And The Remaining Memories

I couldn't be happier when i found this articles from official website Chinese Childrenhome Shelter and Association, place that i spent volunteering on several childrenhomes on 2008.

I wrote this article when i finished my service on first shelter,Taiwan Christian Faith, Hope, Love: Children’s Home in Ping-Tung County before i started another service at Hsin-Chuang Agape Children Home in Taipei County. It brings back my memories behind.

Feel free to comment :)

Until last night, two days after I left 31 kids in Ping Tung, I still can remember everything single thing they did even in small details.

I can adlibbing every words as they sang Backstreet Boys song and Old McDonald song.

I can feel them tapping in my head like a drumbeat as they danced the tap dance.

I can hear their laughter echo in my ears.

I can't remove all of that from my memory.

Three weeks ago, me and my team started this project in Faith Hope Love Children Home in Ping Tung, Taiwan. This is my first experience visiting Taiwan and do this volunteer work. Before i met them, i imagined about unattractive, shy, not energetic kids. Those pictures ruined in the very first time we played the game to know each other. They were so powerful energetic and lots of laughters. Me, as foreigner knew nothing about them, about their background and things related to that issue. All i know is i have to be with them 24 hours in three weeks. We stick to their schedule from 6.20 in the morning gather around for breakfast, courses at 9 to 11, lunch at 12, take a nap until 3, dinner at 7, and go back to our room at 9. every schedule is fixed and sharp right on time. I really shocked about this at the very first time, i can’t even have my breakfast so early in the morning, and i can’t sleep early either. The first three days was the hardest part and devastated for me. I can’t even understand what they were talking about. When they were laughing i just freeze and have no idea what were they laughing at, and it might be me.

I want to know what they’re talking about, even the little kid just mumbling things that they can even barely understand it, im curious about it.

I want to join and share every laughter they had so i can laugh at hilarious things or even silly jokes they made.

My curiosity about everything about them lead me to enter their world. The world of their own that was isolated from outsider and we, the foreigners, tried to getting into it. At the very beginning it was only my curiousity about live in another country and learn different custom of living took me to Taiwan. But now since i know them, i want to love them and shared what i had to them, hopefully can fulfill their needs.

My curiosity about how they can cover their pain with laughter and joy. I never knew before about their stories and how they can struggle with the stories behind it.

We taught them how to be creative with art such as paper folding, drawing, painting, singing, dancing, and even acting. They were amazingly creative. Right when we just arrived, they just practiced their break dance and they got their style! I don’t know where they learn that moves since they are in a county but it must be because they had lots of limitation but they don’t want to trap in that situation. We also played basketball with them and they beat us every time. In other games they can beat us easily and after that they still had energies to play other things like one wheel bike or just running all around the playground. We tried to open their horizon with taught them dances like tap dance and Saman, Indonesian traditional dance from Aceh. We tried to show them new things that they can learn improved themselves and they have to show us at the farewell party. The emotional part was the farewell thing. After amused the audience by showed all the things we taught them from sang Old McDonald, performed both Tap and Saman Dance, their own drama, and imitating former well known boyband, Backstreet Boys, i felt so sad and hard to leave them in the next day. The fact that they can catch what we taught them for almost three weeks, the fact that they did very great job in every single thing, and the most, the fact that i can’t see them improved their knowledge because i will leave them and may not see each other for the rest of my life.

I remember when the second batch kids were leaving for their home and left a cute message which totally touched everyone’s heart there. I remember the kid who can imitate every dancing move that i taught them and he becomes the best dancer among the others. I keep remember meals that i got in last couple days which is special made because i can’t eat pork and the chef made it for me super big plate of veggie noodle. And i won’t never ever forget when they were crying after sang the goodbye song at the farewell party and the next day they waved goodbye in front of the door then saw them as small kids which finally faded as our way go back to Taipei. But here, in my heart they never fade away, they just stayed.

Sakit yang Tersisa dari Dua Belas Tahun Lalu

Apa yang tersisa dari kejadian Mei 1998? Tentu banyak yang tersakiti dan banyak pula yang terkubur ceritanya dan tidak berharap pernah membukanya lagi. Memoar tentang kejadian ini salah satunya ditulis oleh sastrawan Seno Gumira Ajidarma dalam cerpennya, Clara. Cerpen tersebut bercerita tentang gadis Tionghoa yang menjadi korban kebejatan warga pribumi yang memperkosa dan merampas hartanya. Bukan hanya itu, petugas yang seharusnya membantu Clara menyelesaikan masalahnya justru seolah tidak peduli dengan penderitaan Clara dan menambahkan cibiran pada penderitaan yang diderita gadis itu.

Dalam sinema Indonesia, bulan Mei 1998 menorehkan cerita dalam layar, salah satunya film MAY karya Viva Westi yang sudah beberapa kali diputar salah satunya di Jakarta International Film Festival 2009. Setelah 2 kali terlewatkan, akhirnya MAY kembali diputar di layar Kineforum "Identitas Untuk Semua", 3 Agustus lalu.

Film yang memenangkan 11 dari 12 nominasi pada Festival Film Indonesia 2008 * ini mengangkat kisah-kisah di balik tragedi 13 Mei 1998. Etnis Tionghoa yang banyak menjadi korban disimbolkan oleh (lagi-lagi) perempuan yang menjadi korban perkosaan dan harus menanggung derita terpisah dengan keluarganya. May (Jenny Chang) gadis yang sedang menjalin cinta dengan Ares (Yama Carlos) laki-laki pribumi yang sedang meniti karir menjadi pembuat film documenter terjebak dalam kerusuhan 13 Mei 1998 ketika ia sedang casting di sebuah rumah produksi. Ares yang berjanji menjemputnya tidak datang dan naasnya May pun menjadi korban perkosaan. May ditolong oleh seorang jurnalis asing yang akhirnya merawat anak yang dilahirkan May.

Petaka tidak hanya menimpa May, ibu May Cik Bing (Tutie Kirana) terjepit dalam situasi kehilangan jejak May dan usaha menyelamatkan diri ke luar negeri. Dengan berbekal selembar sertifikat tanah, Cik Bing pun meninggalkan tanah air demi keselamatannya.
Tahun berlalu, tragedi itu masih menyisakan pertanyaan dan perih korban-korbannya. May yang bekerja menjadi penyanyi kafe di Malaysia ternyata masih menarik perhatian Ares yang mencarinya untuk meminta maaf. Cik Bing pun masih terperangkap dengan kesendiriannya. Tiba-tiba muncul tokoh Gandang (Lukman Sardi) yang entah darimana hubungannya dengan May atau Ares. Ternyata, munculnya tokoh Gandang inilah awal dari keperihan yang lebih mendalam dari tragedi ini.

Gandang adalah salah satu korban yang dijadikan alat oleh orang-orang yang memanfaatkan keterbatasan akomodasi dalam aksi penyelamatan diri etnis Tionghoa dari chaos 1998. Bekerja di sebuah hotel, Gandang menjadi saksi kebejatan seorang staff hotel yang tega menjual 3 lembar tiket pesawat dengan sebuah mobil sedan bahkan 1 lembar tiket pesawat dengan sepetak tanah. Kala itu Gandang yang hanya buruh cuci tentu tergoda, apalagi ia diiming-imingi naiknya nilai tanah yang bisa ia nikmati tanpa harus susah-susah bekerja. Gandang beberapa tahun kemudian menyesali perbuatannya. Masih melekat di pikirannya wajah ibu yang kebingungan, Cik Bing yang masih tidak mengetahui keberadaan May akhirnya menyerahkan harta benda satu-satunya demi keselamatannya di negeri orang. Tak heran Cik Bing dan beberapa keluarga etnis Tionghoa yang saat itu memang menjadi korban merasa lebih baik melarikan diri karena di negara yang tercetak di paspor sebagai kewarganegaraannya, keamanan adalah barang langka. Menyakitkan melihat rasisme menjadi alat untuk merasakan kenikmatan sesaat. Alat untuk menikmati barang jarahan yang selama ini hanyalah mimpi dari sebuah kemewahan untuk memiliki, alat untuk memuaskan nafsu yang selama ini bersembunyi di balik pakaian tertutup, dan juga kekuatan untuk memeras dalam suasana terjepit yang selama ini kekuatan mereka tidak pernah dipedulikan. Berapa lama kemewahan, kepuasan, dan kekuatan itu bertahan? Sekejap. Sakitnya? Abadi.

*sumber inilah.com
Foto berbagai sumber