Americans in An Indonesian Woman's Eyes

I'll put my mind fairly not to generalize people by races (skin color, eyes color, hair color, etc.) but by thoughts. I'd honestly like smart people with who I may have a nice chat, ask something or learn something new, because those people may know something what I don't know yet. So I think I'll have a new experience by gathering with such people. By using this view I won't hate a person because he/she has different skin color with me or even a specific language.

But I believe that many Indonesians hate Americans just because they're Americans. Many young Indonesians think America, which means Americans automatically, are bad. Why is it so? No any other reasons. Is that funny enough you think? The opposite opinions between Americans and Indonesians are also something funny. When I talk to my American friends, they will say that their country have given so much favor for Indonesia, automatically Indonesians. They will say that USA has helped tsunami victims by building houses or streets.

My lovely American friend said, 'Don't they (Indonesians) think who the first helped Indonesia when that country got tsunami?' I won't say yes or even no because I do don't know the real fact there when tsunami attacked. But if you all visited Aceh where the lands was blown tsunami, you might think twice to agree with my friend. Based on the witnesses, the first people who had helped them were young generation of Indonesians. But they didn't take any camera with them to picture anything but just gave the favor for those victims. But then American volunteers or armies came there like a flood and helped them all. So, we shouldn't argue who were the first or the most helped those people.

Journalistic Students' Questions

I have a trick to blow the journalistic students' mind up to make them all more creative. It's a discussion. One session of ours was to discuss about the country. It's all about our country, Indonesia. Then everything went to some other fields. We had discussed about some other countries and the most country which asked by students was the Unites State of America.

One journalistic student of mine asked me why Americans hated Muslims. She gave an example where America invaded Iraq and she thought that the only one reason was because the Iraqi people were Muslims. I tried to explain her that it's not because of religion only but the most reason to attack other country was the policy. And in this case was oil, indeed. But she argued me why American armies would rape Iraqi women if they came there just for a policy reason. I couldn't answer her, indeed, because I didn't want her get confused, but I explained her and other students that we wouldn't understand a policy game because it ain't our field. We all just needed to be good people and didn't do what those people did to the world, I explained them. We should spread love not hate for our beautiful earth, I said. None won't agree with my statement, I think.

Another student asked me later why Americans hated Indonesians. Was it because most of us Muslims, she asked. I asked her back why she thought so. She told the class that she browsed in internet that US government had been participated in any chaos in some places in Indonesia. They had been trying to build some Christian places around Indonesia. They took hands to the Indonesian courts, they told the world that Indonesians were bad, she explained. She thought that the only reason of these all because Indonesia was the largest population Muslims in the whole world. Wow, it ain't a good view of Indonesian young generation on America and Americans.

I told them all that Americans were like Indonesians and any other people. There are always two kinda men in this world, aren't they? They're good people and bad ones, I said. My students might browse wrong sites which blaming Americans or taking people on hot fire by reporting wrong-bad news. I did explain to my students that Americans were kind enough but we couldn't think what they're thinking if we didn't put our mind set into theirs. Good people -who's ever they are- would appreciate others when others appreciated them. But we couldn't make all senses as one as God had created us as different races with different natural resources. You might have same thoughts with foreigners but opposite from your citizens, but it doesn't mean you're a foreigner in your native country. You're still an Indonesian but open minded one because you could open your mind to take other different views in your mind. These all which I explained them.

Indonesia Is Not A Muslim Country!

One Pakistani friend of mine asked me why Indonesians, especially me, didn't wanna proclaim that Indonesia was a Muslims country. For me, it's the best way not to accept Indonesia as a Muslims country. Because this country is too heterogeneous in religion, in races, in languages, and many more. The most Americans and Europeans think that Indonesia is similar to any Arabians countries. It's a wrong view of course. But yes, there are so many Arabians here as any where in this earth. They spread any where, however.

It's easy to explain this point. A jilbab/hijab which covers a woman's hair is not as tight as a hijab for Arabian women or Indian women's hijab called burkah. Indonesian women will wear a specific jilbab which used to for Asian Muslim women. A burkah will cover all body of a woman but a jilbab just cover hair. Though it's not accordance Islamic rules, a woman is free to wear. Many Indonesian Muslim women just cover their hair but let their neck opened. They can wear accessories around neck or legs, as Arabian women can't. There are a few parts of women will be forced to hide behind the jilbab especially if the fathers have Arabian blood.
In Indonesia, the jilbab isn't synonym with Islam but women would like to wear so they wear. But so many other Muslim women don't wanna wear such cloth, they're free not to wear it.

Indonesian women can apply any fields as Indonesian men can do. They also can divorce their partner as Arabian women can not. They can go for fun with their male friends and none can hold them on but they themselves. They can go to mosque or somewhere every time if they want. They can take an arranged marriage if they like but they also can choose who they will live with. They can go anywhere without a partner even at midnite. 

After all, Indonesian women proud of themselves as a part of Asian women which have a specific character compared a free life style of westerns or a restricted life style of Arabians.

(You can read more here…)