform our day to another sky;
who chose us
to be the victim and the symbol
to be the beginning of the beginnings,
the moment of historical trial;
we, the two dreamers,
the routine, the ordinary,
who chose us
to be the heart of the conflict
and the crossroads of time
…

why didn't you find someone besides me to be a symbol?
why didn't they find someone besides you to be a victim?
why could they only find Beita in the spring.

pictures from :
(http://rememberpalestine.blogspot.com)
(http://electronicintifada.net)
(http://palsolidarity.org)

Just Get Out! (dan sedikit tentang katak dalam tempurung)

Manusia itu kadang seperti katak dalam tempurung, terutama kalo dia berada di lingkungan yang homogen. Apalagi kalo dia adalah bagian dari yang mayoritas.

Waktu SMA, aku pernah mendapati seorang adik kelas yang ngga bisa jadi ketua kelas walo dia mendapat vote terbanyak. Kenapa? Karena dia termasuk yang minoritas. Hal yang sama berlaku dengan posisi ketua OSIS atau ketua-ketua lainnya, kecuali ketua seksi olahraga atau seksi agamanya. Di SMA itu juga aku menghadiri pengajian yang menyatakan bahwa kami berdosa belajar di sekolah negeri "yang campur ikhwan dan akhwatnya". Juga bahwa shalatku tidak akan diterima karena aku tidak memakai jilbab.

Apa SMAku itu sekarang masih seperti itu ya...

11 tahun setelah lulus SMA, banyak hal yang membuka wawasanku walopun aku berkutat di rumah, anak-anak, arisan dan pengajian ibu-ibu :)
Thanks to my hubby, yang rela membayar koneksi Flash dan langganan indovision. Juga sedikit pengalaman selama 4 bulan di tempat lain yang mengubahku jadi minoritas, di Australia.

Terkadang kupikir yang menunjukkan diri kita sebenarnya adalah bagaimana cara kita memperlakukan orang-orang di "bawah" kita. Bukan, maksudku bukan level kita lebih tinggi atau gimana...tapi lebih ke arah orang-orang yang menjadi minoritas, yang kemampuan fisik, ekonomi atau sosialnya lebih rendah, bawahan kita di pekerjaan, dan anak-anak kita.
Apakah kita sering merendahkan atau memarahi mereka.
Bahasa apa yang kita gunakan ketika berinteraksi dengan mereka.
Apakah kita tersenyum dan memandang mata mereka ketika berbicara.
Apakah kita mau mencoba berempati dan menempatkan diri kita di tempat mereka.
Apakah kita memperlakukan mereka dengan adil, like we'd wanted to be treated.

Ketika keluar dari lingkungan 'mayoritas-homogen' kita, akan banyak terlihat hal baru. Bahwa dunia itu bukan hanya berputar di lingkungan kita. Bahwa banyak sudut pandang dan sisi dari hal-hal yang sudah kita take it for granted.

Dan ketika itu terjadi, sudah saatnya kita berhenti melihat judul dan sampul. Berhenti menilai dari nama dan titel. Dan mulai melihat isi, substansi dari semuanya. The lesson for me : Stop generalizing things. Stop stereotyping people. And Start Introspecting.

Keluar dari tempurung. Get out from the cave.

Just Get Out! kutemukan di situs Jews Sans Frontieres (JSF), Jews without borders. Penulisnya, Gabriel Ash, menulis ini tahun 2002 setelah pembantaian Jenin.

Call the army home. Call the occupation off. And get out of the Occupied Territories. Just get out!

Don't mumble about how "difficult" or "complex" the situation is. It isn't. You are the oppressor. You are the occupier. You park your tanks on plundered land. You fill your swimming pools with stolen water. You kill and destroy in order to inherit. So don't bullshit about "the situation." Just get out!

Stop abusing people. Stop abusing language. Stop spinning your own moral cocoon. Stop turning your country and your people into a metaphor of evil. Just get out!

Don't wait for Bush. Don't wait for Arafat. Don't wait to negotiate with the mythical Palestinian leader who will finally accept your dominion. There is nothing to negotiate about. Just get out!

Take your rabid Jewish fundamentalists from Kiriat Arba and Beit El with you. Load them on buses and pump the gas pedal until the hills of the West Bank vanish in the rear mirror. Just get out!

Gather your thugs from the borderless "border police," give them scholarships and send them to school again. Let them discover there is more to life than beating people to a pulp. Just get out!

Take your checkpoints, with all their petty humiliations and deadly snipers, with you. And just get out!

Send the Shin-Bet packing. After 35 years, the world had enough of your clever jailers and torturers. Take them with you and just get out!

Let your hideous bulldozers loose on the illegal settlements of Ma'ale Edomim, Har Homa and Gilo. There is plenty of demolition work for them there. Let them continue until the mountain line bears no more memory of your rape. Then just get out!

Don't apologize. Don't justify. Don't explain. There is nothing left to explain. Honestly. Just get out!

Don't even worry about the thousands of olive trees, symbols of peace, you uprooted. Someone will plant them again.

Just get out!

Photo Of The Day

From sabbah blog

No Parents Zone

Sebagai full time mom, atau housewife, atau Ibu Rumah Tangga (you name it...), salah satu kerjaan sehari-hari adalah antar jemput sekolah. Damar sekarang sekolah di PlayGroup dekat rumah. Dan karena malas bolak-balik biasanya aku akan menunggu di luar pagar sekolah dengan berbekal bacaan atau sekadar mp3 player. Lebih sering sendirian. Tapi jika ibu-ibu yang lain ada yang nunggu juga biasanya pojok di bawah pohon mangga tempat para penunggu akan ramai. Seperti hari ini. Obrolannya berkisar dari politik, buku, fikih seksual (ah...^^), dan bagaimana cara menyita hp anak SMP kelas 2 yang mulai ada video pornonya >,<
Yang terakhir adalah dilema dari temanku yang anak tertuanya sudah remaja. Hmmm...dipikir-pikir, sebenarnya masalah Dimas mogok mandi atau Damar ngga mau makan tempe belum ada apa-apanya ya...

Anyway, sharing dan guyon emak-emak begini lumayan memberi pencerahan. Apalagi karena sehari-hari yang dihadapin adalah dapur, kompor, wortel, pampers, ompol dan anak umur 2 dan 4 taun yang sering terlalu sibuk menyusun balok kayu atau lego sehingga ngga denger mamahnya ngajak ngomong. Ah, my precious dynamic duo ^^

Hari ini ketika bermain di halaman sekolah Damar dipukuli oleh seorang temannya sementara guru-guru tidak melihat. Damar hanya nangis. Dia salah satu dari sekian anak yang ngga pernah memukul. Reaksi pertamaku adalah lari masuk ke dalam halaman, memegangi tangan anak itu dan bilang "Tidak boleh mukul!" Lalu aku peluk Damar dan bilang "Jangan diam saja kalo Damar dipukul ya". Akhirnya kuserahkan pada gurunya dan kulihat Damar dan anak yang memukulnya tadi bersalaman.

To be honest, I was angry. Aku emosi sama anak 3,5 taun. Malu-maluin...
Jadi my lesson today, stay out from No Parents Zone. Minta gurunya lebih mengawasi anak-anak dan keluar saja. Kita tidak akan bisa mengawasi anak kita 24 jam seumur hidupnya. Berikan bekal buat mereka mandiri dan berani membela diri sendiri. Teach them compassion and common sense. Bagaimanapun juga itu tugas kita sebagai orangtua. It's another never ending journey.

Anti Korupsi Versi Dewo

Long weekend...di rumah saja.
Nanti sore mau ngajak anak-anak berenang ^^

Ada pengalaman Dewo yang menarik. Kejadiannya malam Sabtu kemaren di jalan tol menuju kota. Karena terdorong ke bahu jalan oleh truk Dewo disuruh menepi oleh polisi. Dan sempat ngotot-ngototan sama pak polisi selama 30 menit.

Kira-kira seperti ini.
Pak Pol : Bapak saya tilang ya, silahkan ke pengadilan tanggal 20 Maret.
Dewo : Wah Pak, saya terima ditilang tapi tanggal segitu saya sudah di Kalimantan.
Gimana kalo saya bayar di ATM saja?
Pak Pol : Udah ngga bisa Mas Dewo, sekarang semua harus ke pengadilan.
Dewo : Kalo gitu sidang sebelum tanggal 20 saja, pak.
Pak Pol : Wah, ngga bisa
Dewo : Kalo gitu saya nitip bapak saja, saya minta tanda terimanya.
Pak Pol : Wah, ngga bisa pak. Udah deh, saya bantu saja.
Dewo : Ha? Bantu bagaimana Pak? Lha, saya mau bayar tilang kok.

Akhirnya setelah bolak-balik seperti itu setengah jam di tengah kemacetan jalan tol, temannya yang dari tadi duduk di dalam mobil polisi keluar dan bisik-bisik sama polisi satunya.
Endingnya? "Udah Pak, pergi saja deh!"

Lho?
Jadi sebenarnya gimana sih, Pak Polisi?
Garuk-garuk kepala...

Adakah yang bisa ngasih info terbaru tentang pertilangan?

Anyway, I'm so proud of my husband ^^
Say no to corruption, start from tiny little things.

Back On Track

I haven't wrote for...what? 2 weeks?
Hmm, a lot of things and thoughts. Didn't have enough time for all of them.
Plus, Damar and Dimas need my time more and more everyday. Dimas will sit in front of me or climb my back everytime i turn on my computer ^^

Also, it is that easy to forget, like i've wrote before. And it's easy not to write. It's easy just to live our everyday life without being haunted by depressing thought, or affected by hatred you can find everywhere on the net.

I visited hummusmonster's blog today. He wrote "A person could have never completed that journey."

I guess he's right.

Well, I read this letter in The Jakarta Post

The fragile ceasefire in Gaza has been broken by both sides. The Israeli actions are understandable, even if one does not support them: They are designed to stop ongoing rocket fire upon its civilians.

The continued Palestinian rocket fire cannot be so easily sympathized with. There is no element of defence in the Palestinian rocket fire.

The aims of the Palestinian rockets are to kill and maim, and to entice Israel to react. If anyone is interested in creating peace, the key is, as it always has been, stopping Palestinian violence.

Michelle Moshelian
Givatayim, Israel

Having reading a lot of, I mean A LOT OF, articles and comments about Israel-Palestine, I think this letter is the worst of their kind.
This is my comment (still waiting for moderation at the time i write this post):

Another bad justification and Hasbara failure for Zionist's occupation and crimes againsts humanity. Israel must stop building illegal settlements, stop demolishing homes and farms, stop the land grabbing (as described by UN, EU, ICJ and NGO's like Btselem, Amnesty International etc), stop humiliating people using check points and stop Israeli violence.
Just because I'm Indonesian doesn't mean I don't read Haaretz or Btselem. Check your facts again!

I'm back on my track on this journey again.

On my daily basis, my children are my best distraction.
This is Damar with his classmates and teachers.





We are so blessed...
I wish every child in the world can live a happy and peaceful life...