To my grandchildren(s),
How are you? I hope you are doing well. To tell you the truth, I don’t feel so good at the moment. I’ve been inside of the house for 9 months now because of the pandemic, when I could be with my friends in Jogja for my first semester in college. It has been a rough year for humanity, especially us Indonesian. This week, our Social Affairs Minister is caught for corrupting the food aid for the coronavirus pandemic. Not so long before, our Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Edhy Prabowo was also suspected for bribery in pertaining to lobster larvae export permit. Ah! There is also the controversy surrounding Omnibus Law, specifically on the job creation bill. You should look it up on Google or any search engine available at your time now. The thing that angers me is that not only is the substance of the bill messed up, but also the decision-making process isn’t credible and transparent to the public. Thousands of students and laborers are protesting in the middle of a pandemic because our government — the ones we’re supposed to believe in — are apparently untrustworthy. A huge amount of people from the internet have commented on how this mass action will only spread COVID-19 even further. Given the situation, is there any other way we could fight for our political right as a citizen if it weren’t through such actions? The “friendly” way has been proven to not be effective to change the minds of the government. Ugh. Also, some people said that they hate protests with violence or with vandalism of government property, and while I do agree that these vandalism or violence can’t be justified, they are missing the point of the protest! I can see how the destruction of public facilities is disturbing, but how about the destruction of our environment and the rights of our laborers if this bill continues? Not to mention about police brutality happening in my time. If you look it up, you will find thousands of articles talking about police brutality during mass actions, or even just on a regular basis. Ah, I’m sorry if I only tell you all the horrible things happening right now, but that is all I have. You can see from my story that right now our democracy and freedom is currently on the edge, kid. But don’t you worry, I’m now studying in order to make the world a better place for you. I hope I can find a way to ensure Indonesia’s right of democracy and peace. I’m trying to make a change right now and I will not stop trying until sustainable prosperity has been reached with all its inclusivity, democracy, and protection of civil rights. I fight for what I believe, kid. And I hope you will too. Always say the truth, speak for the silent, and be found among the poor! All my love, Grandma.
*this amateur piece was done as an assignment for a class in my IR study. should there be any mistake, feel free to contact me through my social media. cheers!
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