Finally long overdue post. Sorry all, I have gone AWOL for the past months since facebook is apparently more attention-hungry. tsk tsk.. excuse

Anyway, I have been planning to post this thoughts about the diplomacy role I have taken so far as an Indonesian student, blending in American students, studying in Jordan. Essentially, I have become disenchanted with the idea of becoming a diplomat. I feel that the spirit is waning since I could exercise my diplomatic skills at a more grassroots level when I actually engage in discussions with lay people, (yes pope is here NOT), not those people in bureaucracy. I feel that I can express more things about my country and my point of view stemming from that geographical attachment. I have been doing this in classrooms so far when there are many discussions about salient issues necessarily inviting diverse opinions. Thus, my voice as an Indonesian youth sometimes gives a nuance to an overly western conclusions or debate on something (in american lecturers I meant).

Other than that, I have “exercised” this diplomacy in many host families I have stayed at, either in Japan China or even the one here in Amman. I think that what I do, what I speak what I hate, love and agree/disagree clearly reflects what kind values and principles Indonesia has and shape its people. Isn’t that the purpose of diplomacy or is it just more of intercultural understanding? I don’t know, I feel that globalization has changed the narrative of diplomacy, people’s voice and their migration worldwide has more significance in shaping the relations amongst people from other countries, who compose nations and states anyway. This has also beckoned me to dig in further into nonprofit/think-tank world lately, in which I have been preoccupied tagging so many different websites in this regard and targeting them for internships. I feel that my perspective on life, career, love, marriage, values, religions, society and many other things have changed so much for the past 2 years I have been away from home. Clearly, I have matured more than I expected and become more independent, but I don’t know, I feel that I have become more less money-driven (uh hah ha!) and skeptical what ideal life would be. I have been muddling with all these random thoughts I would like to realize after I graduate. hmmm… let’s see..

Anyway, on a similar note, SBY’s speech at Harvard KSG was quite impressive:

Standing Ovation for SBY. I still think the most likely man behind the scene should deserve the felicitation too: Dino Pati Djalal. He presumably drafted that speech:

for the whole transcript of the speech, you can read it here:

SBY’s speech

Wait, also, last month, I apparently stumbled on a very learned woman, who happened to be an Egyptian! Lol.. wonder why I have been arranged to meet with so many Egyptians wherever I travel in the Arab world, oh Masr…

What is stunning from this encounter was that she is the wife of Egypt’s arguably prominent and famous public intellectual (well he’s a professor anyway) who was Egypt’s UN Ambassador and Ambassador to China and Pakistan. She paints and she has wonderful collection reflecting her extensive travel. You can check her husband’s website here:

Ambassador Galal

They both live in Bahrain now and their sons all graduated from the Ivies and all now reside in the US. sweet..

remember! It’s not about what you know, it’s about who you know! *wink2*

But still, this is relatively the most “politically” stable regime in the region.

Here is an excerpt of what just happened in University of Jordan last thursday:

Attention Students:

You have probably noticed that there is an increased police presence on campus.  This is due to an alleged fight on Thursday between the Edwan and Bani Sakker tribes over a perceived insult that took place last summer.  Tribal fights are unfortunately fairly common and often played out on campus.  In the event a fight breaks out, you will hear shouting and see lots of police and “shebab” running.  Rock throwing is also possible and on occasion fights involve knives or other small weapons.  These fights have no political connotations and if avoided do not pose any real danger.  If you witness what could be a fight, go to the nearest building, find an open classroom and wait until the situation calms. If on the north side of campus, go to the Language Center. If you are on the southern end, go back to the engineering building and stay inside.  Please call resident staff immediately if you see a clash or witness anything unusual.

Again, this is not cause for concern. These fights seem to be correlated with temperature and are often over – you guessed it – a girl.

Essentially, well more of what I heard since I wasn’t there on Thursday evening, there were approximately 50 guys on both opposing sides that were about to become more violent. Some of them already took out their belts and swang them around. Err.. reminds me of tauran (indonesian regular high school clash). tsk tsk

As I told you, I would revisit some thoughts and experience that I had not had the chance to blog them up back then.

Below is what I wrote for my reflection as being the SCC Intern o8-09. Enjoy!

ps: I have been too tired to blog my burning thoughts, I just did a 10 KM marathon at Amman International Marathon. Eurgh..I’ll publish them soon..keep an eye (or two! :p) for that..

Wesleyan Social Activism and Unparalleled Personal Growth:
A Student of Color Coalition ’08-‘09 Intern Reflection

The moment I received my email informing my recruitment as a Student of Color Coalition (SCC) Intern, I was elated yet confused. I spoke to myself that Tim Shiner must be mistaken in choosing the successful candidate. How would an international student hailing far down from the archipelago of Indonesia, without any history of  “marginalized-ly living” in America become an intern who would have to advocate coalition building among the underrepresented, if not oft-marginalized, minorities in a campus that prides itself as a “Diversity University”? At that same week, I had been recently elected as the President of Muslim Student Association; it gave me this strange confusing feeling that disturbed my constant pursuit for a genuine identity. Although there was nothing wrong or strange to simultaneously serve both roles, the fact that I was not really identified as a Student of Color (SOC) and despite the administration’s official label on us the international students, shook my conscience that I would probably be welcomed with skepticism by the somewhat segmented communities I tried to build coalition upon. Yet, all of these thoughts were disproved as soon as I started to launch all my “politically correct campaigns” of social justice and coalition building; yes, I braced the storm and ignored the waves.

Human Puppet Show on Gaza at Social Justice Leadership Conference 2009

Becoming a SCC Intern was a completely independent job, Tim Shiner as the supervisor was there just to guide and supervise. I felt like a “freelance activist” under SALD (Student Activities and Leadership Development) who designed his own goals and how to achieve them with all the available resources. I remembered spending more than 3 hours in outlining my short term and long term goals, that included establishing contact with all different SOC leaders on campus and reaching out to the Wesleyan community in declaring my presence. SCC, as an entity, was quite “dead” for the preceding years in terms of being active in many SOC-endorsed events, proven by how many students just actually realized the Intern even existed! This pushed me further to be more aggressive and engaging as the “newborn” intern. I became labeled as the “Inbox Spammer” where I essentially reached out to every single SOC-identified group meetings, joined and spammed their listserves with useful information as well as helped them out in planning their events, their engagement strategy or even just enjoyed their company. In order to do that, I actually created a list of all potential contact person, mainly SOC group leaders, and use it as the main tool of my aggressive agenda in empowering and engaging SOC community at Wesleyan. Along the way, I have also managed to assert myself more glaringly within Wesleyan community as the SCC Intern through conversations and received many warm welcome as well as genuine curiosity. There were actually many group leaders, outside the SOC-identified groups, that reciprocated my activism and asked to do some collaborative projects. This was probably because I wrote once in Hermes Magazine a somewhat evocative entry on stimulating the spirit of coalition building. Throughout this coalition building activism, I learned many incredible things that are not found in the classrooms. I have enjoyed so much from learning my mistakes like making politically incorrect statements for instance, from being directly involved in the politics of coalition building, and from interacting with different actors of general community building at Wesleyan such as the trustees, the administrators, the professors and ultimately the students.

Identity Politics at Wesleyan: Faculty of Color Panel and Dinner 2009

Certainly, there are some impediments in fully executing my agenda. I have received subtle, and sometimes blatant, refusals from some well-established student groups that are somewhat trapped in their “comfort zones” of non-coalition activism.  There was neglect from some students group to make their events inclusive or collaborative. There was also ignorance or lack of urgent sense within them in making alliance of one SOC voice, which will actually unite the same redundant concerns out of frustration from the administration policy towards SOC. Yet, during my internship, I have seen some unprecedented highlights that indicated the progress of SOC coalition building. With my established network with the like-minded people, I have identified some individuals who were committed in the same mission of building stronger coalition within SOC groups. Among these people were Stephanie Lee, the Dwight Greene Intern and Simone Moore, the Woman of Color House Manager, all of whom I have collaborated with in executing some of my big goals: Identity Politics Talk with Faculty of Color Panel and Dinner and People of Color Dinner, respectively. I also have benefited the administrative support from Sonia Manjon who in my last semester period assisted in establishing network with the higher administrative authority to accommodate my opinion about the coalition building into her future work agenda. Moreover, I had many amazing opportunities to actually represent SOC voice in regards to coalition building at many different important gatherings with Trustee of Color (TOC), Alumni of Color, or even focus groups about Wesleyan Fund. One of the TOCs, Daphne Kwok, an Asian American herself, was particularly passionate in learning more about my experience in advocating the coalition. She was also thankful for my little survey – conducted during the People of Color Dinner in Fall 2008 – that revealed many unexpected and interesting voices regarding coalition building. On top of all of these incredible things, I have enjoyed many SOC events that definitely highlighted my Sophomore year: founded the committee of Mabuhay 2009 which was composed of most adorable individuals, participated in Samsara 2009, initiated the establishment of April Awareness Month committee, and ultimately being heavily involved in the planning and promotion of Social Justice and Leadership Conference 2009. The latter was unforgettable, I have got to go around Middletown and interact with the residents and shop owners on Main Street to support the conference

Mabuhay 2009

If I have to describe my overall SCC internship experience, I will interpret it as the unparalleled period of personal growth. With the relentless effort of coalition building, I have developed my personality and interpersonal skills. I have learned how to negotiate well, listen better, communicate more persuasively, tolerate sufficiently and organized neatly. I have become well versed in coalition politics, and probably too experienced in events organizing. But most importantly, I have become the staunch proponent of genuine diversity, something that forged my core identity and a diluted term that Wesleyan administration has to redefine and revamp its policies upon.

Do I really deserve this?

A talented musician, investment banker, businessman, philanthropist, Harvard and Berkley educated, avid golfer, father of three and ultimately…. INDONESIAN

Gita Wirjawan

Please browse him more and you, scholarship hunter enthusiast, should be appalled!

Meanwhile, enjoy my lackadaisical stalking:

His profile on Jakarta Post

His analysis on Obama’s foreign policy in Asia

How his weekend is like (Indonesian)

I’m sorry for this non-Traveling post. But this should grab your attention.

Please take a look at this blog. Donate religiously! I can’t emphasize enough how your donation and prayer will significantly help the victims. I grow up emotionally and culturally attached to the region, West Sumatra. and my heart is stabbed with all these pictures.

Keep us in your prayer.

photos are courtesy of bostonglobe.com

On a mission to build my network empire, I have found the perks of this pursuit: bery naysss (very nice) 7abibiess!! hehe

so far are just Egyptian and Jordanian, but I’m on a mission to “conquer” Syria, Lebanon and Turkey.

Yes, these are the people that have significantly enriched, forged and molded my Middle East traveling experience. Priceless!

I <3 Arabs and I miss the Egyptian ones like magnoon…

you must fall in love with this guy

the truest habibie with BATIK! <3

brotherly love

abdou

Qassem from Jordan

lebanese <3

mahoomey

Interestingly, the minority-pride syndrome also struck the Christian population in Jordan. This syndrome puts an excessive urgency of asserting one’s identity with symbols, icons and lifestyles. And that what happens with the Christians in the predominantly Muslim Kingdom (95% of them) of Jordan.

You can see all Christians are so “vocal” with their crosses necklaces on the street, which is very interesting! Almost all the students at University of Jordan I observed, overwhelmingly the girls, wear either Hijab/Jilbab/Niqab/Burqa (tsk tsk) or Cross Necklace. And, you find arguably no Jews at all here – logically acceptable since they’ll be expected to reside in the closest Jewish state nearby. On a relevant and strange note, many of my friends who live with Christian families, find it so annoying when they have to listen to a TV show which degrades and severely criticizes Islam as well as Muslims WITH THEIR FAMILY, regularly.

Hmm, it seems that the intra-suspicion is still relevant within Jordanian society. At least 3 of my friends watch the same damn show everynight – RANTS ABOUT ISLAM. I find this really amusing, not offensive at all..

Oh Jordanians, post-globalization world increasingly polarizes the society into its two revived poles of religious identities: the land of hijabs and crosses

10 Things you need to know about Iran – myths and realities

I could not agree more. It is time for us, intellectual and impartial observer to get out from the unipolar bubble of international media. Much of what we consume could be highly propagandistic.  I would like to highlight:

- Netanyahu is indeed playing the game of demonization and expansion. The world is blind or deprived from the opacity of Israel’s pursuit of nuclear. Clearly, by playing the blame game, he gets away with its Likud’s expansionist platform at the expense of artificial fear coming from the “demonized” “nuclear-weapon-obsessed” Iran.

- Start looking for alternative news. However liberal the news source is, like CNN, the bias from the country’s domestic political tone is inevitable, the news will conform with the public sentiment against the covered object, like Iran for instance.

- Singapore even spends more budget per capita on its military, duh!? Why the world is then so obsessed with Iran?

To reflect on one of Machiavelli’s writing which roughly describes politicians as liars, I’d say: Start engaging,world leaders! Stop deceiving your electorates!

I don't trust this guy either, but see beyond him for Iran's true identity!

It is this article Indonesia scored one for war over Batik that prompted me to actually pen down all of these burning thoughts I have about excessive nationalism. No, I’m not going to talk about Indonesia will fall into the gloom bubble of fascism, but I will argue it has foolishly severed its potential fortifying ties with its neighbors – mainly its “cousin” Malaysia. All the unnecessary rants in front of Malaysia embassy with very repellent eggs-throwing really indicate that we are not well-versed in our history yet, let alone being a staunch proponent of more regionalism/community building in ASEAN if all these mutual suspicion still lingers on both – if not only on Indoensia’s – sides.

This is also to remind me 2 years ago, when I was very furious of my Malaysian friend’s claim over Rendang (Indonesian famous spicy food from West Sumatra) as Malaysian heritage. I was venting nationalistically that this counterpart of my scholarship “elites” was completely ignorant and irksome by stating such; not only that,  the cultural show in which the statement was spoken also utilized WAYANG (Traditional Puppetry) as its main means of performance and claimed likewise by my Malaysian friend. I was like hyperventilating by such claim, irritated more by the supporting claims of upperclassmen who watched the show and felt completely slapped on their face. BUT HEY, Malaysians and Indonesians have such longggg history of living together and arguably were under the same Kingdom. It was not until Colonialism started to mess up the Southeast Asian Region’s racial, tribal, and cultural map that all the local populations became very nationalistic and rooted to their independence struggle.  I personally think:

1) Nationalism is completely a European concept that is not necessarily crucial in nation-building or regionalism

2) It is merely a product of World War II and Colonialism –> Notice this especially if you already learn that specific chapter of “The Emergence of Nation and States” in your IR class

Yet I sometimes paused that without this, the irrevocably structured of international relation with all of its intricate 190 more nations and states will not function with such pride-evoking motivation. The  orators of the country -  the Presidents and their previous competitors in election – will loose their popular base support without this. I call them orators since nationalism is often used just to address the problems of a country, without knowing how to solve them afterward. However cynical, I still think this is a positive nationalism that surges the adrenaline of citizens to work hard and serve their homelands. Without this type of nationalism, the country would hardly find any dedicated civil servants, teachers, military personnel, etc. Without this, no one would ever be called to preserve their culture and defend their homelands – remember! just to defend.

It is this type of nationalism (Malaysian students refused), if not chauvinism, that I really despise. I became more furious when I read the history of Middle East and found how the Brits and the French really messed up this region, including the North Africa. They destroyed the “Sick Man” (the Ottoman Empire) and divided the Muslims into all nationalistic zealots -Arabs and Turks. The Sykes-Peaco treaty between the French and  the Brits EVEN MADE IT WORSE. No wonder, the Middle East seems to be at perpetual doom of inter-war and civil wars, where national/state borders were divided unwisely with lots of imperialistic interests and inconsiderate of ethnic/tribal/cultural map of the region.

*I would even argue that the Brits are responsible for half of the world problem now, they even washed their hand from the Palestine issue and brought to the UN, thus disastrous permanent conflict.

(not to mention all those post-colonialism suffering in Kashmir and all that)

This what I felt the same for Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines; thanks to the Brits, the Dutch for its DEVIDE ET IMPERA politics, and the Spaniards. (I don’t know much yet about the French in Indochine)

Were we not the same people until the bedeviled colonialists categorized us into different people thus we became nationalistic defenders of our homelands which we shared anyway? Did we not speak the same language or do not our languages sound almost the same? Of course, we also have traveled to each other region and brought all those delicious foods, marvelous dances, lovely songs and amazing dresses to our homelands. Does not our culture transcend border then? Was not the dance you learned in Kalimantan taught to Malaysians in your homeland? Why do we have to relentlessly fight over things we shared?

It is funny that Indonesians became so nationalistic and staunch knights of their culture until somebody “stole” it. On such note, take a look at this article if we are that  nationalistic ? I don’t think so, we’re not even more nationalistic than Singapore who does not brag as many cultures as we do. Ironic, Indonesian identity is indeed confused between globalization (if not westernization) and strong desire of its original multiculturalism.

Think further and learn deeper about the Colonialist policies in Southeast Asian states and you’ll find many current problems are just manifestation of their fault lines, including intra-hostility racial sentiment within a multicultural nation like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines. No wonder many Ulama even renounced nationalism as haraam as it will impede the process of ONE UMMAH. Why do Muslims in Malaysia and Indonesia have to fight over artificial feeling of post-worldwarII manifestation? What about Arab Nationalism? Eurgh, long story short, I just hate poisonous nationalism. Period.

Anyway, I’m proud that Batik is recognized by UNESCO now. Happy Batik Day (OCT 2) dear all world citizens!

But please, let our “cousins” or whoever loves our culture to enjoy wearing it too.. I believe our culture transcends border, and that is more prideful.

I think I’m lucky enough to enjoy these Jordanian “perks”. So far:

1) Jordanian/Arab Hospitality eeeeeeverrywhere. <3
2) My political science Professor who apparently is a big shot in foreign policy/government/international relations/think-tank industry. Very well-connected, even to many DC big shots. Offering Arab perspective on critical issues you will not find otherwise in American classes. He was the MSA President back then during his Ph.D!! WOTT WOTT
Apparently he has just shown on TV (Jordan channel) talking about Palestinian internal division and I also heard that he’s been often featured in AL-JAZEERA (arabic) too.
3) Media Arabic Class with many opportunities to brainstorm with like-minded kids in Arabic.
4) Super friendly and positively aggressive (well more of curious) Jordanian students.
5) Jordanian HABIBIs…<3

there are just ones of many

6) Beautiful Palestinian people (go figure)
7) University of Jordan as a social laboratory for Jordanian society observation.

observing the bypassers in the university