Being in Boston in the month of August

Being in Boston in the month of August
By Farsijana Adeney-Risakotta

August in Boston, Masschussets has been an amazing life for me.  Only we have been here for two weeks, I have felt like we have lived longer.   Masschussets along with other 12 colonies were the first to call for the unity of the USA between the year s of 1776 and of 1789.  Historically, when we returned to our homeland, in Indonesia, at the same years, the islands were occupied by the competitive power from the West.   Historically, the formation of the USA was contributed from  the exchange of  islands between  the Banda island in the archipelago of the Moluccan islands, a source of nutmeg for the Dutch to the New Amsterdam in Manhattan island which was given to the Bristish. I am reffering to the historical moment because only a day after  our arrival in Boston, we joined  the celebration of the Indonesian independence day that was put out by the Indonesians who live in Masschussets.  There were almost 200 people gathering at the Filipello park in Watertown.  Beside having meals together, at the celebration, people did the formal reading of  Pancasila, which is the five principles of  Indonesian political ideology  and the preamble of 1945  nasional law in an official manners.  Still strongly in  my ears people said ..Freedom is rights of all nation before God... Freedom is still a diamond in our county because after 68 years of Indonesian independence,  struggles for the freedom are still continued..

The same of idea regarding  the freedom was renounced by Martin Luther King as resonated during the celebration of his  50 years of amazing speeah “I have a dream”  as celebrated in US.   Freedom has been an issue in human condition since an ancient time.  After the declaration of USA’s independence in 1776, Martin Luther King in 1963 demanded the freedom of all citizens from discrimination conducted by common people as sisters and brothers of the nation. The speech of Martin Luther King has reminded me to reflect to our Indonesian context.  Celebrating the 68 years of Indonesian independence from  the colonial power actually makes me to realize about the similar force might be staying in the different form to  control the Indonesian people especially those who are minority in their etnicities, religions and class status.  

Religious minorities as seen on the application of the local law to effect to the freedom of worshipers to build their religious houses as well as the  ethnic differences within a rich natural resources such as in Papua have called for a national attention.  Indonesians raised the questions on what has happened with the rapid political changes globally to the local people in a remote island like in Madura where the Shia followers were charged to violent the religion of Islam. I remember writing my poem which was titled  who is the human beings to destroy the human beings    http://farsijanaindonesiauntuksemua.blogspot.com/2012/08/siapakah-sang-manusia-pelenyap-sang.html
This poem was later to be visualized into a painting for my art exhibition on peace and justice in Indonesia  < http://pinterest.com/pin/535083999447586870>

The theme was on the exhibition on blog and vizualized art on “Indonesiaku Indonesiamu Indonesia untuk semua” which is translated in English such as my Indonesia, your Indonesia and Indonesia for all.  I name the blog after the title to argue that Indonesia can not be claimed for a particular purpose of some people or groups due to their accesbility in a special region  due to the majority proportion.  Indonesia is not devided, it is united to protect all people in their differences of ethnicities, religions, economic and educational backgrounds

Before we left for USA in the end of June, we ordered  packages of meals of thankgiving to be sent out  to our families, neigbors and colleagues. The purpose of thanksgiving delivery is to ask supports of pray because we were going to USA for a year.  The meals consist on  rice, chickens , vegetables and cakes.   People who received the package of meals reminded us about the semilar meals are made from those who go for Haj, or pilgrimage to Mecca.  Then we explained about our task to go back to USA is to  share to churches in USA about our work and how churches in here can learn from the life of People  in Indonesia. Going back to USA, for me like Moslem go to Mecca.  Since we arrived in June 2013, we were on the road to visit churches to share about the love of Christ to the people around Indonesia where we work together.

I remember of a beautiful evening at the home of Paul and Margareth Heidger in Iowa City where proximately  20 people from the church were sitting around to discuss about the peace efforts to be done in the context by which a citizen is called to respond to the violent action in the nation. Then I showed my art work which was online as appeared at printerest.  Margareth got an idea to connect her  IPOT and their television by which the channel  to see my art works was connected . That night of education,  acctually applied the joined studies to bring people crossing the globe to experience the same issues here, peace and justice.

At the living room, I felt like the art exhibition was moved to there even though it was delivered through my pinterest site http://pinterest.com/farsijanaar  and the special site for my artwire is http://pinterest.com/farsijanaar/art-wire-of-farsijana-adeney-risakotta
 

They were the 44 pieces of my art exhibition that was helt at the Bentara Budaya, an art exhibit hall in Yogyakarta, in May 21-19, 2013.  The 44 pieces are divided into four different material of art which I used to express my understanding of justice and peace.  The first one was on the 11 series of satire of national law which were shaped throughout form of wire art like “ dance of justice”,  “an umbrella of law”, “mirrow of law”, “mafia of law”, etc. The second part was the 11 paintings on canvases using sand, color cement, oil and wood paint. These 11 paintings from my poems at the blog were painted with my left hand during my time when I dislocated my elbow only two weeks before the exhibition was helt. The third ones was the 11 photography of peace about how nature stand for support peace in this world. The last one was the 11 articles of posters to share about my essays to respond to the issues of peace and justice in Indonesia.

Bernie and I are here in Boston to be the visiting fellows at the Institute of Culture, Religion and World Affairs of Boston University where we will have the time to reflect and to write on our experiences to work in Indonesia.  Presbyterian Church USA has supported  us to work for addressing the issue of reconciliation and peace in Indonesia. We have brought Moslem and Christian from grassroots to the academics to come together doing a work that represents the life given by God that needs to be preserved by all God’s children.

Justice needs to be reflected in many ways to bring back the voices of God in this earth.  At the Indonesians’s celebration of the independence, people came to also asked for forgiveness after the Ramadhan when the Moslem sisters and brothers celebrated the new life after a month fasting. Moslem fasting for the sake of God’s forgiveness toward the human’s wrong doing.  In this month of Syawalan, the coming of this new month, even we are far from Indonesia, but Bernie and I would like to ask also “ mohon maaf lahir dan bathin”, please apologise us for what we have seen in phsycally and  in soul.  God be mercy with us in our service in this earth. 

Salam

Farsijana and Bernie