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10/30/02
Gathering
with fellow Indonesians, eating Indonesian food and
talking in Indonesian for three consecutive days have
brought me into an atmosphere I have long missed. And
when the gathering was for productive purpose –
promoting a better image of Indonesia - the emotion
was even more enthusiastic. I was referring to a
meeting of Indonesian students in the North America -
the US and Canada - in Washington DC from October 25
to 28, 2002. Thanks to the Indonesian embassy that has
successfully initiated and organized the meeting.
The
last time I went home was more than two years ago. It
is not a long period of time but a lot of things have
happened since then - Gus Dur had been replaced by
Megawati as the president, Akbar Tanjung, the speaker
of the House was found guilty of corruption, Tommy
Soeharto, the most wanted unlawful individual had been
put into prison and sadly the bombings in Bali had
shattered our dreams of building a better Indonesia.
However, there are two things remain unchanged: the
economy is still in big trouble - a combination of
high unemployment and low investment - and the
nation's politicians are still much more interested in
fighting for their own welfare rather than the
nation's welfare.
The
meeting in Washington was held at the right time and
at the right place. Today, when everything seems go
wrong in the country, Indonesia needs commitment, asks
attention and demands constructive efforts from its
people, especially its young generations, more than
ever. The last thing its people do - if they still
want to see Indonesia exists - is to pretend as if
nothing wrong with or as if no solution to cure the
nation. Thanks to the theme of the meeting, it is
neither in the first nor the second choice, but it was
aimed at encouraging Indonesian students in the North
America to actively participate in conducting public
diplomacy in order to promote a better image of
Indonesia in the US and Canada. The country needs a
"plastic surgery" desperately to make its
face attractive and every citizen, including
Indonesian students overseas, should involve in the
task.
There
is nothing wrong with it. In fact, if one acknowledges
herself as Indonesian, she inevitably has a moral
obligation to promote Indonesia - its values, people
and aspirations - to people around her. That is one of
her duties as citizen as Irna Hutabarat from Boston
correctly pointed out that each Indonesian student in
the North America is potentially an individual
ambassador of Indonesia to the people in the US and
Canada.
However,
there is a limit to the effectiveness of public
diplomacy. Promoting Indonesia abroad, either through
cultural festival, informational events, seminars and
etc., would not bring much impact unless there are
significant progresses within the country itself. As
the representative from Indonesian Consulate of San
Francisco cited a famous quote, "it is not the
matter what you say, but it is the matter what others'
hear." Or as another famous quote says, "one
picture is more than one thousand words." So, as
long as foreign people continue to hear bad news and
see ugly pictures of Indonesia - such as the less
seriousness of many elements in the society to combat
terrorism, the rampant of corruption at every level of
bureaucracy and legislative branch, the continuing
practices of politicians to put their interest above
the national interest - all kinds of public diplomacy
that Indonesian students will perform abroad will be
ineffective.
Imagine
a mathematical equation: 2 + x = 3. If we want
to increase the number at the right hand side of the
equation from 3 to 9, we must also increase the value
of x from 1 to 7. At this time, the country's
image across the globe perhaps is 3 out of a 1-10
scale. Think about increasing the country's image from
3 to 9. Launching a full scale of public diplomacy
could only increase the number possibly up to 4 or 5.
Clearly, an image of 4 or 5 would not sufficient to
restore the confidence of investors, potential
tourists and other parties that are vital for
promoting a better Indonesia. In addition, given the
complexity and the chronic problems that Indonesia is
facing, the nation's image cannot be restored in one
day. It will take at least a few years of unrelenting
and meaningful efforts of Indonesian people especially
its young generations. Without such efforts, a few
years could end up forever.
It
is, therefore, essential for Indonesian students
overseas, especially the ones in the United States and
Canada, to also actively participate in improving the
image of Indonesia from within. So, what must they do
to realize that? I offer at least three necessary, but
not sufficient, initiatives.
First,
they must realize their fortune as individuals who
have significant advantageous compared to their young
fellows who are studying in Indonesia. Their first
hand experience of living in developed countries and
their direct daily interaction with people from around
the world should give them a richer understanding of
how an ideal nation should look like. This richer
understanding needs to be shared with their colleagues
in Indonesia through various productive discussion and
debates. By doing that they indirectly contribute to
an effort of promoting a better Indonesia.
Secondly,
Indonesians who are studying in developed countries
must realize that they will be the nation's important
figures in the near future. Currently, in the US and
Canada alone there are around 13 thousands of
Indonesian students or about 0.02% of Indonesia's
20-35 year old population. Although the fraction is
tiny, the facts show that most of Indonesians who
graduated from the US and Canada have become key
decision makers in the country. And as potential key
decision makers, either in business, economic or
political world, the current Indonesian students
abroad must enhance their understanding about
Indonesia's present and future challenges. A failure
to do so will likely make their future contribution to
promoting a better Indonesia ineffective or in most
cases irrelevant.
Undoubtedly,
most of the Indonesia’s problems are caused by
mismanagement and misconduct of the nation's leaders,
politicians, business people, intellectuals and many
other elements or groups in the country. As future
potential leaders, the Indonesian students abroad need
to learn from these mistakes and start formulating new
concepts and ideas of how to build a better Indonesia.
They have knowledge, skills and sufficient financial
resources to do that. The only thing they need to add
into their existing resources is a network.
This
brings us into the third initiative: building a
network with other Indonesian young generations and
developing practical projects in the country. It is
not the scale and the size of the project that really
matter, but the effect and the intention that matter.
A summer voluntary program is a simple example.
Indonesian students abroad who plan to go home during
the summer could organize a voluntary work in the
country such as providing free tutorial in English or
other subjects to young people. Another example is a
voluntary program to help small and medium business
organize their database and information system. As
Homer in The Odyssey said, “A small rock holds back
a great wave,” various seemingly small programs
could bring great benefits to the nation and the
people in the country.
So,
let’s start doing it now because, as the old proverb
says, “The smallest good deed is better
than the grandest intention.”
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