Evi Trisna in one Kelas Inspirasi Workshop
(jul 13, 2013)
June 2012, a month after my trip to Solo, Hanny told me that his friend from Boston alumni will visit Surabaya and she was working with Indonesia Mengajar. "name is Evi Trisna, Jul" he wrote.
my respect to the name and the movement and the founder was deep since attending Solo Mengajar launching. (i just asked Hanny the exact date yesterday, it was May 25, 2012).
It was the least of my expectation that night when i picked her up from the hotel in Tegalsari with Elvin and friends, that this Evi Trisna was of my "kind".
Bearing the label as a chinese, christian and female has hardly been connected to nation-rooted activities or nationalism spirit.
Everytime people asked: "why going back Indonesia?" and i gave the truest answer:"i want to build this nation through people." i could make sure that the responses will vary but in uniform impression: "wow, what makes you think of it?" One comment was even quite a punch line:"why?they don't even see you pribumi (the native)?"
it turned to be quite a true punchline when i 'stepped down the road', even till now.
i went to one officer in edu dept and offered myself to teach English for the street children and the officer smoothly rejected the idea and said:"these children are not that easy to handle as chinese children like you"
another time, when my husband and i wanted to send my 3 maids to take "Paket Kejar B" (government standardized exam for the lateschoolers) for them to get the middle school certificates, we were asked to pay an unbelievable amount in millions of rupiahs. Even i have told the officers that these are my maids and i was not even obliged to get them those certificates! Anyway, the millions still sounded millions.
i asked those three young bright maids to go to another local DoE office and apply with their own faces and they just ended up paying only 1/10 of the amount offered to me.
for many years after my coming back since 2003, i have to deal with this side of treatment and i was in my "almost concluded comprehension" that this is how things will always go for "my kind".
When i met Evi and found out that she was working full time in Indonesia Mengajar, being part of the 'workmanship' building children in all those remote areas of Rotendao, Maluku and all, and it means she was working with Pak Anies, non native too, moslem. Beautiful!
And i remember very well all the leaps of joy in my heart blurting out in my speech to Evi during dinner in one resto in Kartini: "tell me how i can be part of this. how i can help, contribute. i have friends, i can teach, i know how to train, i ....i.... " and alllll other "i can "stuffs
i went back home so happy, so full of hope and so thrilled even without doing anything yet. But i see a way that the change has come. The new generation has been prepared.
i felt what Mandela felt, Martin Luther King, Jr. felt, Gus Dur felt, i went exaggerated with my own thoughts! The change is coming....
And like all those Bollywood movies, it is not complete without a song.
"LET THE RIVER RUN" by Carly Simon (with my little twist)
We're coming to the edge
Running on the water
Coming through the fog Your sons and daughters
Let the river run
Let all the dreamers
Wake the nation
Come, the new Indonesia
Silver cities rise
The morning lights
The streets that meet them
And sirens call them on with a song
It's asking for the taking
Trembling, shaking
Oh, my heart is aching
We're coming to the edge
Running on the water
Coming through the fog
Your sons and daughters
We the great and small
Stand on a star
And blaze a trail of desire
Through the darkening dawn
It's asking for the taking
Come run with me now
The sky is the color of blue
You've never even seen
In the eyes of your lover
Oh, my heart is aching
We're coming to the edge
Running on the water
Coming through the fog
Your sons and daughters
It's asking for the taking
Trembling, shaking
Oh, my heart is aching
We're coming to the edge
Running on the water
Coming through the fog
Your sons and daughters
Let the river run Let all the dreamers
Wake the nation
Come, the new Indonesia
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