“My son, Wawan, was one of them. He was in a rally along with thousands of students in Jakarta. They asked for special session of parliament to prepare new election, after the fall of President Soeharto, the fall of dictatorship.”
“Wawan was so cute and funny. When we were angry, he suddenly made something that was so funny. When he was around, we were all happy. His smile... and he grew up...but...he was shot. And he passed away in that tragedy.”
“Wawan, my son, was one of several students who were shot. Troops, on the Semanggi bridge, pointed guns to the students, shot them and then moved back, after that, they happily danced and sang. My son was shot when I was at my office. As a civil servant, I was asked to collect funds and food for the soldiers. But, ironically, the soldiers themselves shot my son.”
“At the hospital, I touched his head and the whole body. I finally realized that there was a hole on Wawan's chest. I said “ Wawan, you’re shot,” But he had passed away, I covered him, prayed, and took him home.”
“Having the same spirit to seek justice, relatives of the victims then established an organization called "Swabella". I led the organization along with Suciwati, Munir's wife. Afterwards, we named the organization "Victims’ Solidarity for Justice". We decided to protest every Thursday, bringing black umbrellas. It is a silent protest. Silent does not always mean without voices. Our voices are written on the black umbrellas. The protests will always be held in front of the president's palace. The palace is a symbol of power and authority. We keep on asking for justice. So that there will be no more human rights violation in the future.”
Pulo Gadung bus station is experiencing a problem. There is a shortage of buses in the station.
The travelers are waiting for the buses in vain, while those who already got their ticket bumped each other for seats. I talked to Satingah who was desperately waiting for bus. Satingah told me she had no ticket. She used to get ticket and buses easily. Satingah planned to wait for the buses. She came to the station with her family.
Satingah is one of hundreds of passenger who could not leave Jakarta because of the shortage of buses. Most of the buses were outside Jakarta, used to facilitate great exodus several days earlier. I asked Pardjiman, the station authority. He denied the shortage of buses.
“Last night, there were more than 13 thousands passengers carried by 344 buses. But today, the number of passenger is still increasing. Therefore we provide extra buses.No worries, we provide the extra buses for every destination,” Pardjiman said.
This is Lilik Dwi Mardjianto reporting from Jakarta only for ACFJ News.
(Short form for Multimedia Journalism, posted by Lilik Dwi Mardjianto)
Quiapo is a simple trade area in the heart of Manila, Philippines. Various kinds of goods can be found easily. The location is so easy to reach that it becomes magnet for the travelers. Quiapo is representation of both civilization and irony.
Noble tradition of Quiapo is represented by the presence of Basilika Ng Nazareno. The church is the depiction of old and noble catholic civilization of the country.
There has been a cultural transfer in Quiapo between the years 1767 to 1790. A statue of Jesus shouldering the cross, called the “Black Nazarene” was brought to the church. The statue is the heart of devoted catholic in the area.
Ironic. Just ten meters away from the church, there are fortune tellers. Noble catholic civilization is directly confronted with irrational practices. That’s Quiapo; an area that has been running for at least 400 years.
Now, the small city of Manila was preoccupied with the various demands of urban communities, with irony here and there
I believe objectivity is the heart of journalism. A journalist is forbidden to include his or her opinion in the stories. A story should be the voice of people and really a depiction of reality. But unfortunately, journalism is hard to be that objective.
Journalists may treat a topic differently. A journalist may choose this angle and sources because he or she thinks it is the most interesting. But another journalist may choose that angle and sources, because of the same reason.
Each journalist has his or her own consideration of choosing angles and sources. Some are objective. They report stories just the way they are. Some other ignore their own intentions and wholeheartedly serve public goodness. While the rest put everything aside but his or her intentions. These last kinds of journalists tend to be subjective.
Subjective point of views will result in subjective products. In this case, subjective stories are derived from journalists’ subjective considerations. Thus, it is understandable that journalism may be subjective or not objective.
Homosexuality can be a good example to elaborate idea of objectivity in journalism. As known, certain religions only recognize men and women. It seems that there is no place for gay. The condition is quite confusing for a journalist with, for example, moderate or permissive point of view. The journalist will criticize religious teaching that restricts homosexuality and undermine the idea of equality. He or she may choose angle and sources that satisfy his or her intentions.
Abortion will also be a good example. Most of religions in Indonesia forbid the practice of abortion. The teachings of the religions state that abortion violates the rights to live. But, some people, including journalists, oppose the idea. They use scientific and medical consideration to strengthen the argumentation.
Indonesian media discuss abortion using religious frame more than homosexuality. But, both leave debates. In my opinion, the main duty of journalists is reporting facts. Nevertheless, they should not ignore moral and ethical values for public good. It means that journalists’ idealism and critical thinking will be the means of censorship. Please note that censorship does not mean hiding truth that people deserve. Censorship means selecting the best information for the sake of truth and public good. Let us say most of religions forbid homosexuality. A free-minded journalist may criticized the teaching. They may quote religious leader who refer to certain religious teaching that elaborates that each person is born in a good condition. It drives an opinion that each person, including gay, is unique and valuable. By using this way of thinking, a journalist announces an idea that is good for everyone. This is the role of journalism in educating public using a peaceful way.
A journalist may agree or disagree with abortion, homosexuality, or other topics. He or she may put his or her personal point of view into the story through the choice of angles and sources. But the journalist should be sure that the idea is good for public and well supported by arguments. That is why I said earlier that it is hard to be objective in writing stories.
(submitted to Reporting on Religion class-Ateneo de Manila University)
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines imperialist as a person or country that supports or believes in imperialism. While imperialism is the policy of extending a country’s power and influence in the world through political relations or military force. Here we see that the “media emperor” Rupert Murdoch’s actions resemble the idea of imperialism. The only difference is that Murdoch’s main intention is extending his business and profit.
One of the key words in the idea of imperialism is political relations. And Murdoch, in order to extend its business, tends to make use of the political relations both locally and globally. Locally speaking, Murdoch used his media institutions to satisfy certain political figures in order to gain profit. At local level, this Australian guy also explicitly states and donates his wealth for political activities.
Murdoch is certainly known as global media master. McChesney said Murdoch has satellite TV services that run from Asia to Europe to Latin America and owns Star TV dominates in Asia with thirty channels in seven languages. At his global achievement, Murdoch also deals with political relations. His willingness to be an American, to marry a Chinese girl, and to cope with Chinese political system, is the representation of the idea of imperialism within Murdoch, in order to gain his objectives.
McChesney states that imperialism no longer exist because of massive rejections, especially from third world countries and those who consider westerners as the agent of imperialism. Murdoch’s information-imperialism also faces this kind of obstacle. At local level, for example, Murdoch was often opposed by his employees who refused Murdoch’s personal and political intervention in news coverage. While in global area, Murdoch is sometime rejected by some political forces, as he finally got into conflict with Chinese authority, despite his success in winning his business back.
Story of Rupert Murdoch is the representation of one of several dimensions of global cultural flow, namely mediascape. As Appadurai stated, mediascapes refer to the distribution of the electronic capabilities to produce and disseminate information (newspapers, magazines, television stations, film production studios, etc.), which are now available to a growing number of private and public interests throughout the world. Murdoch is undoubtedly a transnational entrepreneur since his TV stations, newspapers, reporters, and film production studios, reaches every corner of the world. By using all of these advantages, Murdoch may be the one who create global culture.
Globalization of culture involves the use of instruments of homogenization, such as advertising techniques, language hegemonies, and clothing styles. Here we may say that Murdoch successfully apply the idea of mediascape in promoting the global culture. His media empire will be the most effective means in delivering certain ideas or way of life. At certain level, the network will be useful in conveying advertisements or any kind of propaganda.
Murdoch’s media networks obviously gain its success in “changing” certain countries’ way of thinking and life. Indonesians are now familiar with American way of life after Murdoch extended his Star TV coverage by buying one of Indonesian biggest TV stations. American advertisements and propaganda can easily be found in living rooms or even in the most private place, such as bedrooms. And I believe this also happens in other countries. Thus we may agree with Appadurai’s opinion saying that mediascape plays an important role in creating global culture because it draws the images of the world. ***
Tak terhitung berapa kali orang harus memiringkan tubuh ketika melintas sepajang jalan di Quiapo.
Jika tidak rajin memiringkan tubuh ketika berjalan, jangan kaget jika bahu kita terantuk kayu salib, atau bahkan tersangkut pakaian dalam pria dan wanita. Ruas jalan dengan lebar sekira enam meter itu penuh sesak dengan ratusan orang yang sedang melakukan aktivitas jual beli.
Quiapo adalah sebuah kawasan niaga rakyat jelata di jantung kota Manila, Filipina. Berbagai jenis barang dengan harga "miring" bisa didapatkan di lokasi ini, mulai dari buah-buahan sampai bahan bangunan, dari cindeamata hingga obat tradisional yang tidak terdaftar di departemen kesehatan setempat.
Bahkan, di Quiapo, barang dagangan bernuansa rohani lazim bersanding dengan pakaian dalam yang juga diperjualbelikan.
Kawasan bisnis kelas "teri" ini berada di pusat denyut nadi kehidupan kota. Justru karena statusnya yang hanya kelas "teri" dan harga yang serba "miring" itu, Quiapo menjadi magnet tersendiri bagi para pelancong.
Lokasinya yang mudah dijangkau dengan berbagai moda transportasi juga merupakan daya tarik yang tak terelakkan.
Keunikan Quiapo tidak hanya sampai di situ. Kawasan padat penduduk itu menyimpan mutiara dalam bentuk peradaban dan sejarah sosial adiluhung. Namun pada saat yang sama, Quiapo meradang akibat ironi yang tak berkesudahan.
Adiluhung
Salah satu daya tarik Quiapo adalah sebuah gereja. Tepat di ujung jalan yang dipadati aneka barang dagangan tadi, berdiri tegak sebuah bangunaan gereja klasik kombinasi peradaban Eropa dan Amerika. Gerbang utamannya tertera tulisan yang jelas terbaca "Basilika Ng Nazareno".
Basilika dengan menara menjulang tinggi itu dilengkapi dengan patung Yesus Kristus dengan tubuh hitam legam dan sedang memanggul salib. Warga setampat menyebutnya "Black Nazarene".
Setiap hari, warga berdatangan untuk menikmati lekuk setiap dinding basilika yang terpahat dengan detail. Beberapa dari mereka meluangkan waktu dengan keluarga untuk bercengkerama di lapangan yang terhampar di halaman depan basilika. Dan tentu saja, pengunjung lainnya meluangkan waktu untuk menyentuh "Black Nazarene", sambil mengharap berkah.
Keberadaan patung Yesus hitam di Quiapo berawal dari kedatangan sejumlah misionaris katolik di pantai Manila pada 1606. Kelompok religius dari Meksiko itu membawa serta patung Yesus seukuran manusia. Seiring waktu, timbul kebiasaan dalam organisasi itu untuk memaknai iman katolik melalui simbol patung Yesus yang mengalami sengsara disalib.
Antara tahun 1767 sampai 1790, telah terjadi transfer budaya di Quiapo. Sebuah patung Yesus memanggul salib dibawa ke gereja di kawasan itu.
Uskup Manila, Gaudencio B. Cardianl Rosales dalam pesan peringatan 400 tahun Nasarene menyatakan, popularitas "Black Nazarene" semakin besar setelah berada di Quiapo.
"Popularitasnya yang awalnya menyebar ke arah utara dan selatan Provinsi Luzon, kini menyebar hampir ke seluruh negeri," ungkap Rosales dalam pesannya.
Setiap tahun, "Black Nazarene" diarak dan menjadi pusat devosi ribuan umat katolik yang memadati Basilika Ng Nazareno.
Quiapo tidak hanya menjadi milik pemeluk agama Katolik. Tidak jauh dari Basilika Ng Nazareno, berdiri tegak sebuah masjid berkubah emas, Manila Golden Mosque namanya.
Masjid ini membuat pelangi peradaban adiluhung di Quiapo menjadi lebih kaya warna. Bangunan masjid yang tinggi menjulang dan kilau emas di kubah menjadikan masjid tersebut sebagai salah satu penanda di Quiapo. Manila Golden Mosque juga telah dikukuhkan sebagai pusat kebudayaan Islam di kawasan tersebut.
Kawasan di sekitar masjid terkenal sebagai tempat tinggal komunitas muslim yang cukup besar. Mereka hidup dengan gaya dan cara mereka sendiri, berbeda dengan cara hidup komunitas katolik yang tinggal dekat dengan mereka.
Meski hidup dengan cara yang berbeda, kedua kelompok bisa saling bekerjasama dalam keselarasan. Bahkan, Reggy C. Figer, seorang profesor bidang komunikasi dari University of the Philippines, bersama rekannya Ruly B. Cagadas, seorang doktor dari universitas yang sama menyatakan, Quiapo adalah bentuk sebuah toleransi yang sangat tinggi.
"Quiapo adalah afiliasi di bidang agama," ungkap Figer dan Cagadas dalam artikel mereka tentang Quiapo.
Ironi
Quiapo berada di sekitar pusat kota Manila. Hal itu membuat Quiapo tumbuh dalam desakan kebutuhan ekonomi masyarakat kota. Hal itu juga yang menjadi sebab langsung berjubelnya para pedagang di setiap ruas jalan di sekitar Basilika Ng Nazareno dan Manila Golden Mosque.
Akibatnya, di sejumlah titik keramaian, muncul berbagai ironi yang selalu mempertentangkan peradaban adiluhung Quiapo dengan berbagai praktik yang seringkali dianggap menyimpang.
Sebut saja praktik ramal yang digelar tepat di depan gerbang Basilika Ng Nazareno. Tidak hanya satu, melainkan puluhan peramal memajang iklan, lengkap dengan meja dan kursi sebagai tempat praktik.
Sejumlah lelaki menawarkan jasa ramal mereka kepada setiap pengunjung yang melintas. Ibu-ibupun tak mau kalah. Dengan gelang warna-warni di pergelangan tangan, mereka melambai ke setiap pengunjung untuk sudi singgah di bilik ramal mereka.
Salah seorang peramal menyatakan, dirinya mampu memberikan gambaran kehidupan di masa datang kepada para pelanggan. Dengan bangga, dia menyatakan bisa memperkirakan jalan kehidupan seseorang hanya dengan biaya 200 peso atau sekira Rp50 ribu.
"Sebagian besar yang kami ramal terkait dengan masalah cinta," kata pria gempal itu dengan kata-kata campuran bahasa Inggris dan Tagalog.
Setelah berkeliling, ternyata para peramal itu juga mengklaim bisa menyelesaikan berbagai masalah, seperti keruwetan bisnis, peruntungan, dan penyembuhan fisik. Mereka juga mengklaim bisa mencari tahu barang yang sudah hilang. Maklum, Quiapo terkenal sebagai sarang pencopet.
Bak lembaga bimbingan belajar profesional, sejumlah peramalpun merasa yakin bisa menyelesaikan persoalan balajar dan membantu agar lulus ujian.
Sepintas, praktik ramal yang digelar tepat di pintu gereja itu menjadi ironi di kawasan yang menjadi episentrum peradapan religi itu.
Tak seberapa jauh dari lapak para peramal, ironi lain muncul dalam bentuk pentas penari perempuan tanpa maupun dengan busana yang serba minimal.
Pusat hiburan kaum adam itu juga berada di sejumlah ruas jalan yang tidak jauh dari gereja dan masjid di Quiapo. Biasanya, lokasi hiburan itu berada di lokasi strategis.
Meski susah payah melangkah di trotoar yang penuh sesak dengan barang dagangan, mata pengunjung tidak bisa lepas dari berbagai poster bergambar wanita dengan busana yang serba minimal. Poster-poster itu dilengkapi dengan kerlip lampu warna-warni sehingga
bisa mencuri perhatian sejumlah pasang mata para lelaki.
Tepat di depan pintu, sejumlah lelaki lain berteriak dalam bahasa Tagalog. Satu pesan yang tertangkap adalah, mereka menawarkan hiburan "segar".
Quiapo telah berjalan paling tidak selama 400 tahun dalam nuansa peradaban adiluhung dan lintas agama. Kini, bagian kecil dari kota Manila itu asyik dengan berbagai tuntutan kehidupan masyarakat urban, lengkap dengan berbagai ironi di sana-sini.
Sampai kini, aku hidup dan menghidupi kehidupan sebagai seorang pewarta. Selebihnya, tidaklah terlalu penting siapa saya..."What's in a name? That which we call a rose.
By any other name would smell as sweet" (shakespeare). "Sontrot" adalah kata lain dari sumbu singkong. Ia menjadi tempat bersandar bagi sumber hidup yang disebut singkong, Manihot utilissima, awal dari kompleksitas peradaban cepat saji, urban, dan cyber. Singkatnya, sotrot menjadi basis dari sebuah eksistensi.
Singkong, yang berawal dari sontrot, seringkali hadir dalam sebuah kebersamaan yang berujung pada tukar pikiran, terlepas dari bobot pikiran yang ditukar. Ia menemani berbagai macam tema cerita dan diskusi, apapun itu. Ia hadir tanpa intensi yang muluk, hanya guyub dan baguyuban..bukan untuk sok-sokan.
Sontrot hadir dalam sebuah bentuk kehidupan baru yang akan menjadi teman untuk bertukar pikiran dan cerita.
