Vision of Social Empowerment

Today I had an interesting convo with some coworkers in which we share stories and dreams. Firstly, we discussed about Development Expo that will be held next week in commemoration of Indonesia's Independence Day. Our institution are invited to display some products made by CCT members. Then the topic branched out to common mission: social business.

We plan to found some sustainable programs for future, e.g. cooperative union, affordable grocery store, group entrepreneurship, etc. Whoa.. I can't believe how similar our thoughts are. It's like finding a highway to make my dreams come true. They mostly have much more experience in society empowerment, so it's inspiring to have them as friends.

Lately I think my job is like Narnia that God wanted me to find. It looks plain from outside but it’s full of wonders once you get inside. It’s such a blessing to get an opportunity to learn in real life classes: how to deal with bureaucracy, how to build a working system, how to do office administration, and more importantly, how to embrace people & mobilize them. It feels good to talk with people about idea, to share information, and suddenly the topic about my own self is much less interesting. I lose a big part of selfishness and earn bigger portion of selflessness. But, loving people helps me to love myself more.

Yes, here I discover priceless treasure: PEOPLE. One person gives you at least one lesson. So, knowing hundreds of them gives you uncountable. People are potential assets once we figure out how to empower them.

read more

Gaza

Saya rasa Israel adalah salah satu negara yang paling sering disalahpahami. Saya termasuk salah seorang pembenci Israel hampir seumur hidup saya. Bagaimana tidak, semua media menempatkan Israel di posisi antagonis ketika sebenarnya yang dilakukannya adalah membela diri. Selama ini saya tumbuh dengan mempercayai bahwa Israel merupakan sumber kekacauan dunia. Namun, belakangan ini saya berusaha menengok dari perspektif lain.

Bangsa Yahudi berkumpul di tanah Palestina karena tragedi Holocaust. Terlepas dari kekejaman Nazi, negara Israel berdiri. Hanya dalam hitungan hari, banyak negara berkonspirasi untuk menyerang bayi yang baru lahir tersebut, termasuk di antaranya Mesir dan Syria.

Kini Mesir telah menandatangani perjanjian damai, bahkan menjalin kerja sama bilateral dengan Israel. Lihat, Israel bukanlah negara yang tidak bisa diajak berunding. Konon konflik Gaza sengaja dipelihara oleh pihak tertentu demi melanggengkan kepentingannya.

Selama ini Israel mengarahkan serangan terbatas ke markas Hamas, namun Hamas meluncurkan roket ke kawasan padat penduduk Israel. Mengenai korban yang tewas dari pihak Palestina, Hamas-lah yang tidak mengijinkan warga sipil untuk mengungsi. Apakah orang-orang ini sengaja dijadikan tameng hidup untuk menarik simpati dunia?

Orang-orang berteriak "selamatkan Al-Aqsa" dari cengkeraman Israel. Padahal Iron Dome milik Israel-lah yang melindungi Al Aqsa dari serangan roket Hamas. Saya hanya berharap pemberitaan di media massa bisa lebih berimbang. Masing-masing kubu menderita, jadi jangan hanya mengekspose penderitaan salah satu pihak dan menyorot kekejaman pihak lain.  

Ingatlah, konflik Gaza bukan konflik agama, melainkan konflik politik dan kekuasaan. Jangan terlarut oleh fanatisme keagamaan hingga gagal melihat suatu permasalahan dari lensa yang jernih & tidak bias.

read more

Bride of The Century

Hongki is the main attraction of the drama to begin with. At least for us. He's playing as Choi Kang Ju, the first son of Taeyang Group. Hongki was supposed to play it cool but, sorry to say, we can't take him seriously. He just couldn't hide his comical image. Or is it just us?

From what we've seen so far, Bride of The Century is that of classical drama with all its basic ingredients within. It's so predictable that we can tell almost every step they're about to take. And with 99% accuracy at that. Since the first episode, you'll see that many parts of BoTC are comparable with  pre-existing drama:

- Chaebol (n. a tycoon a.k.a. that dream guy you need to protect the poor female lead in a drama) as the main character is something you can find in a thousand dramas before. Hana Yori Dango (and all its versions), Secret Garden, and What Happened in Bali to mention a few. Well, the crown prince of a business empire makes a perfect hero to every drama goers. But as we are accustomed to watch tall actor starring as chaebol, we had a hard time adjusting with Hongki's height when he's playing as one.

- The female lead is the type of pure girl who is innocent, bright, and good at cooking. We prefer someone more human, with grey side in her. Maybe it's because we have looked through the lense of Cheon Song Yi, Seungnyang, and Jang Hye Sung who got some badassery to show once in a while.

- The guy turned from icy cold to adorkable heartwarming once he faces his girl. Remind you of something similar? Yup. Full House, Secret Garden, Hana Yori Dango, Love Rain, etc.

They play safe by using te same recipe of high rating dramas. The female lead has done a good job in acting as two characters. Let's see how bright she will shine as an actress.

read more

Di Manakah Damai?

Pemberitaan belakangan ini diramaikan oleh beragam pertikaian.

Pertama, panasnya pilpres di Indonesia yang telah dimulai sejak masa kampanye. Masing-masing kubu saling melemparkan black campaign dan negative campaign terhadap seteru. Lebih mudah bagi masyarakat untuk "tidak memilih capres karena sisi negatifnya" ketimbang "memilih capres karena sisi positifnya". Memang sejak dulu berita-berita negatif lebih gampang dijual.

Suasana makin memanas ketika masing-masing kubu mengklaim sebagai presiden terpilih versi quick count. Lembaga-lembaga survei yang diharap dapat ikut mengawal proses demokrasi justru mengikis wibawa dan kredibilitas KPU sebagai lembaga resmi negara. 

Kedua, konflik Gaza yang menjadi perhatian internasional. Israel selalu digambarkan sebagai "the bad guy", sedangkan Palestina adalah korban tak berdosa. BBC yang menurunkan berita dengan perspektif lain dituding sebagai antek Yahudi. Padahal sahamnya sebagian besar dimiliki oleh orang Arab. 

Namun, di luar sana gambar-gambar anak kecil yang berlumuran darah telah ditebar di jejaring sosial untuk memicu rasa marah penduduk dunia. Simpatisan Palestina aktif mengajak yang lain untuk memboikot produk-produk yang ditengarai milik Yahudi. Mungkin mereka lupa bahwa banyak petani dan peternak lokal yang hidup dengan menyuplai raw material bagi pabrik-pabrik itu. Sungguh, saya menyesalkan banyaknya korban yang jatuh di Palestina. Oleh karena itu, saya berdoa supaya mereka dapat hidup berdampingan dalam damai. 

Dari kedua perseteruan di atas, saya tak ingin menunjuk pihak mana yang benar dan mana yang salah. Ketika saya mulai memihak, saya merasa ditegur oleh sebuah tulisan di Huffington Post.

"I wonder, what is the real purpose of your support? Why do you write letters and argue with friends and take to the streets? Do you actually care for the well-being of the people involved or do you simply wish to be on a team?

Your mix of high moral outrage and extreme self-centeredness is a special brand of hypocrisy."

read more

Thinking

My brain is a freakin’ mood swinger. At one time it’s hyperactive. The other times it just stops working. Now that it’s knocking my door non-stop, I feel like shutting it down. xp

But, sure as hell I will never do that, not in a million years. Thinking is a blessing, understanding makes human surpasses the other members of animal kingdom. New thought equals new challenge. But, fear not, my Dear Fellow, eventhough thinking makes you tired and hungry. 

You know Apple right? The one founded by Steve Jobs btw, not the one fallen before Isaac Newton. They create something novel. They don’t go with the market’s current demand, they construct some “new needs” instead. Their products are not following the universal standard but they sell their products so pricey that many people takes pride for having it. What seems “unusual” by society doesn’t always mean that it’s wrong.

When you get out from comfort zone, it’s conflict seeking action. But by doing so, people make progress.

read more